Who We Were

Kai

As usual, I head to the mall with my group of friends for our weekly, terrible lunch. In a town like this, there isn't much to do, so lunches at the mall are sometimes as good as it gets. I guess that's why everyone's so excited to get out of here next month, but not me. My Father's got lung cancer, and my Mom can't handle that shit alone.

The worst part, they don't want to tell anyone. So the thought of even going off to school next year, makes me sick. I can't leave her alone. We're heading over the Subway at the other side of the food court when I see her, Kori Mason sitting at a table with her absolute douche bag of a boyfriend Craig. I really don't have anything personal against Craig, and I haven't talked to Kori in four years, but I know he's a pig. And what's worse, I know that even after he's out being a dirty dog all night, he's going home to put his hands all over my girl.
Except, she's not my girl. She hasn't been since the day I freaked out after we kissed. Thinking about it now, I bet if I just told her I was nervous about wrecking our friendship we'd probably be happy and together. But I was a foolish child, and at 14 I wasn't really sure what all of that even was. So why do I find myself suddenly walking over to where she's seated with the guys she's probably going to marry after four years of avoiding her? I have no idea. But here I am, at their table now.

"Long time no talk Kori." Seriously, that's the best I've got? She snaps a glare in my direction, and I know now that I've interrupted something.
Craig looks at me, almost relieved that I've showed up at this exact moment to save him from whatever they were talking about. "What are you doing here Kai?" Her voice sounds cold and not welcoming the way it used to be. I guess that's my fault, I did cut her off without any regard at all as to how she would feel about it. "I just wanted to say hi." She knows damn well that's not the truth, but I still don't know what to say so that's the best I can give her. I guess after all this time, I really did just want to say hi. Kori had always been pretty in my eyes, but now that she's grown, she's fucking beautiful. She grew her hair out long, so now her curls fall effortlessly against her body. Her breasts grew at least two sizes, and they are hard not to stare at. She definitely works out now too, because her ass is an entire conversation on its own. She's perfect, she always has been. But now I'm starting to think she's completely out of my reach. "Okay hi, now bye." Her eyes finally leave mine, and she looks back at Craig smiling. I'm sure she knows what she's doing, by rubbing him in my face; reminding me that she belongs to someone else. I decide not to argue, because I know exactly what I'm doing too. This small moment, tiny encounter is enough to put me back on her radar, and back into her life. I go and grab some food, and sit a few tables away just close enough to be able to hear their conversation.

And holy fuck am I ever glad I did, that disgusting pig has finally been caught for his actions. She's no longer talking calmly, instead she's freaking the fuck out on him and she doesn't care who hears anymore. He's trying to tell her to lower her voice, but she continues to rip him apart and run off, but not before I see the tears pouring from her eyes. It's no longer funny to me, I'm actually fucking enraged that he hurt her like that. And the thing about me, I have a bit of a fighting problem when I'm mad, so the only thing I can think of in this moment is punching that fuck face out for her. Thank God Jory comes over and brings me back to reality; because I really don't want to get kicked out of the mall especially over someone as fucking stupid as Craig.
"Sean's having a party, you coming?" I shake my head no at him, and he looks shocked. I never turn down a party, let alone one at Sean's house. But today, I need to find Kori, because I need to make sure she's okay. "I'll catch up with you guys later, gotta take care of something." Joey doesn't argue, he walks back over to the guys and the head out on their way. I get in my car, and drive to the one place I know she'll be.

I park my car, and walk down the dock to find her sitting at the edge with her jeans rolled up and feet dangling in the water. Maybe she hasn't changed that much, considering she still comes here when she's sad. We used to call this the place that could make us happy again, but I haven't been here since we stopped talking. I plant myself down next to her, and stare out at the lake. I haven't decided what to say yet, but it doesn't take her long to break the silence. "Are you stalking me or something Johnson?" She doesn't look away from the water, and I can now see how puffy and red her eyes are from crying.

"Craig sucks, you can do better." It doesn't sound as empathetic as it did in my head, but I swear I can see a brief smile start to form on her face.
"And what makes you think I'm sad about Craig?" Her voice is less than convincing, but I get it, I'm probably the last person she wants to talk to about this. "Everyone knows he's cheating on you." I instantly regret how terribly blunt that sounds, and start to wonder if it's better for me to keep my fucking mouth shut. She finally turns her head, and her eyes meet mine. She's crying again, and I now wish I would have punched his stupid face. "Was I really that blind?" She gives me a sad look, like she wants me to tell her that everyone didn't know. But that wouldn't be the truth either. She's crying harder now, and I have no idea what to do to stop it. So I just pull her into my lap, and wrap my arms around her while I listen to her sobs over Craig, selfishly wondering if she ever cried like that for me.