Page 18 of Built to Fall
She nods and looks away, like if she doesn’t meet my eyes, maybe she won’t see the truth sitting just behind them.
The last thing I want is for the girls to have to worry about constantly upsetting me. I want everything to go back to how it was before I took a year hiatus. It’s all I’ve been worried about.
Kara shifts on the floor, the sound of her yoga mat dragging across the hardwood the only thing breaking the silence. Meredith is typing something into her phone.
Anytime something heavy settles, it’s the equivalent of a pothole on a familiar road, and the four of us have an automatic instinct to swerve out of its way.
And just like that, we move on. Like we always do.
* * *
Eden finally figured out an outfit, and now that we are walking into the stadium, it’s one of the only things I can be grateful for.
If anyone were to ask what it is like to live with three of my best friends, I would say it’s like trying to share one brain with four people. The combined amount of knowledge is more useful than anything, but it’s also chaotic a good majority of the time.
Of course, it might not beasoverwhelming for most, but considering I spent a year of my life living in solitude, there was no preparing myself for the disarray that is our apartment.
“Where are our seats?” Eden asks, bounding through the concourse.
She finally decided on a white, cropped t-shirt with the signature navy Y on the front that she found in Kara’s closet, a denim skirt, and white kitten heels, complete with a navy bow holding half of her hair back.
“We don’t have seats. We’re sitting in a suite,” Meredith says casually.
It has me stopping in my tracks. “What?”
Meredith points in the direction that saysPRIVATE SUITE ENTRANCE.
Kara scoffs. “I seriously am going to need pointers. How do you get a man this obsessed with you?”
“And you’re not evendatinghim!” Eden exclaims, throwing her hands up as she spins to face Meredith.
“Enough,” Meredith snaps before turning in the opposite direction and waving for us to follow. “Come on, we’re going this way.”
She’s private about her relationship with Braxton, and right now, this is a peek behind the curtain of what it’s like for her to be with him.
“No, seriously. I need a spreadsheet or a slideshow or something,” Kara reiterates.
Meredith turns to her with a blank expression. “I think you’re perfectly content sticking to model boys.”
Kara’s calculated smirk is enough of a response in itself.
We walk through a few different corridors, where Meredith flashes her phone screen toward some employees, ensuring them we’re where we’re supposed to be.
It feels odd—coming to a game like this, where we don’t only have student section tickets. I don’t say anything about it, though. I keep following my friends until we’re at the doors of the suite, where Meredith scans a code on her phone.
“Enjoy the game.” The employee smiles brightly at us while he holds the door open.
Each of us nods in thanks, but we’re all collectively stunned into silence when we see the suite upon entering.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the field, giving us a perfect view of the players warming up. There’s sleek leather seating, a stocked fridge, and even a long counter lined with trays of food. It looks to be catered, not the typical stadium concession stand food.
Eden’s the first to speak. “Okay, this is… ridiculous.” She turns in a slow circle, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Meredith, never fazed, shrugs off her jacket and claims a seat like she’s done this a hundred times. “Perks.”
Even in moments like these, she maintains her unbothered composure.
“No kidding.” I laugh as I take a seat next to Eden.
