Page 7 of Resilient Love

We arrive home a few minutes later, pulling up to the two-storey maisonette with brick siding and the completely out-of-place white-painted wooden porch. It’s a bit of an eyesore in the centre of a long line of converted flats and Victorian-style homes, but it’s all ours, and the bay windows are a cheeky addition that I adore, even if they are a right nuisance to clean.

I grab my duffel, rushing up the steps. Once inside, Chelsea gets to work putting together her dodgy grain bowls for everyone, forcing us all to eat a well-balanced meal.What a cunt.

Unfortunately for me and my desire to consume nothing but candy all day, I guess she has a point. She preaches about our bodies being our temple, and I guess Iwouldfeel like rubbish if I ate that garbage instead of real food. It doesn’t make me want it any less, though, and she’s really one to talk with the high fructose corn syrup-filled products her mum sends in her care packages from the States.

After we finish eating, I slide down onto the floor, resting my head against the cushion as the girls take their seats around me on the dingy couch.

Dad offers to buy us a new one at least once a month, but I can’t part with it. It was the first real adult purchase I ever made, and the worn-out green fabric reminds me of a dress mymamanused to wear for every special occasion when I was growing up. Though her dress was a hell of a lot nicer, and this couch isn’t making my knockers look nearly as good as that dress had for her, butc’est la vie.

“Alright, let’s get started. I have big plans to drag youputasout to that new club tonight,” Letty says.

“What part of ‘I have an exam on Monday’ didn’t you understand?” I ask, rolling my eyes, but knowing damn well Iwon’t be here, studying all night. Not on a Friday. Especially not one of the only free Fridays we get during the season.

“You’ve got three whole days to study. We’re going out. A little relaxation will do you good,” she says with a nod as if it’s confirmed. No one says ‘no’ to Letty, so it might as well be. That's the perk of being the goalkeeper.

“Fine,” I grumble for the sake of being a brat. I love clubbing, so it’s no real hardship.

Chelsea heads to the kitchen. “I’m grabbing some water. Y’all need anything?”

We all tell her “No thanks,” but her gaze meets mine with a seriousness that crinkles the edges of her eyes. “You take your meds today, or do you need me to bring them to you?”

I wince at the question. I forgot,again. The guilt gnaws at me, a reminder of how I’ve let it slip too many times. Someday, I’ll get it together.I hope.

"I had a busy morning," I explain, my voice quiet, though I know she’s only asking to check in, not to judge. Still, the weight of it hangs over me. I feel like a burden, like I should be better by now. She shouldn’t have to mother me, and neither should anyone else. It’smewho’s judging me. “Bring them over, please.”

She nods, grabbing another glass of water and counting my pills out for me. “A busy morning, huh?” she asks, her brow quirked, and a smirk plays on her lips.

“Yep,superbusy,” I tell her, my eyes dancing.

“By ‘busy’ you mean you were getting railed, right?” Adhira asks, blunt as ever.

“Yep,” I quip, smiling broadly.

We all laugh in unison and fall into an easy rhythm of studying with practice questions and a speed round before getting ready for a night out.

“The black dress or the dark-blue one?” I ask, unsure of what to wear tonight.

“I’d say the dark-blue one because it brings out your eyes, but we’ll be in a dark club, so it won’t matter.” Chelsea grabs the dresses from me and tosses a pair of leather pants, hitting me right in the face with them.

“I’llwear the blue dress, and you can wear the leather pants and matching corset. It brings out your ass and tits, which arefarmore important than your eyes.” She chuckles, waggling her blonde brows at me.

“Can’t argue with that,” I tell her, working the skin-tight pants up my long legs. “Why a dress for you tonight?” I question, knowing she isn’t dressing me for my benefit alone.

“A dress is easy access, and I fully plan on getting fingered on the dance floor tonight,” she says with a wide, confident smile that shows off the single rhinestone glued to her right canine.

“You know, you own dresses of your own too,” I say with a smirk, the words laced with a playful challenge.

“Yeah, but yours are better.” She grins. “It’s like shopping without spending the money. Plus, you’re four inches shorter than me, which means your dresses are automatically shorter too.”

She has a point.

“Will you ever learn to use the metric system?” I chide.

“Unlikely.”

Once we’re both dressed, we head out into the living room to meet the other girls. Joey and Ria are leaning against the kitchen counter, chatting with Letty and Adhira.

“Hey, glad you guys could make it,” I tell our friends from the women’s rugby team.

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