Page 153 of Before We're More Than Friends
She nodded over to her room. “Want to talk? About anything?”
I looked at her door, about to reject the idea. But it’d been so long since we’d sat and talked about everything. Be best friends and not just two people who lived in the same house.
“Sure,” I said, offering a smile. “I need that right now.”
She smiled back before Houston and I followed her into her room. Fake plants and fairy lights hung on the peach-brown walls, reminding me of her aesthetic light-blue room from back at home. Everything else in her room was neat, other than the crumpled tissues on the white comforter. Even with the minimalism, it had much more personality than my room, which I hadn’t bothered to decorate.
“It looks nice in here,” I said as I sat on the floor.
“Thank you.” Kami collected the tissues and threw them in her floral trash can. “So where do you want to start?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. “I have no idea.”
My eyes fluttered open as sunshine warmed my face. I moaned as I pushed myself off the floor, my back aching. Had life really gotten so low to the point that I could get a full night’s sleep on the floor?
I leaned over and cracked my back while my eyes adjusted to the light. Kami was knocked out on her double bed, Houston sleeping on the sage-green blanket at her feet. My chest warmed at how peaceful they looked.
I went into my room, where my phone was dead on my bed. I plugged it into my charger and waited for it to boot up before my notifications came through. I looked at my texts to see if I’d gotten any important updates from Raina or Arielle, but neither one had sent anything. The only text I had—other than from my parents saying they were going to work—was from Hayden.
Hayden
I’m staying home from school today—come over when you can. We need to talk. About everything.
We sure freaking do.
Dallas
I’m staying home, too. Long night.
Will ten thirty work?
Hayden
K, see you then
True to my word, I knocked on Hayden’s door half an hour later. After a few seconds, he opened the door and revealed his unkept appearance. His dark cheeks were splotchy as if he’d been crying, his hair in a navy blue bonnet. A baggy pajama shirt and matching pants hugged his frame, both looking like they’d seen better days.
“Hey.” Hayden took in my appearance. “Guess neither one of us got dressed.”
I looked down at my white long-sleeved shirt, checkered pajama pants, and black flip-flops. “Yeah.” I brushed a hand through my curls, hoping they weren’t messy. “Does my breath smell bad?”
“No worse than mine.” He gave me a small smile before letting me in the house.
Pictures of his family greeted us in the entryway. Despite living next door to Hayden for a month and a half, I’d never been in here before. The furniture looked lived-in, but the house was tidy. Unlike our house, Hayden’s was only one-story and a bit smaller, but it still felt homey.
“You have a nice home,” I said as he led me to his room down the hall.
“Thank you.” He opened the door to his room, which had dark blue walls covered in band posters, a double bed full of blankets, and notebooks scattered around. A gray bunny sat in a small cage on his dresser. “Sorry it’s little messy in here.”
I cringed at the underwear that peeked out from underneath his bed. “I hope that’s clean.”
“Crap, I thought I got everything.” He took the boxers and threw them into the hamper. “Anyway, this is my place.” Henodded to the bunny in the cage. “This is Grey. I adopted him from the shelter not too long ago.”
“Hello, Grey,” I said, grinning at the cage. Grey made a little squeaky noise. “He’s adorable.”
“I know.” Hayden sat on his bed and patted the spot next to him. “I know yesterday was . . . complicated. Especially with what happened to you and the girls after.”
“Tell me about it,” I muttered as I sat beside him. “It was hell on earth. But that aside, I wish I’d known what was going on with the bandbeforeI joined.”
