Page 10 of Never Not Friends

Nobody leaves their stuff out for me to trip on.

These things are possible. I didn’t say I do them.

But you see, having my own apartment is great…preferred, even.

Although, apartment is a very generous description.

It’s more like a studio. The four corners of living essentials. One corner has the small kitchenette, one corner has the couch and TV, one corner has the bed, and one corner has the bathroom—thankfully walled off and with a door.

But it’s mine.

Kind of.

Technically, it belongs to my parents and sits above their garage, which means I’m a twenty-six-year-old woman who still lives at the same address printed on my driver’s license.

224 Saddleback Road in Gilbert.

Living the dream over here.

Vinny pulls his car into the driveway at 226 Saddleback Road—Juliet’s mom’s house. Growing up next door to my best friend was a blessing…until it became a curse. Until I could see Vinny’s car out front every night and know exactly how late he stayed.

Not that I was paying attention.

Okay, I might’ve paid attention a few times.

But even though Juliet has her own condo, her mom’s declining health has her staying next door a lot lately.

“Thanks for coming with us to Barnes & Noble,” Juliet says as the car rolls to a stop.

“I didn’t have anything else going on.” I hate how true that is.

I grab my bag of books and climb out of the backseat.

The Arizona evening is warm without being offensive, which means we’re still in that tiny sliver of spring where stepping outside doesn’t feel like opening an oven.

“There are your parents.” Juliet nods toward my yard.

My dad is bent over, pulling a few weeds that have popped up between the red landscaping rocks. The top of his head glistens where his hair doesn’t grow. Mom stands beside him, light-brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She’s not pulling weeds. Seems to just be overseeing the work being done.

For one second, the three of us stand beside Vinny’s car, watching them.

Juliet sighs almost longingly. “I’ll never understand what it’s like having a dad who is home all the time. I can’t even comprehend it.”

I know Juliet well enough to know how much she hates her dad’s work schedule. He’s out of town in Japan for weeks at a time. It’s always been that way, since they moved in. She’d never say it out loud, but with her mom’s poor health, it puts a lot of pressure on Juliet to be the main caregiver.

She snaps out of her daydream and waves at my parents. “Hi, Ron. Hi, Jackie!”

My mom turns with a big smile. “How was shopping? Did you get what you needed?”

“Probably a little too much.” Juliet lifts her bag of books as she starts toward her mom’s house with Vinny automatically following.

There it is.

The split.

The physical embodiment of what my life is like.

Juliet and Vinny go one direction.