We stare at one another for a few tense beats before I storm out and slam the door behind me. I was trying to be nice to her, and instead she bites my head off and makes me feel stupid.
God she pisses me off.
ten
CLAIRE
I stare out my window, watching the leaves blow in the wind and light flickering as it streams through the trees. The leaves are dancing against the sunlight, creating beautiful patterns on the floor of my room.
Things are peaceful, simple.
If I could hide in my room all day and be at peace like this all the time, I would be truly happy.
But that’s not reality. Reality is knowing that no matter what you do, your parents will always find something to hate about you. Reality is knowing that the moment you show your face, you’re going to feel guilty about losing your temper on Lucas last night.
My reality is that I’m a mess and I can’t do anything about it.
I turn over, expecting to see Steph’s stupid face in bed next to me, but instead I’m met with nothing. Where the hell is she?
I check the clock sitting on my bedside table, it’s only eleven, so I’m going to assume that she’s downstairs already.
I have mixed feelings about her disappearance, on one hand she isn’t assaulting me with a pillow and pissing me off first thing in the morning, but on the other… it means I can’t use her as my shield when I walk downstairs.
I’m really hoping that her and August hit it off, they’re hands down some of the best people I know, and I can only assume they had at least a couple conversations last night.
My bedroom door busts open, and I hear loud footsteps as someone runs over to my bed. I throw the blankets over my head and groan as they jump on top of me and start to suffocate me.
“Come on Claire bear, it’s time to get up. You’ve slept enough and we’re all looking forward to seeing that wonderful face of yours.” Blair’s voice bounces off my walls, definitely way too loud for someone I assume is hungover.
I groan again in response, trying to hint at the fact that I am not ready to leave the comfort of my own bed, but instead he rips the blankets off of me and jumps on top of me like I’m a fucking bouncy house. “If I get up will you stop heaving your body weight on top of me and leave me the fuck alone?” I snap.
“Well,someonestesty this morning” he laughs.
Maybe the court will be nice to me, maybe they wont sentence me to life in prison for murdering him if I give them the whole story.
“Shut up and get off of me you big oaf.”
He finally stops and helps me out of bed. Grabbing a hold of my hand, he swings it back and forth while dragging me downstairs.
I’m met with Steph, August, Miller and Lucas all pigging out on takeout from Estellas, the diner that Steph works at. She makes decent money, she doesn’t really need it though, Her parents are pretty wealthy, but she likes working.
She is far from spoiled, her parents did a good job raising her. She’s grateful for the things she has and works hard no matter what. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her take something for granted. She works hard for what she has, and seeing her bust her butt to make sure she doesn't have to rely on anyone, makes me proud.
I, on the other hand, don’t work. My parents don’t really like me, but they still send me an allowance every month. They’re more worried about their reputation than anything, so if someone found out their daughter was sporting anything less than designer clothing, they’d be embarrassed. I don’t really care about that kind of stuff, but it’s nice to have it stored off in my savings.
I see a couple extra boxes and take one, setting it on the counter before grabbing a red-bull from the fridge. I crack it open and take a sip, eyeing the group while they eye me right back. “What?” I ask, taking another sip to busy myself through the silence.
“How ya feeling this morning?” Lucas asks, a little too smug for my liking.
I hate that he’s making light of my bad mood yesterday. He should be pissed at me, not joking around and treating it like it was nothing.
“I feel fine thanks.” I try to keep my face neutral but I know that I definitely look a little annoyed, “I just need some food in me.”
The guy infuriates me. Like crawls under my skin, seeps into my bones, kind of infuriation. He’s just always so smug, constantly trying to prove a point and being a complete smart ass.
I open the takeout box, seeing the best fucking breakfast in town, and thanking my lucky stars that my best friend knows me so well. I have zero interest in talking to anyone right now, so I shove as much food into my mouth as possible and hope to god everyone ignores me.
Lucas is a dick, and while I’m sure he’s already told everyone about our little conversation last night… I don’t really want it to come up while I’m in the room.
