Chapter 9: Franny-2

Tally raises her eyebrows in surprise. "Okay, cool." We get to Tally's house, which is large and elegant. The yard out front has perfectly trimmed grass, beautiful rose bushes and perfectly plastered stones forming the small pathway to the front door. Tally types in the door code on a keypad beside the handle and we enter when it unlocks. I kick off my shoes, placing them off to the side as Tally dumps her bag on the floor. I shut the door behind me and shiver a little from the cold. Tally grins sheepishly. "Forgot to put the heat on this morning," she says. "Sorry, I was in a rush." I shrug. "It's okay. We'll just have to make a huge blanket fort." I smile and throw my arm around her neck, hooking her close to my side. She lets out a noise of surprise and elbows me in the side, making me stumble away with a laugh. We head through the little hallway and into the kitchen. Inside, the house is big and spacious and filled with expensive junk that her parents bought on their many trips out of the country. Tally is usually left behind while her parents run off and have fun splashing their money without her. Right now, her parents are in Greece, enjoying the sun and knocking back drinks. I remind myself to come over a lot more than usual because Tally doesn't like being home alone. "Want to see if we can get some alcohol from the cupboard? My mom should have left her stash somewhere reachable with a chair," Tally says. The idea of drinking alcohol after seeing what it's doing to my dad makes my stomach twist uncomfortably. "Um, not for me. I'm okay, really." "You sure?" she asks, slightly incredulous. I nod. "Yeah, I'm sure. Not drinking much lately." Tally's eyes widen comically. "You're not . . . you know . . .?" "No, dumbass," I mutter, and shove her shoulder playfully. "I'm not pregnant." "Just checking." Tally grins. "Well, then, I guess we will just have to have loads of ginger ale and coke." I laugh and nod, helping Tally get the two large liter bottles of pop from the fridge. She gets out two glasses. I carry the bottles to the sitting room and dump them down on the table. The sitting room has no wall cutting it off from the kitchen and it also has no window so the kitchen is lit-up where the sitting room is darker and more reserved. I lounge back on the couch while Tally looks through her movie collection. There must be at least a hundred movies in that one cabinet alone, and I know there are many more downstairs in the basement. "What do you want to watch?" she asks. "Well there's school tomorrow and I don't want to walk around looking like total crap, so probably anything that will finish before one or two?" I ask. "Sure." Tally nods and then mutters under her breath, "Not like my parents will be back to tell us off anyway." Tally offers a few comedies and action movies and I pick one of the comedies, grabbing the blanket from behind my head and spreading it over my cold body. Tally sits down on the opposite side of the couch and our legs touch. She grabs half the blanket and wraps it around her feet and legs, making me smile. We watch movie after movie and eventually cook some sausages and oven fries that we find in the fridge. I check my phone after the third movie. No one has bothered to message or call. I'm slightly worried. What if something has happened to my dad and he isn't calling because he's hurt? What if he's drunk somewhere and stuck? What if he's standing in the middle of a bar and has lost his phone? What if he just doesn't care? My body tenses at that idea and I sigh, putting my phone away. I try focusing on the movie, but I'm still too tense. My face must obviously show it because I feel a hand on my leg over the blanket. I look over and Tally stares at me with concern. "You okay?" she asks. I nod but it slowly turns into me shaking my head. I let out a long breath and look away, my hand coming up to wipe my hair from my face. "Not really. I'm okay, I just—" I cut myself off and laugh humorlessly. "I've not had the best week." I scratch the side of my neck and the blanket feels hot and heavy against me and my body finally registers that it's sweating messily and making me uncomfortable. I move to shove the blanket off my legs when Tally gently lays a hand on top of mine. I look up sharply and Tally suddenly looks nervous, apprehensive. I frown and lean forward a bit. "Tal? What's wrong?" Tally opens her mouth shakily but no words come out and when I notice the tears in her eyes, my confusion grows. "Franny, I . . . " she trails off with a crack in her voice. In the next breath, her lips are against mine in such a brief moment that it could have been a mere whisper. At first I don't understand what's happening but then I start and move away, my back pressing against the arm of the couch. "Tally?" My mouth opens in shock and I lift a hand to my lips, my finger pressing against the area where she kissed me. "What . . .?" A tear runs down Tally's cheek, followed by another, and another. Her eyes are pained and there's this sadness about her that makes my own eyes well with tears, too. She looks so sad and lost and scared that I can't help it when I reach over and place my hand on her shoulder. "Tally . . . " She sucks in a harsh breath and wipes her tears weakly. "I'm sorry," she says shakily. "I didn't mean to . . . shit. I shouldn't have done that without saying something. I just . . . I needed to be sure. God, that sounds worse. It doesn't mean that I like you that way, I don't. You just seemed like the only person I could trust with this." "You're gay," I say. "Bisexual," Tally corrects me. "Bi-curious . . . or just confused, I don't know." "Then why are you crying?" I ask. Tally lets out a humorless laugh. "Maybe because I just kissed my best friend?" I smile softly and shake my head, bringing the hand on her shoulder around the back of her neck until my arm is over her shoulders. "Tally . . . it isn't something to cry about. You're bi. That's okay. I don't care. I'd never care, you're still you." "You're not mad that I kissed you?" she asks. I shake my head. "I mean I'll be honest it wasn't something I expected. And I think I'm right in assuming you don't actually like me and this felt as weird to you as it was to me?" Tally nods and I smile. "Tally, I don't care. Sure, kissing me might not have been your most genius moment. But, if you're worried and stressed over this, know that I'll be here for you. Promise." Tally laughs a little, the sound a breathy noise but it makes me smile and laugh lightly as well. Slowly though, her smile falls and she stares at the television screen, which shines flashing lights all across her tear-streaked face. "Everyone's going to think I'm fucked up," she says. "My parents . . . " I tighten my arm around her shoulder, pressing our sides together and bringing the blanket over the top of us. "We're all a little fucked up. Somewhere inside. But this part of you will never be the reason for that. Okay?" Tally doesn't say anything and neither of us needs to in that moment. We just sit there and watch the movie, letting the silence of the house be filled up with the noise and Tally's tears be washed away by her laughter.