I convinced my mom to let Claire come over for the night. I explained to her the situation, and as hesitant as my mom was letting me have a sleepover on a school night, she allowed it. I texted Claire and told her to come over. She argued with me at first, but I told her I was her friend and was here for her when she needed it, and boy did she need someone there for her. Eventually she caved and she was on her way over. 

Claire and I typically sleep over at her house, so for her to come over into my home and sleep over in my bedroom was out of the ordinary. She entered the house with her school bag and looked around our suburban home. 

“Oh, this is… Nice?” she said carefully as my mom welcomed her in.

“We’ll have dinner ready within an hour, hope you like pasta,” she said and smiled. 

“Come on,” I said and led her to my room. Claire entered and she instantly judged me on my bedroom. 

“Gosh Kim, how old are you?” She asked and looked around for a place to set her bag. 

“I haven’t decorated since middle school, I should though since it is outdated.”

“Yeah, no one listens to boy bands and likes pink this much,” she said and sat down on the edge of my bed.

“Anyways, girl, what’s going on?” I asked, changing subjects from judging my room to what’s happening with her. “You blew up, but like, talk to me.”

“God, Kim, my life is just falling apart…”

“What came first?” 

“Jake…” She said and teared up. 

“You two loved each other, why did he break up?”

“I don’t know!” Claire wailed loudly and began crying through her mascara. “At homecoming he was doing everything he could to help me because y'all pissed me off, and he just was fed up and done with me. He went off about rude stuff.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” she muttered and sniffled. She dramatically wiped her tears away.  

Claire and Jake were always on thin ice, hot and cold, or had their ups and downs frequently. Often, Claire would tell me about their breaks they would take and then be back together the next day. Usually, Claire was the dictator of their relationship, so hearing that Jake went off on her and broke up was really unusual for their relationship. If Justin were here, he’d tell me that she’s not telling the full story, and sadly that was my impression here. 

“I’m sorry Claire.”

“It’s fine, I just want my Jake back…”

“Then what happened next?”

“I got home and the next day my parents said they were divorcing.”

“Have your parents been having issues recently?” 

“No, they were the usual from what I saw. I just didn’t see it coming. They said they wanted it for a while but said they wouldn’t do that to me, but because I’m a senior and almost graduating, it was time they did it… Since apparently they can’t stand holding off any longer,” she spat in disgust. “They told me that my allowance would change and that I would probably need to get a job to get what I want for the rest of the year.” Claire pouted and crossed her arms. 

“Yikes,” I said. Deep inside, this was a huge blow to Claire. Mom and dad always got her everything she ever wanted, so for her to suddenly be cut off was absolutely a killer to her. No wonder why she had a meltdown today at me…

“Then this morning I got that fucking email that I wasn’t accepted in my college! What the hell am I going to do Kim!” Claire went back to sobbing. I moved close to her and hugged her while she cried her frustrations away. I truly didn’t know what else I could do for her, but while I held her I felt terrible. 

“Nothing is going my way either,” I tried to sympathize with her. 

“What?” She said and pulled herself away. 

“I mean, yeah. My parents are arguing, my homecoming was shitty not having my friends to be with, and my mom went off on Parker. That’s a long story to tell. But girl, I get it, shit is going down and I don’t know what to do either…”

“Well, not everything is about you, is it? Like, my life is falling apart right now. You’re the one asking me to come over here and to help me. And what, was this just all to talk about you since we argued on homecoming? Like, that was your fault anyways. If you had chosen the dress and stuck to the plan, then things would have gone better for me. Are your parents divorcing? No, they aren’t. Who cares, parents argue, that’s normal; and you haven’t even applied for college or know what you want to do. I’ve been dreaming of this since I was nine!” Claire stood up and held her arms out. “There’s nothing for me right now. So like… What the hell Kim?”

“Sorry, I was just trying to say you’re not alone in this… You know, to relate?” I said and looked down.

“Where’s your bathroom?” She demanded.

“Last door in the hall,” I simply said and watched her storm out of my room. 

 Claire stormed out of the room and went to the bathroom. I sat like a stone. 

Am I really that selfish?