Page 47 of Sure, Pal

“Ava, I’m sorry.”

“Get the fuck out of my house. You are dead to me, Sienna.”

I closed my eyes as the tears streamed down my cheeks. I expected this, but I still hoped that I wouldn’t have to lose my best friend completely. “Aves,” I whispered. “I loved him before you even moved into the neighborhood. It was fucking torture watching you guys together all through high school! But I kept that shit to myself because I loved you! And then, when I saw him again, I thought enough time had passed. I thought I could finally be with him! And, look, I’m sorry for keeping shit from you, but I’m not going to apologize for loving Evan.”

“GET OUT!” Ava screamed and threw a handful of pens at me. A few bounced off my arms and chest, landing with a clatter on the floor. She reached for the next thing on her desk — a high-heel-shaped tape dispenser —and aimed for my face.

“Fuck! Ava! Stop!” I held my hands up and jumped up to leave.

“Never fucking speak to me again!” Ava yelled and knocked a crystal vase filled with lilies to the floor. It shattered, and sent little droplets of water sailing through the air. “You are the worst, most vile person that I have ever met!” Her pretty little face was twisted in a fury that I’d never seen from her.

“I’m going!” I let out a sob and hurried from her office. I could hear her crying as I pulled the door shut behind myself. I ran to my car, my entire body trembling. I climbed behind the wheel and peeled out of Ava’s driveway. “FUCK!” I screamed as tears blurred my vision.

I drove home and burst into my apartment. My phone was blowing up in my back pocket. I pulled it out with shaking hands and gasped. Ava had just tagged me in a post. It was a photo of us from middle school. The caption made my blood run cold.

You know when you have that best friend that has your back no matter what? Then, instead of having your back, she takes a knife and jams it into you? Well, here’s a word of advice to you, my friends: No one has your back. Look out for yourself.

Fuck you, @Siennasings. I would say I hope you two are very happy together, but that would be a lie.

I clicked on my profile with shaking hands and watched my follower count drop in real-time. The little red number next to my message icon, though, climbed to unreal heights.

Don’t read the messages.

I read the first three messages. They were pure hate from complete strangers. I blinked back the tears and sank onto my sofa. How could she do this? How could I have done this?

Fuck. I picked up my phone again with shaking hands to call Evan. I wanted to hear his voice. I didn’t want to talk about Ava or us. I wanted to hear his voice and see if he was okay.

He sent the call straight to voicemail.

My heart sank to the newest possible low. Did I completely blow up my life?

???

The next few weeks had me wanting to drive my car off a cliff. Ava appeared to have come to her senses a few hours after her vicious post. She deleted it, but the damage was done. Haters filled my inbox and trolled the comments on every post I’d ever made.

Ugly.

Bitch.

Fake.

Cunt.

My Sunday night show at Toni’s coffee shop was a disaster, too. A few of Ava’s fans showed up to heckle me until Toni kicked them out.

On my way out of the coffee shop, I passed the big green dumpster. I almost tossed my guitar into it, along with my phone.

To make matters worse, Evan still wouldn’t answer my calls. I didn’t want an apology for the way he lashed out at me. I didn’t want to explain myself and tell him about my conversation with Ava. I fucking wanted to know if he was okay.

Finally, after a solid three weeks of no contact from Evan, I decided to call Rob. I paced back in forth in front of my refrigerator while I waited for him to answer. “Sienna? What’s up?”

“Rob! Have you heard from Evan? I can’t get a hold of him!”

“Yeah…” Rob said. “He’s not good, Sienna. His dad keeps getting worse even faster than the doctors expected. At this point, they’re only giving him a couple of weeks.”

A lump formed in my throat. “Fuck.”

I could hear Rob let out a long deep breath. “He told me about you guys.”

Tears burned my eyes now. “Oh yeah? Does he hate me?”

“He hates everyone right now, but mostly he can’t deal with anything — good or bad.”

“Should I go see him?” My voice cracked.

Rob’s voice was filled with uncertainty. “I don’t know. He spends most of his time at his parents’ place lately, and it’s always pretty crowded there. You’re not family, so I doubt you’ll get past the front door.” Rob paused. “Don’t write him off. Just give him a little time, okay?”

Like I could ever write him off. “Okay. Thanks, Rob.”

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