Chapter Thirty-Nine

Cat

It was raining. I was going to go food shopping with my mum however as soon as she looked out the window, she decided what we had in the cupboard could last us a few more days. Instead, I sat in my bed with an illustrator book I'd borrowed from Travis, he had a ton of them he used to inspire his own work and honestly he was better than me so copying what worked for him was the only real strategy I had right now.

Alice was sat opposite me reading her own book, one of her favourites with plenty of teenage angst. I used to read them too, we have a large collection in our room that we shared, a sort of mini library only we could draw from. I rarely found the time to read for fun anymore, though I did miss the escape it gave me.

Alice tucked a bookmark in her book and closed it, setting it down beside her with a sigh. "Why are dramatic relationships so interesting?" she asked.

I peered at her over the top of a page of a forest drawing of mythical creatures. "Yours isn't," I replied.

Alice narrowed her eyes. "Isn't dramatic, or isn't interesting?"

"Isn't interesting," I said giving her a half smile. "It's dramatic enough though. Just look at the last few weeks, that boy has the attitude of a scorned troll and everywhere he goes destruction and chaos follow."

"He's not like that," she retorted, grabbing her mug of tea off her bedside table.

I scoffed. "Last week he got a detention for knocking a boy over in PE, and do you know how I know that?" I asked, not waiting for a reply I said, "He didn't just knock him to the ground, the guy was full on unconscious, he had to be carried through the halls to the nurse's office. Everybody saw."

Alice gripped her tea in both hands, staring down into the mug. "Well he's different with me, he only gets angry when I'm being a bitch."

"So, like all the time?" I offered with a smirk. When she didn't laugh with me, I quickly backtracked. "Seriously though, you're not a bitch. Does he...does he ever get angry with you like that?"

"No." She said it so quickly that I instantly didn't believe her.

"That sounds like a lie."

She sighed heavily and looked up from her tea at me. "We're fine. Honestly the only time he's a bit mean is when I've been awful too. I guess we balance each other out."

"Uh huh," I said, uncertain whether I believed her. Before I could press her further my phone began to ring. My initial reaction was to ignore it and then text the caller asking what they wanted, because I rarely actually answered my phone and spoke to people, that's what texting was for. But when I peered at the caller and saw it was Addie, I jumped off my bed and ran out of the room to answer it. Closing the bedroom door behind me so that Alice couldn't hear, I clicked the answer button and lifted the phone to my ear.

"Do you know how disturbing it is that you're calling me instead of texting me? Are you actually from the nineteen-sixties? I honestly can't believe you're actually a teenager."

"If I'm disturbing for calling, then you're seriously creepy for answering," Addie replied, not missing a beat.

I smiled into the receiver. "What do you want Addie? I'm a busy girl and you are cutting into my creativity time"

She laughed her jingle bell laugh and I heard the sound of a car door closing in the background. "That's actually why I'm calling, I have a new plan to inspire you and I've just got in the car to come pick you up."

"You drive?"

"There's no need to be so surprised, I'm accomplished in many things. Anyway, that's beside the point, give me your address so I can sweep you off your feet."

I felt my heart skip a beat. I breathed through it. Addie was forever messing with me. "Why don't I meet you at that café you took me to, and you can grab me from there. It'll be easier to find than my house is." A complete lie. It wouldn't be hard for me to direct her to my house, we lived near lots of well-known places, but I couldn't have her here, if she met my family there would be questions. It wasn't that I was embarrassed by her or anything, anyone that met Addie would instantly love her I knew that, but I just didn't know how to explain who she was.

Addie paused and I heard her start her car engine. "Alrighty, I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Ok see you there," I said hanging up the phone and bursting back into the bedroom.

Alice almost jumped out of her skin. "Jesus Christ Cat, you almost gave me a frickin heart attack." She tipped her head back, drinking her tea.

"No time for that," I said dashing to the mirror on our dresser and taking a look at myself. "How do I look; do I look ok?" I asked, spinning to face her.

Alice choked on her tea, spraying a mist of it in front of her. Her eyes widened at me. "I don't think you've ever asked me that before," she hesitated, squinting at my face she finally said, "You look clean and pretty."

"Clean and pretty?" I repeated.

"Yes, I mean like fresh-faced," she said nodding slowly. "What's going on?"

"Nothing much, I've gotta go though I'm in a rush. See you later," I said, waving as I scurried out of the bedroom.

The inside of Addie's car was exactly how I would have envisioned it, had I known she even had a car. She had various obscure bobble heads stuck to her dashboard, a dreamcatcher hanging from her rear-view mirror and panda shaped cushions on the car seats.

I plonked myself down right on the face of the panda on the passenger seat and turned to her. "Are you taking me out of town?" I asked.

She threw me a look. "I am not going to murder you, now put on your seatbelt."

"Yes of course Miss Bouncer," I said, pulling the seatbelt around me.

She leaned back in her seat, regarding me carefully. "You look real cute today," she said, then turned back to the road and pulled away. "I don't think I'll tell you where we're going, I prefer surprising you, it's more fun."

***Another part up, yay! It's my birthday tomorrow so I probably won't get one done, but we shall see how we get on, birthday quarantine is a new thing for me haha. Loved this Chapter? Please vote and definitely comment below***