Chapter 26

Out of all the potential text messages I could have received today, I was not expecting the one I received while at Cody's house.

It's a message I've been waiting on for months.

"Macy?" I call out as I walk up the sidewalk. She's sitting on the front stoop, her brunette hair pulled up in a ponytail, and I can feel the nervous energy radiating off her.

Good. She should be nervous.

Her head pops up but before she has a chance to say anything, Cody is reaching for my hand. I watch as her gaze tracks the movement. "Wildflower—" he starts but doesn't finish.

Glancing over my shoulder, I find Cody staring at Macy while his jaw tightens. Turning into him, I reach up and kiss him. He pulls me into him and plants a longer kiss on my lips. "I'm good, Cody. Thanks for giving me a ride home."

He flicks his gaze over my shoulder and stares Macy down. "Call me later, babe."

Nodding my head, my lips find his cheek before I step away and start the much-needed conversation between my former roommate and close friend.

"I'm sorry for interrupting your Sunday, but I think it's time we hash things out. I really miss having you in my life Chloe."

I scoff, sliding past her and twisting the knob of our front door. Thankfully, it's unlocked as I push my way inside, Macy on my heels.

Brynn peeks her head out from the kitchen, and she smiles. "Hey, girl!" she greets Macy.

The two of them had a bit of a strained relationship, but somehow along the way the two of them have worked out their differences leaving me in the dark. But at the end of the day, Macy didn't screw over her friendship with Brynn the way she did with me.

My mind immediately flashes back to the last time the three of us were in the same room together.

"What's going on with you two?" Brynn asks from her spot on the couch.

My shoulders deflate at Brynn's question. My gaze leaves the TV, as I glance over at Brynn before finding Macy's eyes.

"We're just agreeing to disagree."

I watch Brynn's eyebrows form a V as confusion laces her face. "About?" she draws out.

"I have feelings for Cody," I rush out. "Macy knows. She's figured it out from watching me."

Brynn's face morphs into shock. I can only imagine how she's processing this news. It's not something I have ever openly broadcast with my friends. And hell, I don't even know if it's a crush. Macy can think whatever she wants, but it doesn't make it true. Maybe it's not a crush. Maybe the feeling I'm feeling is hatred.

I watch as Brynn is hesitant in her response, "Chloe, that's great. But I'm having trouble figuring out why you're mad at Macy?"

Shaking my head, I go to tell Brynn that it isn't what they think, but I don't have a chance before Macy interrupts me.

"She's mad at the way I called her out on it. I mean, it's so freaking obvious," Macy responds to the question before I have the chance. Standing from her spot, Macy turns to give me her entire attention. I can't help the feeling I want to cower under her glare. But I won't. I won't give her the satisfaction when she doesn't know the truth. "You stare at him like he hung the moon, but you're too childish to say anything. You act like a lost puppy. Either man up and tell him, or get over it."

"How about you just worry about your relationship with Gregg and stop worrying about me?" I snap, and anger courses through my body.

"Just go pack," I yell, dismissing Macy. "I'm done with you acting like you're so much better than me because you're in a relationship."

Macy plants her hands on her hips, chest heaving, as she stares me down. It's intimidating and reminds me of how a parent would scold a child. But I refuse to let her get to me.

She doesn't get to come into the house that we share, drop the bomb that she's moving out to take care of some guy she barely knows, and treat me like the dirt on the bottom of her shoes.

"Whatever, Chloe. Keep standing on the sidelines looking like a psycho stalker. I'm not the only one that's noticed." As those words leave her mouth, Macy storms out of the room while I sink onto the couch.

Screw her and screw this friendship. If she wants to act like a child, she can leave. I'm used to people turning their backs on me.

"I was going to make some lunch, but I can go upstairs to give you girls some privacy." My eyes widen as they snap to Brynn, her words interrupting my thoughts from the last time the three of us were in the same room. She meets my stare and gives a small shrug. "Or I can stay?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." The three of us gather around the kitchen table as silence fills the space.

"I miss this. I miss our friendship. I miss you—," Macy starts before pointing the last word at me. "Chloe."

