by Unknown
ALWAYS US
HEATHER DIEMER
Always Us
Copyright 2015 Heather Diemer
First Edition
All rights reserved. This book may not be used or reproduced,
scanned, or distributed in any form without permission from
the author except where permitted by law. All characters and
storylines are the property of the author and your respect and
cooperation are greatly appreciated. That characters and
events portrayed in this book are a work of fiction. Any
similarity to events or real persons, living or dead, is
coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2015 Heather Diemer
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 10: 1503042197
ISBN-13: 9781503042193
DEDICATION
For those of you believed in me
Cover image: MHPhotography
Design: Cover to Cover Designs
CONTENTS
Chapter One 1
Chapter Two 14
Chapter Three 26
Chapter Four 30
Chapter Five 39
Chapter Six 47
Chapter Seven 57
Chapter Eight 65
Chapter Nine 69
Chapter Ten 77
Chapter Eleven 82
Chapter Twelve 92
Chapter Thirteen 100
Chapter Fourteen 107
Chapter Fifteen 114
Chapter Sixteen 121
Chapter Seventeen 127
Chapter Eighteen 135
Chapter Nineteen 144
Chapter Twenty 152
Chapter Twenty-One 157
Chapter Twenty-Two 160
Chapter Twenty-Three 165
Chapter Twenty-Four 172
Chapter Twenty-Five 177
Epilogue 182
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Here, I’d like to thank everyone who read We Were Us. I was truly overwhelmed with the love and support you all gave it.
Seriously, Thank you.
Thank you to Laura with Editing For You for taking the time to make Always Us the best it can be.
Thank you to Mandi and Kari for making the cover gorgeous. It would be a blank page without them.
Thank you to Heidi for always encouraging me, even when I didn’t think I deserved it. Your positiveness helped me through this story.
Finally, thanks again to my husband, Mitchel for continuing to deal with my crazy. Love you for real.
CHAPTER ONE
“Can you believe it? We’re in college now!” Michelle squealed next to me. She was bouncing like a kid on her way to the ice cream shop. We’d just come from the administration office at Brookhaven Community College where Michelle had enrolled for classes this fall.
“Since this is my second year of college, I can believe it.” I cringed at my last words. It wasn’t Michelle’s fault she was a year behind everyone else her age. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” She’d stopped bouncing and looked over at me.
“For saying that. I didn’t mean to sound insensitive.”
Michelle had spent over a year in a coma because she’d driven off a bridge after her dad, the mayor of our tiny town of Riverview, was found in bed with my mom, the town drug dealing whore. Arrests were made, my mother was in jail, and her dad got off scot free, for now. He was currently under house arrest pending a trial after more information was leaked (by me). The night that our parents were found together, I was sent to my dad’s house in Brookhaven and Michelle, being upset about the whole situation ran away to find me, not realizing I wasn’t at my mom’s house anymore. She thought I’d be at the river, the place I always went to think and be alone, but I wasn’t and she ended up driving off the bridge into the river.
“Oh please, Jenna. I am so over that and you should be too. I was in a coma, big deal,” she threw her hands up like it really was no big deal that she spent over a year lying in a hospital bed. “But I’m fine now. The doctor cleared me for school. It’s a lot of sitting around, walking leisurely to and from class, and you’ll be driving me everywhere when it’s too far to walk.” She resumed her bouncing.
I had to admit, her enthusiasm was catchy. Last year, when I was a freshman, I was all nerves and avoided everyone. There were required social functions like, ice cream socials and even a black light party where everyone drew on themselves with highlighters and danced in semi-darkness. I didn’t participate in any freshman orientation games. I’d met Andrew the first day and we’d hidden away at the local coffee shop. He wasn’t big into large crowds either.
“I know. I still just feel bad about all of it. And then this last summer was crazy,”
“Jenna,” Michelle held her hand up in my face. “Seriously. It’s no big deal. This whole thing made me realize that I need to let things go. I’m so thankful that I have a second chance at life. Look at me, I’m a medical miracle!”
She had a point. Waking up after a year in a coma was pretty much a miracle.
“I’m in a new town, with new people, where no one knows about what happened except you, Lauren, and a few professors and my admissions counselor. I can start over. We can start over. There’s no Josh, no dads, and no moms.” She giggled in her seat.
“You are in my town now!” I said.
Michelle was right. I needed to let it go too. This wasn’t a new town for me, but no one knew about me except my roommates and Andrew, and no one knew what happened this summer except Michelle and Lauren. I only had Andrew to look forward to now, and, of course, my new classes.
My mom sat in the Marion County Jail, probably forever, and Michelle’s dad was stuck in his tiny little apartment on house arrest. He couldn’t do anything to me here. I knew I’d have to go back and sit as a witness for his case soon. I prayed that he’d have to rot in jail for the rest of his life. But I’d done some googling and first time drug cases rarely resulted in life in prison. And I don’t think accusing him of ruining several people’s lives counted toward jail time either.
