Bad Taste (Part I) // Colby Brock

37 - Rebecca

          "The boys have used this pool once since I've known them," Katrina explained as she pointed with her fork to the big blue-green, clear pool with the orange rocks. "Well, Jake has obviously used it since then. And Corey. But they're the jokesters, so it's kind of expected."

"And the girls?" I asked.

"Oh, we used to use it all the time. Trust me, we were in bikinis sitting in the hot tub practically every day while the boys slept. But uh..." Katrina's cheeks flushed red as she rocked either side for a second. "One by one, we kind of just got more like the boys. Xepher most recently joined them, sleeping in the day, you know?"

"That upsets you," I said.

"A little." She shrugged.

"Explain it to me."

She started, staring at me like I was an alien. I didn't know where this non-bitchy streak had come from, but I wanted it to keep going.

"Really?" She asked, and I nodded. "Okay... well, normalcy is quite rare in this house. I mean, take the size of it and the list of roommates as the best example. But it gets weirder.

"Has Colby told you anything about the secret?"

"A secret."

"Yes, well that doesn't make them very normal, either. When I met Sam, Devyn and Cassie were the only girls of the group. Cassie was already part of that side of their lives, but Devyn wasn't. And then Xepher joined us and we became a little band of girls, you know?

"Then Tara joined us, too. She was the first one to join Cassie with the boys. Devyn followed her lead because she wanted to be with Corey for- uh, you know, at nighttime. She never wanted to be apart from him, so then Xepher joined too."

"This thing is really serious, isn't it?" I questioned. "You're saying they joined like they can never come back."

"Its sort of a one-way ticket." Katrina stared down at her plate now, biting her lip.

"And you haven't taken the ticket because..."

"Because I like a little bit of normalcy. Besides, I was young when I met Sam — only eighteen, actually.

"I like staying awake during the day, anyway. You'd be surprised how much of a requirement sleeping in the daytime is for that job." Katrina shook her head, looking at me with a forced smile. "I'm sure you and Colby will talk about it eventually, if it's... serious. Is it serious?"

"I'm not being a bitch to you right now, Katrina, but I'm not going to talk boys with you."

She smiled for real this time. "I get it. Hey, maybe this is the start of a friendship for us? I can be the special one you don't be rude to," she suggested as she stared at me across the chairs.

I liked that idea but I didn't say it out loud. I ate my last bacon rash and put the plate down.

"Gotta run?"

"Yes. I'd rather not, though. The person waiting for me is... well, I guess I'm the bitch, so she's just someone I don't like."

Katrina shook her head. "Good luck with whoever it is. I can wash your plate."

"Thanks." The word didn't sound right coming out of my mouth. Katrina noticed but she didn't say anything as I stood up.

I gave her a half-assed wave and walked back inside, swinging Colby's keys around my finger, but then I stopped just in the hallway and backed to the backdoor. I leaned out, talking loudly. "Katrina?"

Her head whipped in my direction.

"Tell Colby I stole his car."

She laughed in her seat and nodded. I felt myself trying not to smile as I turned back to head out again. Katrina was nice and easy to get along with if I wasn't a bitch and she learnt what to avoid talking to me about. That was comforting to know, that I could have other people here besides Colby and a suddenly overprotective Tara.

Colby's car was easy to drive, but I preferred mine when I was driving alone. Unless Colby could sit there with his hand on my thigh or in mine, no car was good enough. LA's streets were quite empty, too, which made my journey a lot easier. I didn't understand why, though, since the sun was bright and hot and there seemed to be so many perfect sunbathing spots. I thought about the sun beds at Colby's house and the pool and found myself biting my lip. Maybe I could sit there with Katrina one day, or even Colby one night. I hadn't sunbathed in forever, though, so Katrina was most likely the companion in that scenario.

As I was driving passed a high street, I passed a little cafe that I remembered going in once on my way back from a 'friend's house. I found myself pulling into a space before I could stop the engine. Angela could wait, I reminded myself. Whatever she had to say probably wasn't that important anyways.

I stomped across the parking lot and into the cool air of the cafe, which was a relief from the stuffy LA breeze outside. There weren't many people in here, just two at opposite ends. One had a coffee and stared at a laptop screen, whilst the other had some sort of green tea and wrote in a notebook. They were both fairly young — around my age. Neither of them were particularly attractive, though.

An employee walked out of a backroom door wearing a hideous cap and a nametag. Even from the front door, I could see that it said 'Jenny'. With no intention of being polite, I clumped across the room and placed my hand harshly on the counter.

"Hi. Mocha," I ordered.

"Any special-"

"No, just a Mocha."

Jenny was annoyed but I didn't care all that much. She was about to say how much it was when I pressed my phone to the card reader. It pinged and she nodded, turning to make my drink. I tapped my foot against the ground while I waited, impatient.

She eventually turned with a take-out cup — she had guessed rather than asking me, or rather hoped — then put on her customer service smile. "Thanks for coming."

The sarcasm was too strong.

So I gave her an equally fake smile in return and tilted my head as I picked up the coffee. "Yes. Better be good."

She scowled as I turned around and walked out. I loved making people angry, it truly made my day like nothing else. However, the cause for arms not being wrapped around me right now texted me asking if I was coming, and any good emotion I had felt was instantly ripped from me.

It was time to face the dumbass of the family.