Where Do We Go From Here?

“He loves you!” Callie teased as she flopped onto my bed.

I rolled my eyes at my best friend. “No, he doesn’t.”

It was mid-morning on Saturday and Callie had come over early to prepare for our beach outing with Tony, Mike, Austin, and a few other friends they were bringing. I would’ve kept what happened last night with Tony a secret if Jason hadn’t gone and blabbed about it. He was playfully teasing me all through breakfast while my mother couldn’t contain a smile on her face. At the sudden drop of news, my mother decided to let me off the hook from hanging out with her and Veronica as they browse through the mall. Callie’s—being that she usually comes around my house at an early hour—eyes lit up at the mention of Tony stopping by for dinner. Even Veronica, who still wasn’t as pleasant as she used to be, couldn’t help but join Jason in a childish song of how Tony and I were k-i-s-s-i-n-g, even though we didn’t, or haven’t, or are going to.

“You don’t even sound convincing.” Callie pointed out.

“That’s probably because it’s the morning and I still have my morning voice on.” I replied lamely.

It was so lame that Callie just stared at me with an unmoved expression on her face. A smirk tugged at her lips as she said “Well, at least I know you like him.”

“I don’t.” I deadpanned.

“You can deny it all you want, but your body language speaks differently.” Callie mused.

I scoffed. “My body language?”

“Whenever I mention Tony’s name you blush.” Callie remarked, still wearing her ever present smirk.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t love Tony Perry.” I said with absolution.

“Whatever.” Callie teased as I felt myself blush again.

I inwardly cringed because I did like Tony. Last night he was kind and funny and surprisingly intelligent. The things we spoke about over ice cream made me wonder how much of those rumors and glimpses I caught of him in the past were truly him. I pulled out my one piece from my drawer and held it up to my frame. It was a navy blue piece that cupped my boobs nicely while trying its best to hide my flaws with its thick material.

“Why don’t you wear that bikini you got for your birthday?” Callie suggested.

I cringed. “Because my body isn’t as tiny as yours.”

If I wore a bikini then I’d have a few pockets of fat seeping out from it. I would spend the entire day trying to find ways to cover up my body than actually enjoying it. At least if I wore my one piece it would make me feel a little less insecure.

Callie shook her head. “Verity, I know you’re not a twig, but you do have curves that are worth showing off.”

“I have too much curves.” I countered. “Besides, I don’t care about tan lines like you do.”

Callie sighed. “I’ll be okay with whatever you’re wearing as long as you’re happy with it.”

This is what I loved about Callie, she understood my boundaries especially when it came to clothes. She knew that I wasn’t all that comfortable with my body, but she also knew that I didn’t hate how I looked like.

“That’s all I ask for.” I smiled before disappearing into my bathroom to change into my suit.

I pulled it on with hesitancy as I felt the way the material hugged my body. The thick material helped smooth out my stomach while the padded cups helped support my boobs from resembling balls of fat. With an intake of breath I walked out of my bathroom to go to my closet to fine if I still owned shorts. Callie looked stunning as usual with her silky hair and perfectly proportionate body.

“You look cute.” Callie smiled.

“And you look gorgeous.” I reciprocated.

I dug around my closet until I found an old pair of jeans shorts that had paint stains on them and paired it with an old Star Wars shirt I got from comic con two years ago. The shorts slid up my legs with ease and hugged my butt while the shirt seemed to cover the rest of my insecurities.

“What time are we meeting up with them?” I asked as Callie pulled on her summer dress.

“Mike said that they’ll be there around noon.” She answered while looking at her reflection. Callie looked like a beach goddess while I probably resembled Ursula from the Little Mermaid.

“We have an hour to kill before then. Wanna grab a coffee?” I asked.

“Sounds good.” She smiled while grabbing her beach bag from the ground.

We decided to carpool together and hopped into my car. I had a backpack that was filled with my beach towel, some extra clothes, and small bottles of leave-in shampoo and conditioner along with a comb. I slipped my feet into my vans and walked to my car with Callie in tow.

Before leaving, Veronica called out to me “Mom wants us to make dinner tonight.”

Groaning back, I asked “Why?”

Veronica sighed while saying in a deadpanned voice “It’s a part of my recovering process.”

I offered her a small smile before saying “Okay, I’ll be home by 5, 5:30 the latest.”

Callie and I continued to walk to my car in silence as Veronica walked back into the house.

“You sister seems good.” Callie commented as we pulled away from the driveway and drove through the street.

“She’s doing her best, I guess.” I commented as I thought about breakfast just earlier.

For breakfast Veronica forced herself to have a few bites of her fruit salad. I could see how hard it was for her to put the food in her mouth, but she did without an argument breaking out.

Callie’s face dropped a little. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that skinny before, at least not in real life.”

I kept my eyes on the road as I said “Me neither.”

We pulled into Starbucks and sat in the parking lot as I spilled to Callie how I felt about Veronica. Callie nodded at the right times and even pulled me in for a hug every once in a while as I almost cried. There have only been a few occurrences where Callie has seen me cry, and those incidents happened when we were still in grade school so, me tearing up about Veronica’s struggles actually means something. After a few more minutes of sitting in the lot, Callie and I walked into Starbucks, ordered our drinks, and headed towards the beach. My small confession made my shoulders feel a little lighter while the coffee helped put a smile on my face.

Notes

Filler alert :3

The next chapter will be a little cuter than this, so stay tuned for my next update :)

Let me know what you think and thnx for reading! <3