“So where to next?” Michelle asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Usually you’d be assigned a dorm room, but since you’re a special case,” I air quoted the last words. “We can just go home.”
“Home? There’s nothing else exciting to do?”
She stared at me from across the car, which really wasn’t that great of a distance, but it felt like it at this moment. Michelle and I had somehow found each other and remained friends for so long even though we were completely different in every way. Where I as quiet, she was loud, where I was independent, she always looked and asked for help, where I was a homebody, she was the first out the door to a party.
“Well, I do need to go shopping,” I shrugged.
“Shopping!” Michelle threw her hands in the air. “For what?” she asked laughing.
“Apartment stuff, maybe some food. We’ve been living off cereal and Chinese food for the last couple of weeks.”
“Good point,” and we both doubled over in laughter.
I drove on for a while and followed the roads to Target, my favorite store in the whole entire world.
“I am just so excited for college to start!” she said again. I loved her enthusiasm. It was rubbing off on me too. I remembered back to my first day of school. I was anxious and nervous, but excited all at the same time. I knew no one except Andrew. I’d done everything all on my own. I was glad now that Michelle was here. We were finally starting the plans we’d made in high school. Go to college together. That was step one. Step two was to travel the world. I don’t know if that would ever happen thou
gh.
“I’m ready to put this summer behind me and move on,” I said a little darker than I’d intended.
“Was this summer really that bad? I mean, you got me back.” On the outside, Michelle was often seen as selfish and self-centered. She really liked herself. But I admired her confidence. Even before the accident, she had an air about her that drew you to her and made you like her. And even after you’d gotten to know her, you still wanted to be her friend, even if she hadn’t made you.
“I just wish I hadn’t seen Josh.”
My heart pinched at the sound of his name. Josh, my best friend growing up, and the one person I’d confided in last summer. I’d fallen for him, hard. But he didn’t seem to feel the same way. We’d said I love you to each other, and we’d had sex, three times, but in the end, he’d stolen my heart and stomped all over it.
“Yeah, that sucked.” She scrunched up her lips in agreement.
“But that’s over now.”
“Have you heard from him?” her voice was full of sympathy. Michelle had been dating Josh before her accident. I didn’t know that at the time and we both thought Josh was a jerk for playing us. They’d broken up beforehand, but it didn’t change the fact that Josh couldn’t make up his mind about who he wanted to be with.
Josh really was a good guy, his heart was in the right place for the most part. I have no doubt he had strong feelings for me, but when Michelle woke up, he felt an obligation to be with her. I just happened to get the short end of the stick.
Now Josh was in Riverview, alone, while Michelle and I had plans to live it up here in Brookhaven.
I pulled into a parking lot and shoved the gear-shift into park. This car was getting old and harder and harder to drive.
“He’s called a few time, but I don’t feel like talking to him.”
“You should.” I sensed an urgency in her voice, like she needed me to talk to Josh.
“Why?” I asked.
She shrugged “I just think you need closure. Hear him out, hear what he has to say. Maybe he’s changed, figured things out.”
I got the feeling that she’d been talking to him. I wanted to know, but I didn’t want to know at the same time. Right now, I just needed space from him and to focus on school.
“Maybe,” I offered with my own shrug.
We left it at that, got out of the car, and walked into Target.
I loved Target. It was this magical land where everything was beautiful and sparkled, calling out ‘buy me, buy me’. I didn’t shop here often though because it was all so expensive. But dad had replenished my bank account and I definitely needed some things for the apartment.
“So, what are we getting?” Michelle asked. She’d grabbed a basket and shuffled along beside me as I made my way to the Home department.
“I don’t know. Stefanie and I made a list last year and emailed back and forth. I don’t have it with me.”
Guilt washed over me as I remembered how eager Stef and I had been to get our own place that we could decorate however we wanted. We’d made diagrams, cut out colors and images from magazines that depicted exactly what we wanted our place to look like. And now, I was here, with Michelle and not Stef. I guess I didn’t need to buy everything today, but I did need new pillows and bedding. The stuff I’d brought from Riverview smelling like my old house, not bad, but a reminder of a time I wanted to forget.
“Okay,” Michelle said slowly.
“Let’s just get a few basics. Bedding, pillows, maybe some towels.”
“Got it.”
“What do you need?”
“Probably the same. I have my credit card.” She winked at me.
“Well, I have my card, too.” I winked back.
“We could do some serious damage.”
“Yeah, but I’d really like to include Stef. And Lauren for that matter. They have to live there, too.”
“Good point. But we can get stuff for our room at least,” she shrugged.
“Yeah. Our room.” Again with the guilt. It was just supposed to be Stef and me. No roommates. Of course, I was excited to share a room with Michelle, I’d always wanted a sister, but I couldn’t shake the guilt of how excited Stef had been for this year to be ‘our year’. It still was ‘our year’. It just included a couple more people in the ‘our.’
