Lifetime

Turkey King

I'd been so entranced in our routine of constantly seeing each other that when my dad called me just past midnight, his throat clogged with grief from missing my mom, every good feeling was replaced with shame as I hardly cried for her since I met him.

He was just calling to check on me, but after the half hour I spent talking him through his pain I was hit with my own, screaming into my pillow as I drowned in the mourning that'd been covered by the intense connection I had with him.

I cursed the both of us, but as much as I hated myself for ignoring every reminder of her by leaning into the beautiful feeling of being with him, it was so much easier. After another twenty minutes of being flooded with the memory of her I called Faye, my hand shaking as the phone rang until her voicemail picked up. I knew she wouldn't be able to answer, busy with a night of hosting at a new club where she'd been working. I hung up without leaving a message, cursing Yoongi and myself again for never exchanging phone numbers and leaning on his assurance that, "we didn't need it and would always find each other."

When the tears wouldn't stop flowing I decided to go to his place, shoving my arms into the nearest jacket with just my wallet and phone in tow. I ignored the odd stares I got on the bus ride over, my foot tapping impatiently as I rode up the elevator to his floor.

"Stop crying, stop crying." Repeating the words to myself did nothing to help, every tear I wiped away replaced by a fresh one. I knocked with a little force, but expected that he'd be awake since I knew he took a long nap in the afternoon. With no response I turned the knob without thinking, grateful for once that he kept it unlocked, something I usually scolded him for.

I watched as his head popped up from the couch, his brow furrowed as he registered me, with tear-filled eyes and in a disarray. A second before he saw me I heard the smacking of his lips and blinked a few times at the dark-haired girl sitting across from him, Erica whipping her head around to see who was interrupting their kiss.

My tears dried immediately, not wanting him to think they were for him, my words coming out in a broken stutter. "Sorry, I should go."

I sped to the end of the hall and past the elevator, skipping down the stairs as quickly as I could and hearing my name echo from his floor just as I pushed the door open that led to the street. I took off, not paying attention to my direction, my mind swarmed with the image of him and her.

My boots clicked against the sidewalk as I roamed, passing the music store we visited and the shop on the next corner where we'd pick up snacks. I kept going until I reached an area I wasn't familiar with, dimly lit with just a few people loitering by the alleyways. I could see more light ahead, stepping swiftly past everyone and ignoring the cat calls that sounded behind me.

There was a deli mart where the light brightened again and I took a seat on the small bench outside. The too bright lights of a car pulled in front of me fifteen minutes later and when they dimmed I recognized Yoongi's car so I stood and started walking again.

"Seline!" He shouted when he got out of the car, jogging to catch up with me. "Seline, stop making me chase you all over the damn city."

I chuckled. "No one's making you chase me. Go back to your apartment." I pulled away as he reached out to grab my hand.

"I'm not leaving you out here. It's not safe. Just let me take you back to your place or I'll follow you around until you're ready to go back." He claimed, keeping up with my steps.

I huffed as I turned around, moving in the direction I came, my arms crossed over my chest when I made it to the passenger's side of his car. As soon as the beep of him unlocking it sounded I slid inside, letting the door slam behind me.

Once I was still the tears started again but I kept as quiet as possible, Yoongi only noticing as he drove through flashes of street lights on the way to my apartment. "Seline, talk to me. What's going on?"

"I don't want to talk to you." I breathed, keeping my gaze focused out the window.

"Then just listen to me. Are you upset that I was with Erica?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Questions require me to talk to you." I stated.

He sighed. "Okay, I just want to know what's going on."

I wasn't sure if it would be easier to talk about my mom or about seeing him with Erica, but decided that I didn't care to talk to him about my mom anymore. "Yes I'm upset about Erica, and the fact that you even think I would be tells me that you know I'd have a reason to be upset about it." I cracked the window, needing to let in a little air as I got heated.

"Seline, we're friends right?" He asked.

His question infuriated me and I was tempted to tell him to stop the car so that I could get away from him. "Don't pretend like I'm the one who's wrong here. We literally spend every second of our time together so don't make it seem like I'm crazy for thinking we have something beyond friendship." My tone was pointed and sharp as he pulled into a parking space in front of my building.

"You're not crazy, but we haven't defined anything. Seline, if you don't want me to see anyone else all you have to do is tell me and I won't." He replied.

"Yoongi," I started, opening my door, "I don't want to have to tell you or ask you not to be with other women. I just want you to feel so strongly for me that you don't want to be with other women." I got out of the car, ignoring his pleas for me to stop and walking back into the building to wait for the one person I knew I could count on to not disappoint me, Faye.