“Okay!”
Avery thought for a moment. “Oliver isn’t gonna get all messed up again now that he knows about Charlie, is he?”
“I don’t think so,” Cadence said. “I imagine now he’s afraid of alcohol.”
“Are you?” Avery asked, eyeing Cadence carefully.
“Not yet,” Cadence admitted. She looked at Avery suddenly. “What? You think I abuse alcohol or something?”
Avery shrugged. “It’s one thing to joke about it.”
“But you think I really have a problem?”
“I don’t know. I just know that you’re using it to dull your pain, but it’s turning you aggressive and hateful. Those aren’t your normal characteristics. Usually you’re silly and happy.”
Cadence nodded.
“I’m not judging you. And I probably wouldn’t say a damn thing about it if you were a happy drunk.”
“Sometimes I am,” Cadence pointed out.
“Yeah, but that girl hasn’t come around lately.”
Silence.
“Thank you for telling me the truth,” Cadence whispered.
“Will it make a difference?”
“Sure. I think so.”
Avery wasn’t convinced. She worried that it would take a major event to change Cadence’s perspective, to heal her broken heart. She hoped Oliver’s accident would be the wake-up call, but it didn’t work. Perhaps the major event had to involve Cadence herself, and suddenly Avery’s heart filled with fear. She couldn’t survive without her friend. They had become inextricably linked—two lonely girls who found friendship in a most unconventional way. And there was no way in hell Avery would allow something to sever that bond.
She prayed that evening. She prayed for Cadence’s heart. She prayed for Cadence’s future with Mark. And she never once prayed for herself.
“Hello?” Mark said into the phone.
“It’s Avery.”
His heart dropped.
“Cadence is staying with Carrie tonight. She told me.”
Mark let out his breath.
“I figured she didn’t bother to call and let you know.”
“No,” Mark said quietly. “She didn’t.”
Avery paused before continuing.
“I know she’s being a little bitch right now.”
Mark said nothing.
“I told her to grow the fuck up. It’s like I’m always telling her to grow the fuck up.”
That made him smile.
“Although you did have a wife, and kept it from her, and carried around this HUGE secret, and hate babies—”
“Yes, Avery.” Mark sighed patiently.
“Look, I’m not trying to be all up in your business—”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing,” he interrupted.
“Well, whatever. The point is that she’s hurting, and she doesn’t know how to handle it.”
“I know.”
“And you could have been a little less heartless about it when she confronted you with her discovery.”
“I apologized.”
“Saying ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t enough. In fact, let’s just make a rule, okay? ‘I’m sorry’s’ blow, and you’re not ever allowed to use them again.”
“Then what am I supposed to say to her, Avery? Huh?” Mark felt his temper rising.
“I didn’t say you were supposed to say a thing. Why don’t you show her how sorry you are?”
“Haven’t I been? I’ve given her space. I’ve been understanding. I’ve let go of all the hurtful things she’s said and done to me.”
Avery paused.
“Look, I think you’re a really great guy. I know you love Cadence to death. If you didn’t, I wouldn’t let her be with you. I would have never barged into your classroom that afternoon. Remember?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Maybe this’ll just take time. But I’m worried about her. I won’t lie.”
“Me, too.”
“I’ll keep calling and texting you when I know where she is. I won’t leave you hanging.”
“Thank you.”
Avery asked a few questions about math at the end of the conversation. Mark chuckled when he hung up. That was completely Avery—concerned for others, but always thinking of herself first. At least she waited until the end to ask, though.
He couldn’t help but recall the conversation they had in his classroom that prompted him to seek out Cadence at the movie theatre last year. That fateful evening that changed the course of their relationship and their relationships with others.
Avery tore open the door and stormed over to Mark’s desk. She dropped her purse and book bag on the floor, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared. Mark blinked—a silent invitation for her to speak.
“Grow the fuck up, Mr. Connelly,” she spat.
“I’m sorry?”
She placed her hands on the edge of his desk and leaned in. “Grow. Up.”
He took a deep breath. “Avery, I have a lot of grading to do—”
“Oh, get real! Is that, like, your go-to line whenever you’re uncomfortable? You know you’re in love with my best friend. I catch you looking at her all the time. You’re not even good at hiding it. I’m surprised you haven’t already been fired. But whatever. So don’t care about that. I care about Cadence.”
He said nothing as he rolled his chair backwards, putting space between them.