Neither one of them would ever talk me again.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I avoided all contact with everyone over the next few days. Mom tried to ground me, and Dad came to my defense. He liked Dylan, but that wasn’t his argument with Mom. I was officially an adult, and I could spend the night at a friend’s house without their permission. It didn’t matter to her. I’d disappointed her yet again. Story of my life.
Every time Dylan even glanced my way at the theater, I went the opposite direction. It wasn’t easy, but it felt necessary. I needed to put some distance between us so I could think. Dylan wasn’t into me. Fine. It was what it was. I needed space to let it go though. And I had two days off to break free. No lessons, no show, no rehearsals, just time to fix everything that was wrong in my life.
I had two days off to figure out how to beg for Miranda’s forgiveness. I called her despite Iris’s warning not to. My call wasn’t ignored, it was flat out rejected. She’d blocked me. I called Iris.
“What, Cam?” Iris answered, not bothering to hide her irritation.
“I need to make this right.” I said. “What do I do?”
“You turn back time and don’t make out with the one guy Miranda’s been in love with since second grade. Can you do that?” Sarcasm dripped from her voice. “Or would you rather screw me over too?”
“Because you’re perfect? You’ve never made a mistake in your life?” I snapped. It wasn’t her fault, but damned if I was going to let her go all high and mighty on me. “Remember freshman year, Iris? Who made out with my boyfriend? I forgave you.”
Iris sighed. “That was a long time ago.”
“Yeah, it was. And I didn’t do anything to hurt Miranda. This was all Eddie. Miranda’s done worse. Way worse, but you always give her a pass.”
“Don’t make her the bad guy, Cam,” Iris said.
“I’m not. I’m just saying none of us are perfect. I screwed up. Big time screwed up. I know I never should’ve walked to the lake with Eddie, but I didn’t do anything wrong. Why can’t you believe that?”
“She needs time,” Iris said after a long pause. “She’s hurt and angry. Not just at you.”
“But at Eddie? I find that hard to believe.” I swallowed the bile filling my throat. If only she would’ve seen what a shitty person he was before she went out on the boat last summer. Eddie wasn’t a good guy. He’d shown her then, but she still obsessed about him. “He’s an asshole anyway.”
“Then why’d you go with him?”
“It was just a walk. How many times do I have to tell you I didn’t hook up with him?” My face burned with anger and resentment. “I shouldn’t have to be forgiven, Iris. My friends should stand by me.”
Iris sighed loudly. “Yeah, maybe. And Eddie is an asshole. He hit on me before you showed up. He’s just slimy.”
“He’s a borderline rapist.” I shuddered at the memory. “What can I do? Seriously, I need to make her understand that I didn’t want this?”
“I don’t know if you can,” Iris said, doubt filling her voice. “Where’d you go after you left? Rumor has it you and Eddie met up somewhere else.”
“I passed out in his car and woke up the next morning at his house.”
“Wait, what? You and Dylan hooked up after all that?” Iris almost screeched.
“No, it wasn’t like that. I passed out. He let me sleep it off at his house. Nothing happened.” Although I wasn’t entirely sure why he didn’t just take me home. It would’ve been easier and the wrath of Mom would’ve... well, that would’ve been the same level only for a different reason.
“And the next morning?”
“He made me a Bloody Mary and breakfast. Then he took me home. Like I said, nothing happened.”
“What’re you going to do now?” Iris asked. Curiosity was always her vice.
“Work. Avoid Dylan. And figure out a way to get Miranda to talk to me.” Tears slid down my cheeks. “I really want to fix this.”
“What if you can’t? Miranda’s not going to forgive you easily.”
“I don’t need her to forgive me, Iris. I just need her to listen. To understand. She’s not that vindictive. She needs to know I didn’t do anything.” I collapsed on my bed.
“Give it a week before you try anything. She needs space. A lot of space. She’s not in a good place, Cam. She... Never mind.”
A week? I nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ve gotta go. I’ll text you later,” Iris said before ending the call.
I had the entire day to myself. No rehearsals. No show. No nothing. Mom had taken Dad to the doctor. Jake was God knew where, probably painting graffiti on an abandoned building. I needed to clear my mind, to think, to focus, to not think. I pulled on my hiking boots and filled an always prepared backpack with granola bars and food for a few days. It wasn’t like I planned on being gone long, but there were too many stories of people getting lost in the woods. And I’d almost been one of them. After four hours too long, I found my way back to the trailhead. I was dehydrated since my water supply had only been for a short hike. Since then, I never go out without extra water and extra food as well as anything I need for basic survival.
The front door stuck as I yanked it open. I lost my balance and almost fell to the floor. If it wasn’t for a pair of too familiar hands, my ass would’ve met carpet.
“Whoa, you okay?”
