Briana rolled out of bed at two in the afternoon, a headache giving her grief. She wandered out of her room and groaned at the sight that met her in the rest of the apartment.
Plastic cups and paper plates littered every surface, and just as she’d predicted, the carpet was a mess of spilled drink and food. Some moron had even used one of her favorite Aggie mugs as an ashtray. Gross.
She went into the kitchen and grimaced at the mess in there, but figured it was best to focus on one thing at a time. She grabbed a trash bag to get started in the living room.
She was about halfway done cleaning up when Kara came strolling in through the front door.
“Hey, Bree, you’re up. Thanks for getting started in here. I just ran out to get some provisions,” she stated, holding out a to-go coffee cup.
“Oh, thank God,” Briana exclaimed, grabbing the cup and drinking as if her life depended on it.
Kara chuckled. “I knew that would brighten up your day. Gosh, what a bunch of slobs, huh? I can’t believe this place looks so nasty. I’ll just put these muffins in the kitchen and help you out.”
“Wait… there are muffins? The kitchen is just as bad. You don’t want to put them in there. We’d better just eat them now.” Briana grabbed for the bag that Kara was keeping just out of reach.
Kara laughed again and took out a steaming banana nut muffin, Briana’s favorite.
“I’ll give you this on one condition.”
“Anything,” Briana said.
“We don’t mention what happened last night with Pete. Like, ever.”
“Deal,” she said, grabbing the muffin and finding a clean corner of the couch to sit on.
Kara sat on the edge of the hope chest and began nibbling on her blueberry muffin.
“What happened to you last night?” she asked. “Kent was looking for you, but I had no idea where you went.”
“After that weird girl from my Literary Dimensions on Film class dropped her bomb on me, I kinda disappeared for the night.”
Kara sat up, looking interested. “Do tell.”
“I shouldn’t have let it get to me, but she told me that Colin is moving home for good. Or, I guess he already did, a couple days ago.”
“Get out. I noticed you were gone when I came out of my room last night.” Kara just looked at Briana. “At first I figured you were with Kent, but then he came up to me and asked where you were. I didn’t know and I didn’t see you in your room, so I told him so. He hung out for a bit and then I lost track of him. I wondered if you two had ever hooked up. Wow. So…Colin, huh?”
“Yeah. I was on the roof. I just couldn’t stand the thought of that girl watching me and waiting for me to break down or react to her news. She was so excited to tell me, you know? It just pissed me off.”
“You should have told her to get lost,” Kara said, getting angry for her. “It’s our place. She can take her gossiping ass someplace else.”
Briana laughed. Kara always made her feel better when she was down.
“Anyway, I stayed out there most of the night. I wasn’t in the mood to see Kent, especially when I was thinking so much about Colin.” Briana was starting to lose her appetite.
“Look, I know this town is small as hell, and you’re going to run into him. But, Bree, it’s been four years. You’re a grown woman with a job, and apartment, and a hot man at your beck and call. You don’t need his shit. Just ignore him.”
Kara had never met Colin. She moved to town their senior year, after he left for school, and they had been best friends ever since. She never knew Briana and Colin as a couple; she just saw how Briana was affected after he left. She wasn’t his biggest fan.
“That’s easier said than done, Kara. That girl said that he was going to be working for his daddy. That means he’ll be working right down the street and he’s gonna come in to eat all the time.” The thought made Briana’s stomach hurt even more.
“Stop, Bree. You’re not seventeen anymore. Let him eat where he wants. Don’t let him bother you. You have the upper hand here.”
“You’re right. I know you are. I’m just scared to see him. It’s been so long. What if when I see him I feel just like I did when he left? I never want to feel that way again,” Briana said softly, looking up at Kara and hating how pathetic she sounded.
“Then don’t,” Kara said sternly. “In fact, we’ve spent enough time on the topic already. Let’s finish cleaning this pigsty up so we can relax a bit before work tonight.”
“Okay.”