Thalassophile (Billy Hargrove)

Don't even look at me

Chapter 22
Unedited

The following week I was a mess; I couldn't get out of bed without feeling like my whole body would give out any second; I was taking our break up way harder than expected, my body felt numb and cold, especially when I had to go in my for my monthly doctor's check-up.

"So you want to tell me what's going on?" Joyce asked as Jim volunteered to take Will back to school. I shrugged, sniffing away my runny nose. 

"Don't try to hide it from me kid, your eyes are watering every two minutes, you look like you haven't had a proper sleep in days, and your nose looks like Rudolph's. I know a case of heartbreak when I see it." A chuckle left my mouth at the sight of Joyce, who was very tiny but looked feisty.

"I'm okay, Joyce." I tried to get into her car, but she put her hand out to block me. "Talk to me, Kai."

So here I was, sitting inside a booth at the diner spilling my guts to my friend's mom. "I'm not upset over our two-day relationship; if he broke up with me solely after two days, I wouldn't care at all. It's just that-" I felt another lump pushing against my throat, making it very difficult to talk.

"It feels like he broke off your friendship." Joyce reached over the table to hold my hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Exactly." I whipped away the tear racing down my cheek.

"I know exactly what you're going through; back in high school, I dated my best friend, everyone told us it was a stupid idea to take our friendship to that stage, but we did it anyway because we were young and careless because when your best friends with someone you know everything about it seems like a full proof plan, but then some stuff went down, and we broke up, and I remember not being hurt over the fact that we couldn't kiss anymore or hold hands but instead of the idea that he wouldn't make me laugh until I cried anymore, or that he wouldn't no longer be the first person I told everything to."

Joyce took a deep breath, and I placed my other hand over hers, and a small smile broke out on her kind face, "but I can tell you this, Kai, it does get better; eventually you won't cry at the thought of them or the sound of their name but rather cherish what you had before and move on, I wish that it could be this very moment, but it will come and when it does  you will realize you no longer need them."

My talk with Joyce helped put things in perspective, and it also helped that he who must not be named, wasn't in school due to his suspension.

The following week my very understanding friends made sure I didn't even cross paths with him though I heard he had hooked up with some girl from the swim team.

And like that, for the first time in six months, I had gone two whole weeks without speaking a single word to Billy.

꧁♧︎꧂꧁♧︎꧂꧂♧︎꧂

"Babysitting?" I asked Nancy as she closed her locker and walked alongside me, "Yeah, mike is not a kid, but this is the first time in years my parents are going somewhere for their anniversary, and mom won't go unless I can babysit Holly and Mike.

"But you live at home, how would it be considered babysitting?" I asked, brushing past people in the hallway.

"Because she wants me to monitor them 24/7, and mike keeps running off to see El any chance he gets," Nancy whispered the El part.
I laughed, and Nancy turned around to face me, stopping me from entering first period

"Can you do me a favor?" I raised my eyebrows. Nancy had her pleading face on. "Depends."

"Jonathan got these fantastic tickets for this concert on Saturday, but the thing is we have to leave early in the morning if we want to make the concert.