I N D I G O
Finally lunch time arrived and I met the girls out at the oak tree they told me about. We laid in the grass and they started talking about boys. My heart began hammering in my chest as my mind willfully drifted to Milo. He was so easy to talk to, to be myself around. He made me forget about the hell I call home.
"What's up with you and Jake?," I asked Vera, her eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets.
"What?! Nothing!," she shrieked.
I noticed Em roll her eyes as she mouthed 'yeah okay' in my direction. I bit the inside of my cheek to stop from bursting into a fit of laughter.
"Ugh, okay so I may have a crush," Vera blurted out.
I snapped my head up to focus my attention on her. She wouldn't tell just anyone that. Maybe we are friends.
"Why don't you tell him? It's clear he likes you too," I stated firmly, remembering the way they acted at Cora's coffee shop.
"What? How would you know that?," she asked as her cheeks began to redden.
"The way he looks at you," I said while shrugging my shoulders as if to say it was so obvious.
"I-I never noticed," she stuttered out. This girl who always oozes with confidence was clearly nervous and I felt like I needed to help encourage her self esteem. Nobody should feel less than what they are, and Vera was a beautiful soul.
"Vera, you're extremely pretty. To add onto it, you have a wonderful personality. Any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you on their arm. And if Jake doesn't think so then he's a total idiot," I smiled at the end of my rant knowing that all of it was the truth.
"Wow... thank you, Indie," she replied, smiling like a kid who just got a cookie.
"Now that we've covered your love dilemma, let's move on to hers," Em stated while pointing at me.
"What?! What l-love dilemma do I have?!," I squeaked out.
"Really?," they both asked in unison.
"Babe... you and Milo," Em said in a 'duh' tone.
I blinked at her a couple of times, trying to convince myself I didn't hear her correctly. And then, I started to laugh. Almost hysterically. There were tears rolling down my cheeks due to how hard I was howling at this point.
When I was done with my moment, I looked up to seeing both girls just stating at me with their mouths hung open.
"Holt shit... you're serious?," I asked, not understanding why they would even think such a thing. Milo is a perfect ten, while I am a pathetic one. And that's being generous on my part with a scale of zero to ten.
"Indie hun, I don't understand. I thought you liked my brother, at least a little..." Vera said, bringing me out of my thoughts.
"Oh no, I do. How could I not? He was created by the Gods themselves. And he's funny, charming, kind--" I stopped when I realized what I was saying out loud.
"So, then why'd you laugh like that? It was almost like the idea was completely absurd?," Em asked, sounding as if she was trying to figure out the answer before I could even tell her.
"Because it is, Em. No guy like Milo would ever want a piece of shit like me," I spat out, the harshness in my voice was beyond evident.
"Oh Indie..."
I didn't want to look at them. Truthfully, I wish I never came to this damn tree. Vera and Em... talking to them, it's like I have no filter. I forget to think before I speak, and eventually it's going to get me in trouble.
I felt a hand on my leg which made me absentmindedly look up to see Vera with tears in her eyes.
"Is that what you think of yourself?," she choked out.
I let my head drop back down, talking myself out of breaking down.
"Indie, I have no clue why you would think this at all. But let me assure you that you have the most natural beauty and you're an absolute delight to be around. Just like you told Vera, any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you. And I can promise you, Milo thinks the same," Em said while rubbing my back.
I looked up, my vision blurred by my tears. How did I get so lucky to have met these two? Are they right? Could Milo really want someone like me?
Then it dawned on me. Maybe he wants the girl I show him. But if he ever truly knew how impure and weak I was... he would change his mind.
I hugged them both before going to my next class. We all agreed that was a rather emotional lunch but they promised the sleep over would be nothing but fun, which reminded me that I had lied to them. I knew asking Jim was out of the question.
The day had ended and I made my way home feeling rather depressed about not being able to hang out with everyone this weekend. If Jim even caught wind that I had a single friend, I'd be ripped out of Willow High and forced to do home-schooling again. At this point, I'm not even sure how sad I am versus angry.
I made my way through the house heading up to my room when a note on the fridge caught my eye. Intrigued, I made my way over to it.
Out of town. I'll be back Monday.