Tracing the lines on the table, I don't look up when Macy stops talking. "I didn't cause this, Macy. You did."

"And I'm sorry for it." She reaches across the table resting her hand on mine which causes me to flinch. "You're right, and you have every right to be angry with me. I freaked out on you. It was all misplaced frustration, and unfortunately, you were the first one I saw."

"But I don't understand why you couldn't have taken five minutes to explain to me—to us"—I point my finger between me and Brynn—"what was going on? Instead, you turned on me. You used my feelings for Cody as an excuse to attack me."

I lean back in my chair and watch her process the words. Like Macy, I miss our friendship. Out of the three of us, Macy and I were the closest. Maybe that's why she poured her frustrations out on me because she thought I could take it. And I probably could have if she hadn't used Cody against me. It wasn't necessarily her fault. She didn't know my dark past with Cody, but it's still not an excuse. I'm valid to have feelings and frustrations toward her.

"It looks like things have worked out between the two of you, though," she muses. "I've been keeping up with you on Instagram."

My palm meets the table. "You don't get to take credit for that!"

Macy's hands rise as Brynn flinches. "Cody and I had a past. A past that we never resolved or acknowledged. We've been skirting around our past for two and a half years. While I don't think you meant to attack me, you attacked something that I've been fighting hard to avoid the whole time we've been here."

Macy apologizes again as tears fill her eyes. She's always been the most emotional out of the three of us. I mean, I'm not far from her on the crying scale.

"What happened?" she asks, swiping the loose tear away.

I spend the next fifteen minutes catching them up on our past, on parts of Cody's past, and our reasons for why we didn't broach the topic any sooner.

"Now I feel even more like the biggest asshole in the house."

"Well, I mean…" Brynn trails off with a shrug.

"I still don't understand why you did it. I mean I think I've assumed why, but I want to hear it from you. I thought we were closer than that."

"I was scared. I was scared shitless actually. My entire world had flipped on its axis. I had spent weeks fighting my attraction to Gregg because I was afraid of getting hurt again. But in the process of fighting those feelings, I still got hurt. When I got the phone call he was in the hospital, it was like someone had ripped my heart out of my chest. In a second, my life flashed to a life without him. A life where I never had the chance to tell him that he was more to me. Honestly, and this is going to sound like an excuse, but you were the first one I saw, and I took that frustration out on you. I'd watched you and Cody parade around each other, and it made me so angry because it's obvious you both had some kind of attraction, but neither one of you would act on it. At that moment, I was seeing how short life is, how quickly things could change. I was getting my second chance, a chance to move in with Gregg and help him with his recovery. I hadn't slept, and the stress was so insurmountable that I erupted on you."

The explanation that Macy just gave me is one I've been waiting for. Deep down I knew I wasn't the initial target, but it didn't ease the pain. Growing up, I didn't have friends. I don't know how to handle these tough situations.

"It's taken me a minute to realize that you weren't actually trying to attack me, Macy. I sat and cried on the phone with my dad, but he knew. He knew that you were hurting, and I was the unfortunate punching bag. It didn't ease the hurt. I knew you were hurting, but you took your pain out on me."

"I did, and if I could go back, I think I would change it. To be honest, I was such a basket case that I would like to say I wouldn't act that way again, but the truth of the matter is, I was selfish and hateful with my words." Macy pauses and stares at me. It's in her stare that I feel her sincerity. I feel her apology, and it's where I feel that the words she spoke weren't said in malice. "At the end of the day, I can't change the past, but I can fix things. You're one of my very best friends. I grew up with brothers, but you and Brynn are like the sisters I never had. Please know from the bottom of my heart that I'm sorry. I love you, Chlo."

The room is blanketed in silence as I work to process everything I've heard tonight. I think a part of me has forgiven Macy a long time ago. The distance has done wonders for our relationship. It's allowed us the time to process and to focus on ourselves. Not to mention our relationships. From what Brynn has told me, Gregg and Macy have progressed at a super fast pace—which never surprised me, those two were bound to end up together.

Brynn is the first to break the silence. "Chinese and romcoms?"

