Page 15 of Pieces of Us

‘She’s fucking made it. She’s blown up all over the world, apparently.’ His phone is on speaker, but even if it wasn’t, I’d know that voice anywhere. Uncle Mark.

‘So, wait, Crystal brought her along to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and she just interviewed a bunch of models and singers in some of the sample lingerie?’ Dad reiterates, as if he’s misheard Uncle Mark.

My heart leaps at the mention of Amity. Interviews? Lingerie? Gone viral? What the fuck is going on?

‘Pretty much the gist of it.’

‘And she’s back in a couple of days but has to leave straight after exams? What about formal or graduation? Uni?’

‘Plans change, man. She wasn’t going to formal for obvious reasons.’ Because of me. ‘And she was going to defer uni after…everything that happened with Linc.’

‘And we’re sure it’s all legit?’

‘Uh-huh. Apparently, she’s the world’s next ‘It Girl’. She has an agent and a lawyer has looked over the contracts.’

‘I’m not surprised. Amity has this alluring quality about her that makes you want to be her best friend. I’m so damn proud. I’ll stop by to congratulate her when she gets back,’ Dad gushes.

‘Sounds good. Hey, I gotta go, she’s calling.’ Uncle Mark hangs up, making me quickly extricate my ear from the door and sling myself back to bed before Dad comes looking for me.

I desperately want to ask him what the hell is going on, but I know he’ll only slap the back of my head and tell me to mind my own business. He might talk about Amity all the time, but it’s nothing of substance—more like walking down memory lane. Any new information is off-limits.

Whatever is going on with Amity is big, and I won’t be there to see it. I’ll barely be on the periphery, looking in.

Tomorrow’s her birthday. Eighteen. She’ll be on a plane, spending it by herself. I wonder if she’ll be as melancholy as me? We have spent every single birthday together since we met. We didn’t know her seventeenth birthday would be the last one we’d spend together. Uncle Mark probably has something planned. Something low-key with her friends. If Dad is going, he hasn’t informed me. I guess whatever she ends up doing here will be a double celebration for her new gig.

I’m not really into the whole social media thing, but Billie is. Locally, she’s well-known, but she’s never been offered sponsorships or contracts before, and certainly no one is paying her to jet-set around the world. I hate thinking it, but you could find a Billie on every street corner in the Gold Coast, whereas Amity is a rare find. No wonder she’s been snapped up by the best.

‘Stop staring at your ex and focus on your smokeshow of a girlfriend,’ Joel mutters. I don’t know what his problem is. He’s always had a gripe against Amity, telling me that she’s not good enough, but never actually giving me a reason why.

I turn back in the direction I’ve been unknowingly focussing on. Amity, Lily, Rome and their friends are basking in the sun on the hill. Exams are over, and we’re now all officially waiting for the bell to ring so we can leave the school gates for the last time. It’s the first time in weeks that any of us have actually hung out. It’s like while exams were happening, everything else in the world had completely stopped. Everyone is finally catching up on the last three weeks, half of us in person and others on their phone, trying to get the latest gossip.

I briefly check Billie, whose head is down, fixated on her screen as she scrolls social media. Ignoring Joel, I shrug, as if I don’t care about Amity and her friends. I down my water and covertly chance another glance at my former friends and ex. Seeing her sitting in such close proximity is doing strange things to my head. For the better part of the year, she’s made a conscious effort to stay away from my group, specifically Billie and me.

Amity breaks out in laughter at Rome’s antics. He strips off his shirt before twirling it around his finger and flinging it to the audience gathered around them. Watching in bemusement, I feel a pang in my chest. Rome was my other best mate before I went and stuffed it all up. Amity’s wolf whistle and clap make me smile. Damn, I miss seeing that.

As I conspicuously scrutinise her—now that I have a decent chance—I notice she’s different. For one, she’s lost a fuck-tonne of weight, her baggy jumper swimming on her shrinking frame. Her face is less round and more defined, too. I can see it’s chiselled to perfection, every angle razor-sharp. The curve of her delicate, swan-like neck makes me wish I could kiss her in that secret spot one last time. Usually, her hair is down to hide her insecurities—I never understood why she would mask her perfect beauty—but today, it’s like she’s a phoenix who has risen from the ashes with her high, slicked-back ponytail. She radiates confidence and excitement, like she’s ready for a new beginning.

The blistering heat is becoming unbearable. The majority of us are in our sports uniform and jerseys, but many of us guys have already shredded our tops, leaving us in our shorts. Even the girls have taken to tying their t-shirts into crops.

Out of nowhere, Taylor, another friend of mine, slaps my chest. ‘Jesus Christ, where has she been hiding that tight little body?’ He whistles.

‘Now we know why you were so obsessed with her.’ Joel winks.

I’m still none the wiser about what the hell they’re on about, but if the glacial glare from Billie is anything to go by, I anticipate they’re talking about Amity.

Seeing what all the fuss is about, I force myself to look back at her, jealous that every drooling cunt around me seems to be gazing in the same direction.

My eyes are cartoon comical. She’s removed her skirt, leaving herself in bike shorts that look as if they’re painted on. She’s also removed her jersey to reveal her white sport shirt, fashioned into barely a bra that covers her tits. Which, might I add, are still heavy and luscious, despite her weight loss.

I don’t think my hands would recognise her with the absence of the baby fat that I used to be addicted to. I’ve also never seen her bare so much skin. I don’t even think I saw this much when she was actually naked under me, and certainly never in public. I wouldn’t say she is skin and bone, but I can definitely see her ribs, and there’s no more meat on them. She’s tiny. Blinking, I try to work out whether this is a good or bad thing. I know she has always had her hang-ups about her body, but this seems drastic. It’s too much, too soon, and I can’t help but wonder how the hell she did it without anyone noticing.

‘Looks like fatty got fit,’ Joel leers beside me. I’m disgusted to hear those words come out of his mouth and show my disdain by shoving him forcefully. Amity has never been fat or overweight. It sickens me that this is what my friends think about her. ‘What? You know it’s true. She’s been a fat fuck forever,’ he hollers, but I’m far from laughing.

Before I can deck him within an inch of his life, Billie's shrill voice cuts my attention. ‘She’s such a slut!’ She holds up her phone for the rest of our group to see.

‘What’s going on?’ I ask, pouring water over my head to cool down from my pulse racing over seeing a barely clothed Amity, my fury over Joel’s fat shaming and Billie’s incessant need to put her ex-friend down.

Her squinting blue eyes hone in on me.

---