My Best Friend's Brother // Young Love Book 1 ✔️

My Best Friend's Brother Ch. 40

Chapter 40

Minutes.
Hours.
Days.
Weeks.
Months.
Years.

They're all the same, they all just seem to drift by when you're...preoccupied.

It's been a couple weeks now and everything was falling into place. My job was getting me the money I needed; my pageant dancing skills were improving; I was getting through the challenges (there'd been 3 more since the cooking one; charisma, won by Anna Stanton, brain games, won by Jackie Densen, and survival combat, won by Emily Lang); and my unofficial relationship with Drew has been blossoming. Or so I hoped.

Today was my afternoon off and I was spending it with my family. It had been a while since this last happened. So long ago that I forgot when it was. I suppose high school and individual differences got in the way, which really couldn't be helped. Perhaps it was partly because we didn't try, or at least make an effort. If we genuinely wanted to catch up, we would have. I'm sure dinner talks were as informative as talk about the weather in an elevator. That's the thing, right? When you want something you'll do absolutely anything--find out every loophole possible. But, when you don't want to, you'll always have excuses, the perfect alibi for every situation. It's saddening that our family has come to that. We've drifted so much.

I stared down at my Converse clad feet, my mind somewhere far from me and the present. It lay in the moment that occured two weeks ago. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I saw a troubled-looking girl. Her face was masked with wary, not makeup; her eyes filled with sorrow, not a glint of excitement in sight. I didn't look like a teenager with all the worry lines on taking space on my face. Glaring at my reflection, I couldn't help but remember mine and Charlie's conversation before I left.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, his face contorting with confusion. "Is there an emergency? 'Cause I can come with," he added gently.

I almost laughed one of my sorely bitter laughs. "Don't worry about it," I reassured as I packed up and finished off my food in record time. As I went to grab my bag, Charlie caught my wrist. It reminded me of the time I caught his wrist, the day Cindy and I confronted him about him being gay. When I turned to look at Charlie, I didn't think I'd see the expression that he was wearing. It's like agony, hurt, and longing all at the same time. It affected me more than it should have. I had no doubt that that face'll haunt me.

"What aren't you telling me?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"Elouise."

"Look, Charls, I have to go," I told him, raising my voice in annoyance.

"But--but I--you--" he began stuttering.

I placed my index finger on his lips to shut him up. His cheeks stained red, but so did mine. His lips were pillow soft though, not at all how I imagined.

"It's okay. We'll talk soon."

We never did.

Dad lead us to a place that I've never laid eyes on, while Mom gave us a blow-by-blow summary for each significant spot or area that we drove past. I sort of tuned her out, much like Penelope, who was on a texting marathon with Ryan Keith, the linebacker. I was still surprised at the length they'd been together. My sister, as far as I knew, was a pick-'em-and-drop-'em sort of girl. Don't get me wrong, she didn't go around sleeping with all the guys at Lincoln. She just liked to frequently change who she's seeing (who other people are seeing her with). Think of it like a sort of cruel, messed-up accessory. Sometimes, it confused me how Penny has changed so much in the last few years and yet, she remained the same. You know me--my brain wasn't meant to process that kind of stuff. Non-school related logic wasn't my thing. I would know, Cindy told me.