Macy looks at me from the corner of her eyes. She's waiting for me to make the decision.

"Look, I appreciate you coming over…" Macy's face falls at my words. "…and I appreciate your apology. Right now, we aren't the same. Things aren't just going to go back to how they were before you moved out. But I miss you too. We only have another year left together before who knows where we all end up. Brynn will end up wherever Quinton gets drafted, I'll probably end up back in Dallas, and you'll end up wherever the fashion industry takes you."

"Bitch, please, you'll go wherever Cody goes," Brynn chimes in with a smirk.

"Hopefully, New York," Macy mumbles. Our heads snap in her direction. "I have a fashion design competition, and the winner goes to New York for an internship."

"Macy, that's incredible!" I shout, and I really am happy for her. "See this is the point I'm trying to make. We don't know where our futures are going to take us, and I'd rather focus on making the most of our time together. No more secrets, okay?"

Everyone's eyes bounce to each other, and we all give a nod. "Macy, you pick the movie. Chloe, you figure out the cocktails. I'll order Chinese."

"You know I had no desire to ever be a cheerleader, but there's just something about watching these Bring It On movies that makes me want to fling pompoms in the air." Brynn points her fork toward the TV where Bring It On: Again is playing.

"I couldn't agree more." I nestle into my pillows from my spot on the couch.

"Chloe, I could totally picture you being on the cheer team. You just ooze pep, and all your feminine energy would be perfect for a squad," Macy says from where she's lounging on the opposite end of the couch.

"Not popular, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Brynn muses. "Speaking of, how's hot Daddy Scott?"

I can't help the gagging noise that flies out of my mouth as I toss a pillow at my bestie. "Oh my god, Brynn!"

She shrugs. "What? He's hot, and he hasn't been by in like forever."

"I miss Scott's cooking." Macy practically has drool sliding down her face.

"You guys are pathetic. I actually haven't had much time to talk to him. We send more texts back and forth, but he's busy with the restaurants. Did I tell you he's opening a new one in Arizona?"

"Uhh—no!" Brynn shouts, spinning around from her spot on the floor to face us. "Does that mean we get to go on a trip?"

Her hopeful expression has me breaking out in a wide smile.

"He invited us out for an end-of-the-school-year vacation, but…" My words drift off.

How do I tell them that I haven't said anything because of Macy?

The idea of going away made me physically ill because my closest friend and I weren't speaking. I didn't feel like celebrating when a relationship I held near and dear to my heart felt like it had ended. I knew going away with Brynn would've been a great time, but it wouldn't have been the same. Nothing has been the same without Macy in our house, much less in my life.

As I sit here in our living room, sipping on cocktails, and watching our favorite cheesy 2000s rom coms, I'm beyond happy. Will I easily forget what caused our fall out? No, but I so don't think that Macy meant to hurt me. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I can't imagine the emotional tornado she was experiencing, and while it isn't an excuse, I can understand her pain.

When my mom left, I shut down. I was faced with insurmountable bullying when I was at a pivotal age. Instead of defending myself, I sat alone and let the bullies win. As I got older, I never defended myself. I let people think I was the ‘dirty' kid who lived in the low-income housing with her crazy dad. Meanwhile, I might not have lived in the nicest place or had a dad with a normal job, but what they didn't know was how much love our apartment held. It was just the two of us, and we never took each other for granted. Dad created masterpieces for dinner in our tiny apartment. He sang while he cooked, showered me with affection by reading to me every night before bed, and instilled in me the importance of a strong work ethic to achieve what we are passionate about.

I could have let the bullies win, but I never did. Every day I would show up at school with my prettiest dress on and the brightest smile. They could make fun of me all that they wanted, but at the end of the day, I was in control of my emotions.

We all handle our struggles differently. Macy needed to react, and as much as it hurt me to take the brunt of her emotions, after some time, I knew it was just her way of projecting. She was scared and felt like a trapped lion, and I was the zookeeper in her path.

I'm not going to punish her anymore.

