Page 68 of Save Us
“Then what happened?”
“I broke off the friendship and decided I’d never let anyone treat me that badly again. I learned to always take my own needsand feelings seriously. And that’s the only advice I can give you now, Ember.”
I think about her words for a while.I told her how the way she acted made me feel.
Nobody’s ever pissed me off as much as Wren’s done today. Maybe I should tell him exactly that.
It’s pretty shitty of you to have a housewarming party without me. I thought we were friends.
As I type the words, I feel weirdly vulnerable. It’s like when I post something personal on my blog and talk about the stuff that’s on my heart.
I hesitate, but only for a moment, then I follow Mum’s example and send the message. After that, I lock my phone and put it face down on the couch beside me.
“Thanks, Mum,” I say quietly.
“Want to talk about it, love?”
I shake my head. Then I lean into Dad’s shoulder and shut Wren Fitzgerald out of my mind.
James
“So,” says Alistair, clinking his beer bottle against Wren’s. “I like it here.”
Wren raises his eyebrows and looks around his room, like he’s seeing it himself for the first time.
“Me too,” I say, and I mean it. It might not be as big as Wren’s old room, and the walls might not be papered with eye-wateringlyexpensive wallpaper, but it’s comfortable, and he’s given it a personal touch. There are some framed pictures on the walls and the lacrosse cups we’ve won over the years on the bookcase. Alistair, Kesh, and I gave him a set of whisky glasses as a housewarming present, and they’re now adorning his desk. There’s some Ikea furniture, and other stuff from Wren’s old house, and an Oriental rug in the middle of the floor.
“It’s such a cute house,” says Ruby beside me. She’s leaning against me, and I’m running my hand up and down her back, lost in thought as I watch Wren.
Something isn’t right with him this evening. He hasn’t put his phone down once, and sometimes he spends whole minutes staring at the screen.
He’s in a miserable mood, and I don’t think he just feels bad about us having to sit on the floor because there’s not enough space for chairs in here. He seems to have something else on his mind, and I’m wondering if this has to do with the mysterious girl he wouldn’t tell me about last week at the bonfire.
“And you’ve got a massive garden,” Alistair adds. “If you miss the pool in the summer, we can buy an inflatable one.”
He walks across the room, stepping over Kesh’s legs without looking at him. Then he sits cross-legged between Wren and me. Kesh frowns and starts twiddling the fringe of the rug in his fingers. Have they had another fight?
“We had a paddling pool when we were little,” Ruby says with a smile.
“True,” I say. “The proof is in the photos in your hallway.”
Ruby digs an elbow in my ribs. It hurts, but I can’t help grinning.
“Don’t tell me there’s a picture of you in arm floaties,” Alistair says.
“Something like that,” mumbles Ruby. She’s blushing a little, but grinning too as she takes a gulp of Coke. I never thought I’d see her this relaxed in the company of my friends, and it’s making me happy to be able to spend this evening with her here.
“Well, I bet your neighbors would love a little strip show from you, Wren,” Alistair muses. “Maybe they’d take photos and put them up in their hallways too.” He waggles his eyebrows.
“I met three women on my way here, and they all said to enjoy the housewarming,” Kesh adds. “Seems like you’ve made quite the impact on the neighborhood already.”
Wren groans. “Mum tells them too much.”
“It’s part of belonging to a friendly area,” says Ruby.
“They all seemed very nice,” Alistair agrees, but his filthy grin speaks volumes.
“How aboutyoupulling the pool stunt and sweet-talking the neighbors?” Wren suggests. “I don’t think I’d get very far.”
