come visit instead of this fuckwad standing next to me?"
I feigned a smile. "You know I don't."
"I will admit that I've been here more lately since they came home for winter break two weeks ago, but that's it. Girl, I missed you, but I don't miss you that much where I need to sleep in your bed and shit and be close to your brother to feel close to you. What the fuck?" I relaxed, laughing at the expression on her face. "That's some psycho shit right there."
"As much as I'm loving this cozy little reunion, I gotta dip."
Before Xavier could leave, I called out his name. "What's with the bruise and cut?"
He tilted his head and gave me a side glance. At this angle, I could see he had dark circles under his eyes. He put up his fists and crouched down, pretending to box the air, throwing jabs and undercuts.
"Just fuckin' around with some friends."
Xavier walked away. I watched as he opened the door and a huge cloud of smoke slipped out.
We couldn't be more different if we tried.
I pulled Avery into a side hug. "So, how do you plan to get them back?" She chuckled. Avery was already scheming.
We walked back into my house, making plans for the day to look for a gala dress. I was beyond excited to hang out with my best friend. My stomach flittered with butterflies and happiness radiated from her just as it did me. This time at home was going to be exactly what I needed. It had been many months since we got to hang out, being so far from Avery was way harder than I had expected.
I changed my clothes while Avery caught me up on all the drama at her school and how she worked her way up to cheer captain. I knew she'd make the team. When Avery set her mind to something, it was extremely rare she didn't achieve it. As she rambled on, I put on a little makeup and curled the ends of my hair. Despite praising myself on not being like one of the Gucci squad kids, I still had to keep up my appearance. I was fortunate, my parents gave me a lot, and doing something as simple as playing the part for them was something I could suck up and do.
Stepping back, I assessed myself in the mirror. I had gotten used to rolling out of bed and not having to get dolled up for anything that I'd forgotten how much I missed it. It was amazing how far a little mascara and nice clothes could go.
Just as we were about to leave, Mom walked out of Dad’s home office and took in my appearance.
"Ana, much better," she said proudly, her eyes glittering. "Please make an appointment with Sasha to have your hair and makeup done for both the gala and New Year's Eve party. You two can go together," she said, waving her fingers between me and Avery. "I don't know if you’ve made any friends back in Cape Coral, but if you'd like to invite them, you're more than welcome to. They can stay in our guest house if it's okay with their parents."
"I have a few friends I could invite and I'm sure their parents wouldn't mind if they come here, seeing as they live alone." She gave me a perplexed look and I answered her question. "It's Holly and Hayden, they’re twins. I think I'll invite them since we’ve all became pretty good friends. Thanks, Mom." I smiled cheerfully, thinking back to the time Hayden said he wanted to come visit.
"Why don't you invite your coach too," Avery suggested brightly.
This bitch. I glared at her, counting all the ways I could rip out each strand of hair on her head. I cleared my throat and said, "I don't think—"
Dad appeared in the threshold, leaning casually against the door frame. "I've actually spoken to Konstantin already and invited them. He said he had to speak to Katja and check their schedules. I'll follow up with him today." He took a sip of his amber liquid.
"I'm sure he and Katja already have plans," Mom said.
"Mom's probably right," I quickly added. Anxiety crowded my stomach. Please, dear God, let them have plans. The last thing I wanted was Kova and Katja here.
Dad shook his head. "I'll give him a call now. They can stay in our other guest house, and if anything, Ana's friends can stay in a guest