Unfortunately, Brooke kept her pantry empty, and refrigerator too. There was honestly a half-gallon of milk inside and a handful of Chinese take-out cartons; that was it.
“Ugh,” Brooke moaned, as she staggered into the kitchen, holding her head. She peeked her eyes out through a space between her fingers. “I haven’t shopped for food in weeks. Sorry.” She melted into one of the kitchen chairs and laid her chin on the table. Her eyes were weighted down with heavy dark circles, and the shiner she got at work the other day was now a bright purplish-yellow.
“I don’t remember you having more than four drinks last night. Did you grow up to be a lightweight?” I asked, grabbing an empty cup from the dish rack and making her some coffee.
Her eyes followed my movements, but she didn’t respond until she drank more than three quarters of the cup I poured her. She shook her head slowly. “No, it’s not that. My ex kept calling me last night.”
“Why didn’t you shut your phone off?” I demanded, stunned.
Her chin dipped down as she winced, “I wanted to hear what he had to say.”
“So, what did he say?” I asked, slowly, folding my arms over my chest.
She slid down in the chair, and hugged the coffee cup to her chest. “He wants to get back together. He misses me. Things like that.”
“You don’t look happy though,” I said.
She shrugged half-heartedly and gave me a polite smile, “I’m just tired. I need to catch up on sleep.” She sipped again at her coffee and tilted her head to the side, “Anyway, what was going on with you and Dean last night? You guys looked pretty close.”
“So did you and Ryan,” I smiled at her and changed subject.
“He’s sort of arrogant and pushy. I think I hate him,” she said, sipping lightly at her coffee.
“But, he’s really attractive,” I added, smiling at her.
“Yes. Really attractive. Too bad he couldn’t just keep his stupid mouth closed and just sit and look pretty,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“He’s that bad? I thought he was pretty funny.”
“Ew, no. He’s one of those guys who takes penis enlargement pills,” she said, smirking.
“What?” I asked, curiously.
“It’s got to be true, because every time I see him he’s a bigger dick than he was the day before,” she grinned, topping it off with a quick wink.
I burst out laughing. “I completely fell into that one. Didn’t see it coming.”
She leaned her elbows back on the table, set down her coffee, and plucked down her chin on her hands. “So… What are you doing today?”
I sighed, placing my coffee cup in the sink. “Straightening up the rest of the witch’s things and waiting for the handyman to put in a new door.” I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Then I’m leaving.”
Her posture straightened, and her hands dropped flat onto the table. “Oh no! Please stay another night or two.Please. I miss having a girl around to talk to. Don’t you have a few more days until school starts again?”
My chest tightened. I liked being with her too. We were so close as kids. I didn’t remember ever having one fight or one disagreement with her, ever.
“Come on, please?” she said, making a sad face.
I answered her with a small nod, “Maybe another night.”
She stretched out her legs and smiled wide, “Good. Yay, I’m excited. Do you want me to help you at your mom’s?”
“No!” I blurted, waving my hands. “God, no. I don’t want anyone else cleaning up that woman’s messes.”
“Liv,” she said, getting up and lightly touching my forearm. “Me and you? We’ve been doing that since you were little.” She sighed deeply and gave me a thoughtful expression. “Remember the time when we found her in the backseat of that abandoned car with only her bra and panties on?”
I winced at the memory. We were only ten, and I hadn’t seen her for two days. She missed my class play, but the Furys were there to whistle and clap for me when I was on stage. “We woke her up and took her inside.”
She pulled me into her shoulder, hugging me. “We fed her. Then, you cleaned up her vomit as I washed the towels and stuff in my mom’s washer.”
