A Year Without Snow

-40-

Saturday, 9th January 2016 - The Past

It was Saturday night, I was sitting in my usual seat on the chaise long of the big basement's couch. I was eating a cheeseburger while looking attentively at the movie Django.

"He's so gonna kill him," I said excitedly, sitting up straight in my seat.

"He isn't," Bryson said bluntly.

I looked over at him, he was sitting in an upright position, his back way straighter than it needed to be, and his legs resting weirdly. But it went beyond his body language. He had said three words to me since I had arrived at McDonald's.

I knew what it was about, I wasn't that clueless. In the last two weeks, I had gone out multiple times with Jack, he had tried to kiss him each time, I rejected every single one of them.

I had thought it was because I didn't feel ready for that much intimacy. After all, it was a big step to go on your first date. But lately, I've discovered that the truth was that I simply wasn't that into him.

And the problem was that I didn't know how to ditch him. First, he was my friend and I didn't want to hurt him, and second, I was an incurable people pleaser, I was completely incapable of dumping someone.

"Pass me the chips, please," I asked Bryson, extending my arm.

"I finished them," Bryson said while looking straight at the TV.

"Oh, come on! No, you didn't." I said while sitting up on the couch and searching for the chips. "I saw the bag full three seconds ago. Stand up, moron.'

"What? No. I told you I ate them all." He repeated.

"Don't lie to me," I said pretending to be offended. I grabbed his arm and tried to push him off, "Get up!"

"Daisy." He said firmly but I kept pushing, "Daisy, stop, please!"

"Okay, okay," I said, letting go of him and raising my hands in the air. "What's going on, Bryson?"

He took a deep breath and turned to look at me, "I don't know, Daisy."

"You don't know?" I asked amused.

"Well, it's got something to do with Jack."

"Okay... What about him?" I asked.

"He is not right for you, that's all. And -"

"Who's not right for Daisy?" We heard a voice say as footsteps were heard coming down the basement's stairs.

"No one." Bryson quickly said.

Bianca made her way to the couch and ordered Bryson to move closer to me so she could seat.

"More five minutes and it will start!" Bianca exclaimed.

Her hair was still sharp black, and her eyeliner still made an appearance in her eyelid, but she had left behind the black lipstick and all-black clothing. She had settled for the 90's grunge style, with black jeans, combat boots, and the usual flannel shirt. Being a senior now, she had left her angry teenage years behind and was becoming a beautiful adult. Two weeks after her father left home she came out as bisexual and had a complete personality change. Her mother and Bryson accepted as well as possible, and she didn't tell her father, even when she and Bryson went to spend two weeks each summer with him, in his duplex downtown. The worst weeks of the year as Bryson described it.

As for Angelina, she took her time to recover from the divorce but eventually began to appreciate her freedom and even started taking a degree in art.

Bianca sat beside Bryson logged off of Netflix and changed it to The Vampire Diaries which was about to start, against Bryson's will.