Page 19 of Aftersome
Brutal.
“Uh, excuse you.” I chuckled while uncrossing my arms and motioning my hands down my choice of clothes. “This happens to be my favorite ugly outfit I own.”
Some cutoff shorts that I made myself, an oversized tee that had too many stains to count, and my famous, beyond-cozy blue socks that put it all together.
What’s not to love?
“You look like a bum.”
One thing about Alice is, she was brutally honest. Never sugarcoated anything despite how bad it sounded.
“A cute bum?” My brow rose.
“The cutest,” she replied. “But that hair needs a little work.”
Having long hair was exhausting. Especially when mine required a brush through it every hour or so. Unfortunately, today I neglected it and left it in a ratty ponytail, so I could only imagine how it looked now after six hours of cleaning and packing.
“Yeah, I could use a shower.” I giggled while playing with the end of my ponytail.
Ugh, it even felt gross.
“What have you been doing all day anyway? I saw you bustling around your house like a madwoman.”
“Well, that’s why I wanted to come over here.” I peered up from my lashes at her. “I’m going away for a bit. To Seattle, actually.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. I didn’t blame her for having that reaction. I rarely went outside of the city unless I had to make the long drive to my doctor. Other than that, I never went far.
“Wow. I didn’t expect that.” She laughed. “What are you going there for?”
She knew about Mal. Not much, but she knew the name and the basics.
Would she understand? I guess it didn’t matter if she did or not, but I hoped she would.
“It was sort of a last-minute thing.” I shrugged my shoulders. “When Shelia came over the other day, she brought up Mal.”
Her head lifted slightly. “Hayes’s friend Mal?”
My throat went dry.
“Yes.” I nodded. “To make a long story short, he hasn’t spoken to Greg or Shelia since Hayes passed away. So, I’m hoping if I go there, I can convince him to come back home.”
Her face was void of any emotion, but her stare never faltered from mine.
“And you think you can convince him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe?”
Though my gut was telling me no, I didn’t say that. You couldn’t have the mindset of thinking you’re going to lose before you even started. Though the odds may be stacked against me, nothing was impossible. Even if it seemed that way.
“I hope I can,” I continued. “I know it won’t be easy, but I won’t know unless I try.”
“And how do you feel about him? Is it just Greg and Shelia that want him home?”
Her question caught me off guard because, how did I feel about him? Anger and confusion were what came to mind first, but it was as if every time I thought about how I felt toward him, those feelings would change. I despised him one moment, then the next I was more understanding. I hated how he could manipulate my emotions without even knowing it.
It was beyond frustrating, and even now I couldn’t decide how to answer.
“It doesn’t matter what I want or how I feel. I can’t let ten more years pass without them having Mal in their lives.”
