Joneses – 19.7 Regroup

Breanne felt lost and despondent after the terrible split with Kaiden. She had no plan B and was terrified. This situation would have been the perfect time to seek her parents for advice, but she couldn’t bring herself to admit they had been right. Not yet. Bob had warned against this for a while, and Eliza co-signed her plans with marked hesitance.

After storming out the Pruetts’ house, she went for a walk. Both parents were home and would eventually check on her, noticing her distressed state. Breanne walked, stewing in anger and wishing to disappear at the same time. The next day, she was still unsettled and not ready to face her parents, so she aimed to stay away from the house. Bob was the one she couldn’t face. Not yet. Eventually, she would figure things out and regroup, but for just a moment she needed to feel sorry for herself and wallow in it.

Part of her mourned losing the best (and only) candidate to continue what her parents started long ago. Kaiden was the total package. He had good looks, excellent health and fitness, kindness, amiability, and had a prestigious family of his own. He was malleable. And, they were friends! It was the best situation. But, she couldn’t wait for him to realize this for himself, and it was a shame.

“Isn’t this rain great?” a scantily clad red head said. His voice startled her and interrupted her lament. Who wore cut-offs in autumn? The temperature was warm enough not to warrant a coat, but the warmth of summer had certainly gone away. And to be so under dressed in the rain? This guy begged for the flu.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

“What up, neighbor! I’m Josh.” He pointed his nose toward the house behind him. “This is my place. Parents thought making me go it alone might grow me up, heh heh. Whatevs. Who are you?”

His goofy grin and casual speech on top of his questionable attire turned her off completely. She had no place to go and was not in a hurry but still felt like he wasted her time. “I’m Breanne Pancakes. Welcome to the neighborhood,” she said quickly and attempted to keep moving.

“Whooooa there, short stack! Where’s the fire? I could use some friends to show me around this ‘burb. What do you do for fun around here?”

Short stack? “Excuse me? I’m not sure you know who you are addressing! I’m not the welcome wagon! Go make friends with someone else!”

He looked slightly taken aback but didn’t back down. “Whooooooa, ok. Looks like someone needs to stand in the rain for a while.”

Breanne wasn’t a mean person although she sometimes did questionable things. Josh was new and hadn’t done anything except attempt to be friendly and deserved better. “I’m sorry! I’m not having the best week, ok? I broke up with my boyfriend, and–nevermind! I’m sorry.”

“Awwww, dude. That’s rough!”

“Yeah, whatever.”

“You need some fun! Whenever you figure out the fun places around here, you let me know. I’m down!”

He seemed sincere, but how could he just volunteer to hang out with a stranger so quickly? This guy was totally a weirdo. 

Joneses - 19.6 Robert & Lizzie
Joneses - 19.8 Boys