Win's house was about ten minutes away from the church, but with the way Pete was driving, it took five. Aside from being scared shitless of getting into a crash, I was actually kind of grateful it only took five minutes to get there. Pete's truck barely fit the three of us, and it didn't help that Win was still wearing that puffy jacket. I wondered if she always wore it. It wasn't a bad look on her, she actually looked kind of cute in it, but it was huge.
I might've not have realized it just yet, but I was starting to like her. In what way, I wasn't sure. There wasn't anything I knew about her, besides that she and Pete were friends. Hell, I wasn't even sure about that. For all I knew, and from what I could tell, they seemed to be something more. Whether it was serious or not, who knew?
Pete swung his pickup truck into the driveway and shut it off, kicking the car door out and stepping out, Win following after him. I mirrored their actions and closed the passenger side door behind me, staring at the large house before us. It was definitely on the nicer end of homes in Chicago, with two stories, lots of big windows, and a wrap-around porch. Large trees towered over the house on both sides and snow blanketed the fenced-in yard, giving the property an almost blinding effect.
"Come on, Pattycakes!" Pete called out to me from the front door, where he stood behind Win who was fumbling with the house keys she had in her hands. I snapped out of the daze I'd fallen into and made my way over to them. Win unlocked the door and pushed it in, leading the way and leaving me to close the door behind the three of us.
"Where is it?" Pete whispered in her ear, but loud enough for me to catch.
"Same place it always is," She replied quietly.
"Wait, you're not coming?"
"I already did some today. How do you think I survived that fucking meeting?" The corner of her lip curled up into a smirk.
He chuckled and matched her expression, "God, I love you." He pulled her close to him and sloppily kissed her on the cheek, escaping upstairs and leaving Win and me alone in the foyer on the first floor.
"No you don't, you fucker!" Win shouted playfully after him. He stopped at the top of the stairs and flipped her off. The two of them shared a laugh before he disappeared down the hallway.
"The two of you must be really close," I blurted out randomly, attracting Win's attention.
"Who? Me and Pete?" She pointed behind her over her shoulder.
"Yeah."
She scoffed, "Nah. I mean...we're friends, but that's about it." She crossed her arms over her chest and walked over to me, continuing, "I'm pretty sure he only sticks around because my older brother can get him and me the drugs we want. But even then, Pete uses more than I do. I'm basically just his dealer."
"Only difference is he doesn't pay you," I retorted, remembering what Pete had said to Joe on our drive to his house after school.
"Yeah, I know," She chuckled, "It sucks because I'd be rich if he did." And with that, she spun around and walked further into the house, stripping herself of that damn jacket to reveal her healthy hourglass figure, accentuated nicely by the black and white striped short sleeve she had tucked into high-waisted black jeans. "You want anything to drink?" Win offered, slipping into the kitchen.
"No, I-I'm good," I stammered, trailing after her like a lost puppy. The kitchen matched the rest of the house, with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, along with black cabinets.
She pulled open the fridge and pulled out two cans of beer, closing the refrigerator door with her hip and handing one of them to me. "Come on, it helps take the edge off a little."
"Thanks, but I'm really good," I tried to convince her, holding my hands out and shaking my head no.
She gave me an incredulous look before setting the aluminum can down on the counter, "Well it'll be there if you want it."
I watched as she popped the tab of her beer can and put the foaming drink up to her lips, taking a sip. It was then that I realized this was the most Win had talked to me ever since I met her. Maybe it was because she was home and she was more comfortable there, or maybe it was because she felt like she could trust me because of Pete. Whatever it was, she was talking to me - unlike a good majority of the people in my school - and I wanted to keep it going.
"So why do you go?" I murmured, tilting my head down and playing with the zipper on my jacket.
"What?" Win retorted, wiping her mouth with the back of her wrist and sitting down on one of the four barstools set in front of the island in the middle of the kitchen.
"Why do you want to kill yourself?"
She gave me a small smile, "You think I want to kill myself?"
"Well yeah," I answered, walking around her and pulling out the barstool next to her, sitting down in it and looking over at her, "Why else would you go to those dreadful meetings?"
She pressed her lips together as her cheeks grew a complimenting shade of red, as if she was embarrassed to tell me.
"I mean, if it makes you feel better, I can tell you why I go first-"
"You go because your mom is worried about you and forces you to go," She interrupted me, meeting my gaze, "I know. You said that the first meeting. You also said that you don't actually want to kill yourself, you're just unhappy and you tend to think about ways you can die on a daily basis. I remember."
"Well it seems you already know my reason," I chuckled, "But don't you think it's a little unfair that I don't know yours?"
Again, she withdrew from me.
"Do you not want to talk about it? Is that it?" I inquired after a brief moment of silence.
"No," She mumbled, playing with the beer can with condensation forming on its surface in her hands. "I just...you're going to think I'm weird."
I'm way past thinking you're weird. But that's what I like about you, I thought to myself, but instead told her reassuringly, "No, I won't. I promise."
She bit her lip and looked over at me, "You promise?"
I help up my pinky and smirked, "I pinky promise."
The blush in her cheeks intensified as she hooked her pinky finger with mine.
She nervously tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, and just as she parted her lips, finally ready to answer my question, Pete's voice echoed through the house.
"WIN!"