“Let’s get matching sets! Something grown up and sophisticated,” she straightened her back as she looked over at me.
“We’re the only ones who are going to see it,” I laughed.
“Whatever, I’m bringing boys over. Which reminds me, I need to get a tie.”
“A tie?” I questioned.
“Yeah, to put on the door so you know not to come in.”
“Michelle!” I pushed her gently. She swayed too far and grasped the cart for balance, but it was almost too late. I grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly once she’d regained her balance.
“I’m so sorry!”
“It’s fine. Really. Sometimes I still get a little dizzy.”
“Is that normal?” I had no idea what was or wasn’t normal after being in a coma for over a year. Michelle’s mom had given me a list of things to watch out for, but I hadn’t even glanced at it. More guilt settled in my gut. I was seriously slacking in the friend department.
“Yeah, it is. Its fine,” she assured me.
“You sure?” I asked again.
“Yes, I promise. Dr. Spencer said dizziness could happen. It’s a part of the healing process. But if it makes you feel better, I will call my mom when we get back to the apartment.”
“That would absolutely make me feel better. I don’t want you overdoing it.”
“Jenna, I’m taking two classes this semester and not even working. I will be the definition of under-doing it. This is why we need an awesome room so I can have a boyfriend to fill my time.”
“Fine. Let’s find something good.”
We set off down the aisles, discussing the merits of whimsical versus sophisticated, black and white versus color, and various other combinations before we decided on a combination of whimsy and sophistication with a splash of color-purple and turquoise of course.
“Oh, my gosh! Jenna! Look at this!” She skipped over to a bedding set in a huge plastic bag. “It’s perfect.”
She hoisted it off the shelf and shoved it in my face.
It was a basic comforter set with pillowcases and sheets.
“It’s purple and turquoise at the same time.” I had to laugh at the way she described it.
I took a closer look at it. It was a pretty pattern of purple and turquoise water color spots that made a floral design against a white background.
“Let’s do it. Grab another one,” I said. “Now we match.”
“What’s next?” Michelle asked as we rounded the corner to the next aisle.
“Towels, pillows. Oh! A slip cover to hide the ugly couch?”
“Aw, I love the ugly couch,” Michelle whined mockingly.
The ugly couch. When I’d first arrived in Riverview last summer, I’d thrown out the furniture that had been in the house and Josh had brought me this hideous pea green and burnt orange couch when he’d seen the old ones on the front lawn. I mocked it endlessly, but really I loved it because of the thoughtfulness behind it. Now, I was stuck with it here in Brookhaven. Michelle, Stefanie, Lauren, and I were poor college students. New bedding was one thing, but a new couch was out of the realm of possibility at this point. The thought had crossed my mind to ask my dad, but he was already generous enough that I felt bad pushing for more.
“Ha ha, funny.”
“What about Lauren and Stef. Do they need stuff?” Michelle asked as we stuffed pillows into the cart around the two comforter sets.
“Grab two more pillows. They can probably pick out their own bedding though.”
“Should we get anything else?”
“I guess not. I want Lauren and Stef to like living in our space.�
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“Okay.”
“I should call Stef to make sure though,” I said, second guessing this whole shopping trip.
I took my phone out of my back pocket and saw that I had two missed calls from Josh. I hadn’t talked to him since the day I left Riverview. Which was about two weeks ago, but daily calls from a person you don’t want to talk to make it seem like an eternity. I sighed. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. I wasn’t ready to hear him apologize. He’d left messages, but only please call me back and I’m sorry, please call me. I just wasn’t ready. He’d hurt me and I needed time. Possibly an eternity.
I quickly dialed Stefanie’s number and she picked up after three rings.
“Hey Jenn, what’s up.” Good, she was in a good mood, chipper almost.
“Hey, I’m at Target right now. Do you want to come down and do some shopping for the apartment?” I tried to match her chipperness.
“Right now,” her chipperness was gone.
“Yeah, I know its last minute, but Michelle and I were out so we stopped by.”
“You’re with Michelle?”
I shouldn’t have mentioned Michelle. Stef had initially been okay with Michelle living with us as long as Stef and I could share a room. But then when Lauren came with us too, I felt that I needed to room with Michelle because of the whole accident and coma thing. I mean, it was kind of my fault it happened, even though Michelle didn’t blame me.
“Yes,” I said slowly.
“I can’t. I have to work in like, an hour.” She sounded pissed. I wasn’t entirely sure her work excuse was valid either. Last year her parents paid all her bills as well as her tuition. I highly doubted she needed this job. But she’d stayed in Brookhaven over the summer. She usually went on some extravagant vacation with her parents. The summer before our freshman year she’d told me they’d just gotten back from a month long trip to Hawaii and she’d gone on and on about her Caribbean excursions and laying on various beaches including Mexico, Bali, California, and countless other exotic places.