They just looked at one another.
“Well, that’s just great. Guess I’ll leave you two alone then.” I turned to go, but Parker called out.
“Wait.”
When I turned to face them, I found her standing before me. “It’s not like he told us not to hang out with you. It’s just that Addison wants to be able to hang out with Tyler, and Tyler won’t hang out if Lance doesn’t feel welcome.”
I nodded. “Got it.”
She rolled her eyes. “But seriously, I say screw that. We have fun when we hang out together.” She smiled and looped her arm around mine, pulling me over to her as she turned to look down at Addison. She rested her head on my shoulder. “What do you say, Addi? We don’t have to hang out with your stupid boyfriend all the time, right?”
Addison smiled and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I guess not.” She stood and pulled us both toward her for a hug.
I was flooded with emotion. I didn’t understand how it was possible for girls I’d only known for a few months to be so kind when my best friend since childhood could go and sleep with my boyfriend behind my back. I knew that Addi and Parker were different, but they were the kind of friends I always knew I needed. I just hoped that Lance could mend his wounded pride sooner rather than later because even though they agreed to skip hanging out with the guys to hang out with me, I knew they wouldn’t always do that. At some point, there would be some event that they all wanted to attend. I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to go with them until Lance and I worked things out.
For the most part,the next few days passed at a normal pace rather than dragging. I kept myself busy during the day with school, then I would pick up Sophia, and she’d keep me busy most of the evening. Once she went to bed, I focused on homework, getting things done around the house, showering, and getting to bed to do it all again the next day.
Lance was avoiding me, and because of that, I didn’t hang out with Addi and Parker as much as I usually would. I didn’t go outdrinking as I did with them, and my grades were improving since I had nothing else to do but study. Roman was avoiding me, too. He didn’t come home. He didn’t call or text.
It wasn’t until I finally gave up on seeing him that he walked in the door the following Thursday night. Sophia was in the kitchen with me as we prepared a pizza from scratch. She was covered in flour from making the dough when Roman walked in.
He stopped the moment he entered the kitchen. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re making pizza!” Sophia yelled, smiling from ear to ear.
He chuckled. “I see that.” He started walking over. “It looks like you’re making a mess.”
“Well, that too,” I agreed, using a damp cloth to wipe the flour from Sophia’s face.
“What are you doing? What time were you planning on taking off?”
I looked over at him to find him checking the time on his watch. “What do you mean?”
He stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. “I mean, it’s Thursday. It’s your night off. I thought you’d be going out or something.”
I shook my head. “Nope, no plans.” I helped Sophia down from the chair she was standing on at the island. “Go on and play while I put the pizza in the oven and clean up this mess,” I told her.
She ran across the room and out into the living room, where she started dancing to the theme song of the cartoon playing on the TV.
“I came home to take over for you. Go ahead with your plans.”
I picked up the pizza and slid it into the oven. “Seriously, I’m not going out.”
“Why not?” He crossed his arms over his broad chest.
“Because.”
When I glanced at him, I saw the way he was looking at me: like he was waiting for a better answer than that.
“Because things are weird right now with my friends and me, okay?”
“And by weird, you mean…”
“I mean, Lance asked me out, and I told him no. So, now he’s mad at me. Every time he sees me coming, he walks off. Trevor does too because he’s friends with Lance. And then the girls can only hang out with me when the guys aren’t around because Addi wants to be with Trevor, and Trevor doesn’t want to piss off his buddy by picking his girlfriend over a frat brother. Everything is screwed up.” I started wiping down the countertop, my throat tight.
When I glanced up at Roman, I could tell by the look on his face that he was sorry he had asked. He pursed his lips and then nodded toward the door. “I’m going to go get cleaned up for dinner.” He started toward the stairs.
“Wait. You’re staying?”