"Honestly, I kind of forgot that he had mentioned it. A lot has happened this semester, but if you guys don't have any plans mid-May, we have a suite at the fancy spa resort where he's opening the restaurant."

Macy's posture stiffens at the sound of my voice. Worry lines lace her flawless face, and I want to erase them.

"Macy, I want you to come with us. Seriously, the last couple of months have been hell. I miss you, and it's time to just put the past behind us."

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course I mean it. Dad made the reservation for three, and I can't imagine celebrating my birthday without you."

Without a moment of hesitation, Macy flings her body across the couch and envelops me in a hug. Her arms are wrapped around my neck as she pulls me in tight against her. "I've missed you so much." Her words are muffled in the side of my neck.

"I've missed you too."

Brynn jumps to her feet, her body flying through the air and landing on top of where Macy and I are embraced. "It's about time you bitches worked your shit out!"

We laugh because it's so true.

A vibration goes through us from my cell phone just as there's a knock on the door. "Come in!" Brynn shouts from our pile.

"Brynn! You can't just tell anyone to come in. What if it's a killer?"

"It's probably Q."

"Probably?!" I shriek as footsteps, as in multiple, sound from the doorway.

"What the hell am I interrupting? And can I get in between?" JP asks from above us as Quinton chuckles. JP is a beast of a defensive back on the football team. He's also one of Quinton's closest friends—the two are practically attached at the hip.

Brynn slowly climbs off the pile and finds her feet before she makes her way to her boyfriend. Macy is next to climb off me, only she finds her spot on the couch again.

"Sorry, JP, you missed all the fun," Macy purrs seductively. Us girls chuckle. JP is such a horn dog and is always insinuating that the three of us are closer than just friends. He's ridiculous.

"Damn, man. I told you we didn't need to stop for milkshakes." JP pouts as he squeezes his thick thighs in between me and Macy.

Quinton sits in the recliner as Brynn crawls up on his lap. He looks over at us and gives a small smile. "I missed seeing you girls together."

"Thanks, Q. We missed being together." He and I share a knowing smile. I'm beyond happy for him and Brynn. Since the two of them have been dating, it's allowed Quinton and I to get to know each other better. Over the last couple of months, we've had many late-night chats when Brynn was asleep, and I was up for a late-night snack. He knows a lot of my history—my struggles with my mom's abandonment, part of my past with Cody, and how much the rift between Macy and I affected me.

Quinton Boyd is one of the good ones, and I'm glad to call him my friend.

"So what are you watching?" JP muses, digging into the couch and lifting his feet to rest on the coffee table as he pulls some of my blankets off me.

"Bring It On: Again. And please take more of my covers." My eyes roll as he does in fact take more of my covers, but I don't mind.

"Oh hell yeah, is it cold in here?"

"No, bro, there's no Toros in the atmosphere."

"Fuck the Toros, give me the Comets. Goddamn, that Gabrielle Union is fine."

I shake my head at JP's attempt at a joke and pull my phone out from the crack of the couch. There's an unread message from Cody. He's checked on me a few times since dropping me off, but I haven't really filled him in.

Cody: How's it going, Wildflower?

Me: Great, actually. Macy and I worked our shit out.

Cody: I'm glad.

Me: Me too.

Cody: I wish you were here though. My pillow smells like you, and I'm missing my girl. It's not fair you got to sleep in my bed without me last night.

Me: It was weird sleeping without you.

Cody: Must not have been that weird, you cuddled my sister.

I shriek at his response, and everyone's heads snap in my direction. My eyes meet theirs, and I shake my head as heat warms my cheeks.

Me: Shut up! I did not!

Cody: You did. Leah gave you shit, but it's all good, babe. I love your cuddles.

Me: *homer Simpson hiding in a bush* GIF

Cody: *laughing emoji* What are you girls getting up to tonight?

Me: Chinese, cocktails, and cheesy 2000s rom coms. We're watching Bring It On: Again. JP Q just crashed the party, but they brought milkshakes.

Cody: Gabrielle Union is so hot.

Me: *eye rolling emoji*

Cody: Have fun, Wildflower. Call me tomorrow.

Me: Sweet dreams.