My Star In The Sky

Chapter 6

I woke up an hour later and it was now storming out. Imani was still sound asleep, so I replaced my head with a pillow for her to lay on, and then I called my mom to tell her I was ready.I was putting on my hoodie when I heard a bunch of notifications coming from her phone. I try not to think about it but curiosity got the best of me. I walked over where her phone was sitting and saw a bunch of texts from Charlie.

"Babe?"
"How are you feeling?"
"I miss you."
"I think you're asleep."
"Get some rest okay?"
"Text me when you get this."

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When I got home, it was almost 10pm. She didn't cook any dinner, so I just made myself a bowl of cereal and ate it while watching one of my favorite movies. I could hear Owen and Melinda in the next room, laughing and talking about whatever.

My brother has had a bad past with relationships. I remember he dated this one girl 3 years ago and she used to come over a lot. Her name was Hannah. Me and my mom would call her redhead Hannah because she had short red hair. Owen was in love with her. He would talk about her a lot to me and every time he did, his eyes would shine and his smile never left his face. Everything went good until one day Hannah stopped coming over and Owen started acting out in front of our parents. He was angry and sad and I never understood why because he never told us.

When I finished with the movie, I walked down the dark hallway and knocked on my parents door softly.
"Yes?"
I walked in and my mom was laying across the bed, typing away on her laptop. Her short brown hair sat in a little ponytail.
"Hey Dyl."
"Hey. Where's dad?"
She shrugs her shoulders and says, " He said he was going out with friends."
I nod and look down at my bare feet and she sits up on the side of the bed, patting the spot next to her. I sit down and she starts combing my hair with her fingers.

"Hey, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course, what's up?"
I clear my throat a little. "So about me and Imani. I don't know what's going on with us, you know. She's supposed to be my best friend but I..... I have stronger feelings than that."

She doesn't say anything and lets me keep talking.
"I'm in love with her mom, and I'm losing my mind." I then look up at her and she smiles just a little and says two words I never expected her to say: "I know."

"What? How?"
"I see the way you look at her. The way you talk to her."
I bury my hands into my face. "Is it that obvious?"
"Yep. And it's clear she's in love with you too."
I look up at her.
"I don't know mom. Maybe she does. But what if she doesn't?"
"She does," she says as she holds my hand. The same hand Imani held. "And you should tell her."
"I'm scared to."
"There's nothing to be scared about. Love is love. Nothing will change that, and you're gonna wish you told her sooner." She pauses for a few seconds and says, "If you love someone, tell them."
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The next week, Imani finally got to come home and the first thing she did was take the longest shower ever. I waited in her room and flipped through her records until she got out. A couple of minutes later I hear the shower stop and then a few minutes later, she walks in, drying her hair off with a towel. She's wearing white shorts with little hearts on them and a tank top with some sandals. I sat there for a second, admiring how beautiful she was.
I snap back into reality when she says, "You ready?"

We walked to my house because my mom insisted on making her favorite, a red velvet cake. As soon as we walk in, my mom peeks her head through the kitchen and throws her arms around Imani. She hugs back.
"We've missed you!"
"I missed you guys too."
I give my mom a look and she says, "Well I'll let you two have at it."
When we were walking up the stairs, she gave me a wink when Imani wasn't looking.

We both started laughing a little and I turned the tv to netflix.
"So are you feeling better now that you can take a real shower?"
She sighs and jumps across the bed. "Definitely. It was hell there, I swear," she says. "Especially the medicine I had to take..." she made a disgusted face. "I'm just glad I'm taking pills now."

I smile and after a long silence, I say in a low voice,
"So you're dating Charlie now?"
She looks at me and I can't exactly read her face.?
"Yeah.... I was going to tell you, but-'"
"But what? You don't even like him like that and aren't we supposed to tell eachother everything? "
"Maybe I do like him like that Dylan.And what is up with you? Why does it even bother you so much?
"Because it does. It just does."

She sits up and runs her hands through her hair.
"No, tell me what it is because you think that you run me all the time - like I need to ask for your permission or something. You're always so worried about me and what I do. Why?"

"Because I fucking love you damnit! That's why! I am in love with you and you don't even notice!"

Imani startles and she doesn't say anything.
"I asked you if you liked him and you told me you didn't. All those times when you said you couldn't hang out, you were with him weren't you?"
We both sat on the opposite side of the beds, not looking at each other and after a while, I heard her sniffling.

"I have to go," she says quietly as she stands and heads for the door. I follow her.
"Please don't go. I'm sorry."
She ignores me and runs down the stairs.
"Imani!"

My mom sees her putting her shoes on and says, "Where are you going? The cake is almost ready."
She ignores her too and walks out of the door, slamming it shut.

"What was that all about?"
"Nothing mom, just worry about your own stupid problems for once okay?"

I run back up the stairs and slam my door.
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The next day at school, my mom had a meeting so my dad dropped me off before going to the gym.
"Have a good day bud."
"Bye dad."

I didn't know what to feel. I felt betrayed. Mad. Sad. All of the above. I tried not to think about it until I saw her and Charlie laughing by his locker. Imani glances at me for a split second and then back at Charlie. He was supposed to be my friend. They both were.

I spent the next few days eating lunch with Owen and his friends and girlfriend. They were super nice and let me eat with them.He looked confused at first because I never sat with them before, didn't seem to mind, nor did he ask me about the situation with me and Imani. Maybe he didn't want to bring it up in front of his friends.Every time I glance over at where we used to sit, Imani and Charlie would be kissing or holding hands.

After school, I walked home. It's kind of nice getting some fresh air I guess before I rot in my room all evening. The sky is clear and a soft breeze flows through the air. I love this kind of weather.
It was on the street to my house when someone shouted my name from a distance.

"Dylan!"
I looked around and didn't see anyone. Was I officially going crazy? I kept walking and humming, trying not to think about it until I heard people running up to me. I quickly turn around again and it's Edward and his group of friends, running towards me. I immediately started sprinting, trying to make it to my house but there's no use because I'm not so good at running fast. They catch up to me and Edward says,

"I told you I was gonna get you back. Did I ?"
I didn't say anything and when I tried to run away, his friends started to hold my arms and everything else was a blur.