“I’m sorry,” Avery said. “I’m just selfish. I was so pissed at you. I couldn’t see anything but my own problems. And they’re not even a big fucking deal compared to being hit by your dad! Cadence . . .”
She jumped up from the chair and pounced on her friend, hugging Cadence so hard that she heard her bones pop. But she wouldn’t let go. She couldn’t. She had to show Cadence how much she loved her and was sorry for being absent. Even if it hurt.
Cadence cried into Avery’s shoulder, clutching her just as hard, feeling a different kind of freedom from what she had just explained to Oliver. This was good freedom—uplifting and healing. And it lit her up, set her skin on fire in all the places her body touched her friend’s.
Freedom. And forgiveness.
Cadence pulled back and grabbed tissues from the end table. She handed one to Avery, then blew her nose.
“Will you tell me?” Cadence asked, watching Avery rub her eyes. Avery nodded.
“Your dad called my mom the night he confronted you. She and my dad stormed into my room and demanded my cell phone. I told you this already.”
Cadence nodded. “They found Gavin’s number.”
“Yeah.” Avery hung her head. “God, this is so embarrassing!”
Cadence took her friend’s hand.
“My dad called him, and since my name and picture show up on his cell phone, he answered by saying, ‘I was just thinking about you. I need my face between your legs.”
“Oh my God!” Cadence’s face burned bright red. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God . . .”
“Yeah, tell me about it,” Avery replied. She pulled her hand from Cadence’s and swept her bangs off her face. “I was mortified. Dad was mortified. I mean, he looked at me like I was filth.” She paused for a second then whispered, “Kinda like how your brother just looked at me.”
Cadence averted her eyes. “How did you know Gavin said that?”
“Because Dad had the phone on speaker.”
Cadence shook her head. “What happened next?”
“Dad didn’t reply. He just hung up and said to me, ‘You’re done’.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Done dating Gavin.”
“You’re an adult!”
Avery snorted. “Yeah.”
“What does that mean? You are an adult, Avery. You can date whoever you want.”
Avery looked defeated. “No, Cadence.”
“What do you mean, no? I don’t understand why—”
“Stop,” Avery interrupted. “And just listen to me for a second.”
Cadence closed her mouth.
“Do you honestly think Gavin could take care of me? I mean, if I told my parents to go to hell and then ran away? You think he could take care of me?”
Cadence blinked.
“I’m not an idiot. I don’t care that I’m nineteen. I know I can’t take care of myself. I didn’t even have a job until three weeks ago! I don’t make enough money to live on my own, pay for school, pay for a car, pay for—”
“Gavin would help you! You would figure it out together!” Cadence said.
“No. No, we wouldn’t. It was fun being with him because it was dishonest and sneaky, and because he didn’t have to worry about actually having to take care of me. My parents did all that. He just showed me a fun time.”
“But I thought you were head over heels for him,” Cadence said quietly.
Avery thought for a moment. “I . . . I was. But I realized I have to do what’s best for me.”
“And what’s that? Letting your parents control you when—”
“No. Using my parents until I don’t need them anymore,” Avery replied.
“What?”
“I need their money to go to school. I need them to help me pay my car insurance. That’s fine. I’ll live at home while I go to school. I’ll let them give me a curfew—”
“At nineteen?!”
“—I’ll let them dictate who I can see,” Avery continued, ignoring her friend. “And once I don’t need them anymore, I’ll leave.” She drew in her breath long and slow. “And I’ll never speak to them again.”
“Avery,” Cadence breathed.
Avery looked Cadence square in the face. “It’s not ideal, and it makes me rage inside, but I’ll do it. Because I’m not foolish.”
Cadence bristled. “I’m not foolish.”
“I wasn’t implying you were. Your situation is totally different from mine. Your dad hit you. You had no choice. Plus, Mr. Connelly is older. And not a complete idiot like Gavin. He’ll take care of you and protect you. Gavin would never do that.”
Cadence nodded. “But you’ll be unhappy at home.”
“I already am unhappy. But I don’t care. I know what I’m doing is smart. I just have to be careful with you. We’ll have to be careful when we see each other.”
Cadence panicked. Avery saw and grabbed her hand.
“You know my parents would flip if they knew I was hanging out with you.”
It was senior year all over again. But instead of Gracie’s parents telling her she couldn’t be friends with Cadence, it was now Avery’s. She felt sick to her stomach.
“I’m not a bad person!” she screamed.
“I know.”
“This is bullshit!”
“I know.”
“You’re nineteen!”
“I know.”
“Why don’t you just live with us?” Cadence asked.
Avery laughed. “You want us to remain friends?”
“Yes.”
“Okay then. No.”