To say I was overjoyed would be an understatement. No Jim all weekend! No abuse for three whole days! I began doing a happy dance but stopped abruptly when the pains hit me like a ton of bricks. Then I remembered the invite from the girls. I could have my first sleep over... I could potentially have a typical teenager night.
I walked to my room and threw some clothes in my bag, not really caring what I chose. I don't have a large selection so it doesn't truly matter.
I pulled out my cheap phone as well as my notebook that contained the girls' numbers. I texted both of them at the same time letting them know my dad said I could go. I got up from my bed and walked into the bathroom deciding to take another shower before going over there.
After drying my hair, I walked over to my phone to see if I had any missed texts. Vera and Em had both replied telling me to 'get my ass' over there.
I dabbed on concealer to hide my bruises and put on a choker to help with the marks around my neck. Then tossed on a loose half-sleeved black sweater and some denim ripped skinny jeans, slipping on my vans before grabbing my bag and board at the door.
After skating for about twenty minutes, I arrived at a giant, black iron gate with a speaker box on the left hand side. I hesitantly pressed the button which made a buzzer noise.
A monotone voice sounded through the little box, "Name?"
"Uh... I-Indigo Carter..." I stuttered.
Another buzzer noise rang out and the gate began to open. I walked up the path and came into view of the most beautiful house-- scratch that... mansion.
There were five men dressed in black from head to toe scattered across the front lawn with guns. I should've been scared but for some reason I wasn't. They wouldn't harm me, I trust the Santino's. I startled myself with that natural thought.
I trust them...
One of the men from the lawn broke my train of thoughts as he walked up to me, guiding me towards the front door. He opened it for me and led me into the living room where I could hear Vera and Em playfully arguing.
"I don't want to watch an action movie!," Vera whined.
"Well I don't want to watch a romance either, you twat!," Em shouted back.
"What if we watch a film with both instead?," I chimed in before they could kill each other.
Both girls snapped their head in my direction.
"Thank God you're here!," Em cried out. "This chick was gonna drive me mad!," she said while pointing at Vera, who was pouting.
"Whatever," she replied cooly while tossing a pillow at Em's face.
I giggled at their childish exchange. They were like sisters and were always entertaining to watch.
We ordered pizza and then made popcorn after building a pillow fort. We ended up agreeing on a movie called Deadpool, because it apparently has romance in it but also a lot of action. I didn't mind, I was just excited to be invited.
When the movie was over, we cleaned up the empty pizza boxes and put the popcorn bowls in the sink. Then, Vera guided me to the game room which had a pool table and a bar at the far end. "Want anything to drink?," Vera asked.
"As in alcohol?," I questioned.
"Duh," Em chuckled.
"I've never tried it. I guess I'll have what you're having...," I stated, unsure if this was a wise choice.
"You've never drank before?!," Vera asked bewildedly.
I shook my head.
"Hm, we'll start you with something easy then," Em said as she reached over the bar for a glass bottle with pink liquid in it.
"It's a wine cooler. More fruity with not much alcohol," she said as she handed me the bottle.
I twisted the top off and took a sip, both girls sat awaiting my judgement call.
"Mm, it's actually pretty good," I said.
"Alright then, party on!," Vera sang.
The night continued on as we casually drank and played board games. I was having the best time of my life. Being around them was my own personal escape, which I instantly deemed as selfish but who could blame me?
Just as I was getting rather comfortable, I heard the sound of multiple footsteps headed towards us. The door swung open to reveal the infamous 'bad boys' yet again. Milo was the first to enter while the others stood behind him.
"Vera, what are you doing?," Milo asked, authority dripping on his every word.
"Uh... drinking?," she said while waving her bottle in the air.
"Why?," he asked while looking directly at me.
"Because we can. And besides, Indie's never drank before. I'd rather her try it here with us than somewhere else," she replied with a smirk, as if knowing she won the discussion.
To confirm my thoughts, his shoulders relaxed in defeat while his gaze still remained on me. I could feel the hairs rising on the back of my neck as the goosebumps trailed up my spine, making me squirm uncomfortably in my seat.
"Then I guess we'll have to join you guys," he said playfully while taking a seat next to me at the table.
What did I get myself into?
P L E A S E • V O T E