If I’ve learned anything in the last few years of being her friend, it’s to embrace unpredictability. At any moment, she might decide to leave, stay longer, change plans, or even throw up…you never really know. And if you want to be her friend, you just have to roll with it.
The more often she does things that challenge her, the better she gets. Usually.
I step out of the shower and get dressed for church before I go downstairs to have breakfast. The smell of bacon wafting upstairs has my mouth watering. Mom makes breakfast every morning, but Sundays always have a little more variety compared to the rest.
Mom looks to me as she places a plate of pancakes in the center of the table between my dad and my sister, Harper.
“You were out late,” she says.
I take a sip of coffee. “Yeah. Took me longer than I thought and I just wanted to get it done.”
“Addison was over, wasn’t she?” Harper asks, hiding a smile behind her coffee mug.
“Yeah? But that’s not why it took longer,” I lie. I would’ve been wrapped up in half the time, but Addison distracts me. Her jokes, problems, or whatever else she starts.
“Sure,” Harper says with a smug grin, but I ignore it. She’s annoying. Always trying to get us together.
* * *
“Wait. Let me get this straight,” Mom interrupts from the passenger seat. “Addison cancelled on her boyfriend to come watch you work on a tractor?” She looks over her shoulder at me.
“…Yeah?” She does stuff like that all the time, comes over to watch or sometimes helps.
“But instead of seeing herboyfriend?”
“She was anxious. If Addie’s anxious, she doesn’t go,” I remind my mother.
Addison’s anxiety can be pretty intense. I hadn’t ever witnessed it take place until we got to high school. Sophomoreyear, Valentine’s dance. I had no idea what was going on with her at first and it was kinda terrifying. I remember it like it was yesterday.
Three Years Ago
For a bunch of small-town redneck kids, we sure do clean up nice. I pan across the gymnasium, watching the lights flash along to the beat of the loud music. Most of the juniors and seniors are on the dance floor. Being a sophomore without a date has left me with nowhere near enough confidence or desire to join. I meander back towards the snack table and catch a glimpse of one of the doors opening.
Seeing that long, wavy brunette head of hair is a dead giveaway. It’s Addison Jennings.
My breath catches for a second, my heart picking up its pace for reasons I don’t want to think too hard about. She’s my best friend, after all. But damn, she looks good.
She’s wearing a knee-length, fitted, sparkly red dress. I’ve seen her in plenty of dresses at church but never something this formal. She looks a little out of character for sure, but…amazing.
I swallow hard and put one foot in front of the other, walking towards her. I ignore the feeling of the walls closing in around me.
“Hey. You just getting here?” I glance up at the clock above the door. She’s fifteen minutes late, which is unheard of. She’s usually fifteen minutes early to everything.
“Yeah. I wasn’t going to come but my parents practically forced me out the door.”
“Oh, why didn’t you want to come?”
“I don’t know.” She crosses her arms and struggles to look atme. “Party scenes like this…the unknown…” She looks around at everyone and everything that’s going on.
“I can assure you, no one’s gotten out of hand”—I pause—“yet.”
“Not funny,” she says with a shallow breath, her eyes still rapidly looking all around the gym.
“Sorry. You wanna hang out with me? I was going to get something to eat.” I gesture at the food table.
“No. No.” She waves a hand and shifts her weight, getting the table out of her sight. I watch her bring her hands up to her waist, her chest expanding as she takes a deep breath. Her entire body is tense, stiff. It’s like she’s not even here.
I step closer to her. “Are you okay?”
