After washing my face so I didn't look like I'd just cried my eyes out, I followed Corrine back down to where we normally sat for lunch. I paused outside the door, feeling ashamed and nervous about facing the rest of the girls. Corrine sensed my discomfort, giving my hand a gentle squeeze.
"Don't be shy now," she chuckled, that same bright smile willing me forward.
Still, I didn't move. I knew why, but I was too... I guess scared... to put it into words; nervous about how Corrine would take it.
She took a deep breath, her free hand cupping my cheek as she said, "I know you're conflicted about seeing Amy."
I felt a pang in my chest at the mention of her name. It wasn't pain, and it wasn't anger... Was I sad? Nervous?
"I... I don't know what I'm gonna say to her..." I confessed.
"You want my advice? Let her talk first. Let her say whatever it is she has to say and go from there."
"But..."
"Just know this," she continued, cutting me off. "We're all mad about what happened. As soon as she told us, we were all mad... but none of us could stay that way, and it's not because we didn't think what she did was wrong, but... Ian, you should have seen her last night. She'd been running around looking for you for over an hour before she finally came to my house in a panic. She was sweaty and dirty and... terrified. I've known her for years, and I've never seen anything rattle her as much as yesterday did. As much as I wanted to yell and scream at her for saying those things... I just couldn't. She was torturing herself enough. When we called your house and found out that you'd gone home, she just lost it. She broke down and started bawling her eyes out in front of all of us."
The thought of Amy crying seemed surreal to me. Nothing ever phased her. Out of all of us she was the strongest, not just in physicality but in composure. When we all watched the Lion King together, she didn't even flinch when Mufasa died (For the record, I didn't cry. I was misty-eyed).
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sensation of Corrine's impressive bust pressing against me as she pulled me in for another reassuring hug.
"You don't have to forgive her," she said softly, "but at least hear what she has to say before you make up your mind."
With that final piece of advice, I followed her into the lunchroom, getting more anxious with each step as I approached our usual table. I saw them before they saw us, each of them deep in conversation. Elizabeth and Stephanie had their backs to me, with Talia and Amy on the other side. Amy stood out prominently among them, clad in a gray hoodie with the hood up over her head. Talia had an arm around her shoulders, assumedly speaking words of encouragement as Amy stared down at the table.
Talia glanced over at us as we approached, her eyes lighting up at the sight of me. Stephanie and Elizabeth snapped their heads back and were up out of their seats in about two seconds, their bodies colliding with me with the **** of two well-endowed cannonballs. In all honestly, the feel of their breasts pressing against me did a lot to cheer me up as I returned their hug.
"We were so worried about you," Stephanie said when she finally let me go. "Are you okay?"
"I'm... I'm fine. I'm sorry that I acted like such an id-"
Elizabeth hit me in the chest with her fist; not enough to hurt, but just enough to get my attention.
"Don't even start that," she said, giving me a stern look. "You have nothing to apologize for. Yes, it was dumb for you to think that none of us care about you, but that's not what's important. What's important is that you know that we're your friends, and nothing is ever going to change that. This is real, and you're stuck with us whether you like it or not."
Her aggressive display caught Stephanie and I off-guard, and I couldn't help but smile when I noticed how cute she looked when she was mad. I guess seeing me smile had a positive effect on her, because the stern gaze quickly melted away and the loving, caring Elizabeth reemerged with her usual smile.
Within seconds of them relinquishing their grip on me, Talia hooked her arms under my armpits, hands clasping my shoulders tightly as she buried her face into my chest. Taking a deep breath, she said to me, "Please don't do that again. Please don't shut us out. You're our friend and we love you and... and you don't have to go through anything like that alone. Promise me? Please promise me, Ian?"
I squeezed her tight, kissing the top of her head and breathing in the smell of her floral shampoo. "I promise, Talia. I'm sorry for making you so upset."
She took another deep breath, squeezing me tight before standing up on her toes and giving me a quick peck on the cheek.
"You're worth it," she said with a smile.
Now it was down to Amy, and things quickly got awkward. She was having trouble looking up at me, a slight puffiness around her eyes. She was the toughest person I knew, so seeing her like this was a lot to take in. I couldn't help but feel guilty knowing that, deep down, a part of me was glad to see her upset for how she had made me feel.
"I... I don't know where to begin," she finally said, her voice low and uncharacteristically timid. "What... what I said to you yesterday was terrible. It was terrible and wrong and... and I'm a heartless bitch for even thinking it, let alone saying it. I don't even know why I said those things, I just... I let my anger get the best of me, and I ended up hurting one of my best friends and... and I know that I've got no right to ask you to forgive me, but..."
She managed to look up at me, her emerald eyes shimmering with tears that stubbornly refused to fall. Despite myself, it broke my heart to see her like this; to know that I was making her feel this way, regardless of whoever was at fault.
"I am so, so sorry for hurting you, Ian. If... if you don't want to forgive me, then I understand... but... but I want to try and make things right again."
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