Because of Haven Beach

14 | atychiphobia

atychiphobia (n.)

the fear of failure; the fear of not being good enough

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TUESDAY night, Delaney invited Aubrey and me to her house to watch The Bachelorette. Her parents weren't home, so we had her entire house to ourselves. When I got there, I went into Delaney's living room, finding her and Aubrey covered in fuzzy blankets.

"Hey. I brought snacks," I announced, dumping an assortment of chips and candy on the floor.

Delaney snatched a bag of Doritos. "I love you."

"Was she talking to me or the chips?" I whispered to Aubrey, who just shrugged.

Grabbing a pack of M&Ms, I tuned into the newest developments on The Bachelorette.

"Did you guys hear about the Marshall family's newest scandal?" Delaney asked during the first commercial break.

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "What happened now?"

"Wait, who are the Marshalls?"

"Aliyah Marshall and her family."

"Sounds vaguely familiar, but I don't know her."

"She's one of the popular girls, for lack of a better word. But, she's really, really nice, contrary to the popular rich bitch stereotype. Her life is a rom-com, though. Her parents are notorious for divorcing and getting remarried. I think they've done it like four times?" She looked to Aubrey for confirmation.

"I thought it was five."

Delaney shrugged. "Eh, well, numbers don't really matter. So, last spring, they finally called it quits and her mother got married to another man. Aliyah's stepdad is some filthy rich businessman. Like, we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars. He has enough money to buy this whole town and everyone in it."

My eyes widened. "And they're still living here, of all places?"

"They have houses all over, but Aliyah's mom loves it here," Aubrey told me. "But this is where it gets good."

"Let me tell her," Delaney whined. Aubrey rolled her eyes and motioned for Delaney to carry on. "So over the summer, there were rumors that she was fucking her stepbrother."

My mouth flew open. I thought that only happened in books and movies.

"It's true," Aubrey said.

I found my voice and asked, "How do you know? Please say you didn't see it."

"Eli's friends with Aliyah," Delaney explained.

I racked my brain, trying to remember if Eli had mentioned her. Suddenly, I remembered that there was an Aliyah in our photography class. I knew the name sounded familiar. "Wait a minute. Is she about average height, has dark skin, gorgeous hair, and always dressing like a supermodel?"

Delaney bobbed her head. "Yeah, that's her."

"She's in my photo class." In fact, I was the one who took her seat next to Eli.

"Oh yeah, I think Eli mentioned that a few months ago," Delaney said. "Anyway, back to the story. Eli pretty-much confirmed everything for us in September. They occasionally hang out, and a few days ago, he told me that she's pregnant. As in having a baby with her stepbrother." She paused to let it sink in.

"Are you one-hundred percent sure? That sounds really far-fetched."

"I'm with Char," Aubrey said. "No way that's true."