CHAPTER SEVEN

                                    

                                          
BLAIRE
                          
The little box titled "Friend Requests"glared at me from the screen of my cell phone. I wasn't sure how long I'd stared at it with Jason's picture inside and his name in blue letters, but I was sure I'd surpassed the time frame of a sane person long ago. Why was this such a big deal? It was Facebook for crying out loud. The people who were your "Friends" were never actually your friends in real life, it was just a way to keep tabs on people's lives from a distance without looking like a stalker,right?
                          
Guys didn't think of it that way though, did they?
                          
Jason had probably sent the request because he wanted to add another person from high school he'd forgotten about until tonight. Jesus, why was I analyzing his request like some lunatic? Maybe this was the clue that I needed to get out more-that and to loosen up some.
                          
Letting out a loud breath, I tapped on his name and waited for my spotty Internet to catch up. Sometimes it worked and others it didn't-it was virtually unpredictable. Popping open a tiny can of V8 Fusion, I took a sip while continuing to wait for the page to load. When it did, I read through all of his status updates. He was a funny one-commenting on loads of posts from others and reposting funny pictures. His latest repost was of two model-pretty girls standing side by side in spandex cheerleader shorts with their asses poking out at the cameraman. In the bottom there was a caption that read: What, don't you see the pirate in the background?
                          
I searched, and sure enough there was some random guy dressed as a pirate in the background. Such a typical guy photo. No girl would think it was funny enough to repost. I sure didn't.
                          
Scrolling down, I glanced at a few other pictures he'd posted with the same theme. Tapping on his "About"section, I skimmed though his information. He worked at a golf store, lived in Dormere, Tennessee, and went to Dormere University.My stomach clinched at the information, even though I already knew he lived in Tennessee. Coldcreek was a small town and just because I lived close to Norhurst University now didn't mean I didn't visit Coldcreek every now and then and get filled in on the town gossip.Jason Bryant's family just so happened to be the talk of the town a few years ago when his father passed away. This was another reason why I had a biased opinion of him-people said he'd bolted after his father's death, leaving his grieving mother behind because he couldn't deal with the pain of it.
                          
Glancing over the pages that Jason had"liked," I realized he was really into sports shops and enjoyed beer. His album photos caught my attention next. There were some of him standing on top of a mountain with a beer in one hand and a smile on his face as he gazed out at the view in front of him, some of him with his arms draped over his buddies' shoulders beneath a waterfall, and some with him sandwiched between two beautiful girls with the glow of a bonfire glimmering in front of them. Obviously these were all pictures others had taken of him, but they were also images of memories captured in the moment.
                          
Jason, according to his Facebook page, had lived. He'd gotten out there and seen things I could only dream of.Biting the inside of my cheek, I thought about this more. What did my Facebook page say about me? That I was an aunt who loved her niece, that I had a good job, I was a student, and that I went out on limited occasions with my two closest friends.
                          
I wasn't exciting. I was a stick in the mud.
                          
Before I knew what I was doing, I'd tapped"Accept Friend Request" and froze. My heart pounded ridiculously loud in my chest. Crinkling my nose, I tossed both the pillow and my phone onto my bed and headed to the kitchen.
                          
The apartment was quiet. Paige had passed out an hour ago and Lauren left well before then. I'd stayed up in the hopes of studying for a bit more, but Facebook had sucked me in.Flipping the kitchen light on, I opened the freezer and searched for the pint of ice cream I knew I'd bought two days ago. The yellow container of mint chocolate chip called to me from in the back. Grabbing it out, I riffled through the dishwasher for a clean spoon and made my way to the living room to watch some reality TV while eating.