Surviving (Surrender 2)

“Basically he fucked me over. I saw him out one night when he told me he was working. I stayed out of his way thinking he must have gotten off earlier and wanted a few drinks. By the end of the night, there was a blond hanging all over him. I went to the bathroom, and when I came out, they were all over each other in the hallway.”

“You’re kidding me! What did you do?”

“I cleared my throat and interrupted them. He jumped back, but she kept holding onto him. I didn’t say anything. I left and have successfully avoided him since then.”

“You haven’t talked to him at all? When did this happen?” I drain my glass and feel the anger start to rise.

“Mid-July.”

“Ella! It’s November! That was four months ago, how do I not know this?”

“Rave, you were caught up in your own shit.”

I throw my head back against the couch. “It’s official; I’m the worst friend in the world.”

“No, I also didn’t tell you because Declan doesn’t know, and I don’t want him to find out. He’ll go into super big brother mode, and I’m not in the mood to deal with him.”

“I can understand that. But why did Will call today?”

“Raven, this isn’t the first time he’s tried to contact her. She’s bullheaded and won’t let him explain. He’s even stopped by and tried to talk to me.” Abbi tells me.

“Today for some reason I answered his call. He started off with sma

ll talk and then asked me if I would meet him for lunch this weekend. He asked that I let him explain, and if I still didn’t want to talk to him, he would leave me alone.”

Charlie gets the pitcher and refills all our drinks. I’m surprised she has been this quiet on the subject.

“I think you should talk to him. Maybe it was just a huge misunderstanding. God knows I’ve had a few dozen in the last year. Look at the messes I’ve created by not communicating.” I tell her.

“I told him I would let him know tonight. The thing is I really liked him. We never defined our relationship, but we hung out for like eight months. You guys remember I met him a year ago this month.”

We all shake our heads and finally Charlie speaks up. “Did you sleep with him?”

“Yeah, we had a pretty awesome sex life. Not at first, I mean our schedules were so sporadic, but once the semester ended, we spent a lot more time together. That’s why I was so hurt. She was all over him like a cheap tramp, and I felt used.”

“Listen Ella, I think you need to talk to him. Will Turner has never struck me as the kind of guy that would hang out with you for months and wait to have sex with you to turn around and cheat on you. I’m not trying to hurt your feelings but Will is pretty hot and has never had a problem with girls. He stuck around a long time with you. I’d bet there’s more to the story about that girl.” I reach over and squeeze her hand. Tears run down her cheeks.

“We all think you should talk to him. He’s been persistent, and if he’s got something to say, you should listen.” Abbi hugs her sister.

We talk her into texting him about lunch tomorrow and order dinner. I bring out the pictures of the girls in different dresses last weekend, and we compare them. I decided every girl can pick their own style, but the color is still up in question. After looking at everyone, I choose on the ocean blue color.

Ella ends up calling Will, and sets a time and place for tomorrow. She smiles brightly, and I realize I really am a shitty friend because it’s the first time she’s showed any emotion since I got home.

The doorbell rings and Charlie gets up to answer it. When she brings in the food, she goes pale. She drops it on the table and runs to the bathroom where we hear her throwing up. After about ten minutes, she joins us again and lays down on the sofa.

“Y’all go ahead and eat. Fucking Mike brought in sushi today for lunch, and I ate it. I knew it smelled foul, but I did anyways.”

“Gross Charlie, we still need to eat dinner.” Ella says.

“Sorry, girls, I’m going to go to bed. Rave, you may want to sleep with one of them. I feel terrible.” she gets up to leave, and we get plates.

As the night goes on, we drink way too much and watch the most recent season of Pretty Little Liars, including the Halloween show. Declan texts me when he gets home to tell me he is safe. I pass out on the sofa between Abbi and Ella and we sleep that way all night.

I wake up hearing Charlie throwing up in the bathroom again. There’s light coming from the shades in the living room. I throw the blanket off of me, to grab my toothbrush and head toward the half bath. When I’m done, I find Charlie in the kitchen crying.

“Honey, you want some tea or something?”

“No, I want to die.”