One Last Shot

[23] Pretty Boy

             Liam

I knock on the girls' door. A bouquet of irises in my hand with a thank you card, Iris' dad answers the door.

"Can I help you?"

"Is Iris here?"

"Bad time," Lilly says quietly from the landing. I notice she and Mr. Cara are dressed in all black.

"Come back another time," Mr. Cara says, and I catch a glimpse of Iris walking through the kitchen. She's dressed in all black, and her mom is following not too far behind her.

"You ready to go?" Mr. Cara shouts.

"We're ready," her mom says timidly, very different from the way they were acting last night. Something must've happened, since Iris seems extremely tired and sad. I sit in my car as they leave, and Iris sees me sitting there. She holds a finger up to her family and Lilly and walks over. I roll my window down.

"Why are you here?" She looks exhausted, like she's just been crying.

"I wanted to give you a thank you for helping with the other night but I think I came at a bad time. Is everything okay?"

"We're uh- we're going to a funeral." She sniffles. "What did you get me?" She peeks in the car and I push the flowers further out of her view.

"I can drop it off another time." She nods her head and starts to head to the car. "Hey," I reach out the window, gently reaching for her hand, and she turns around to face me. "I'm here for you, just like you were for me. If you need anything don't hesitate to text me, okay?" She nods her head before walking away, not before lightly squeezing my hand. She seems so sad. It hurts to see her like that. Even when she's mean, she's full of life, now, she looks so dead inside.

The day after the funeral, I decide to give her the thank you gift. Lilly lets me in and says she's in her room. I head in and see stacks of textbooks and notes.

"Is there a library here?" I joke. She looks up at me, eyebags galore. "Everything okay? I have that thank you gift for you now." I look and see the vase of the last irises on her bedside table, dead, and replace them.

"Thanks," she mumbles.

"Want to talk about it?"

"My old basketball coach died."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"She was old, it was gonna happen."

"And now you're... studying?"

"Is there a problem?" She spins around, her glare burning circles in my eyes.

"Well shouldn't you be like, mourning?"

"People cope differently."

"But this is not healthy. You should sort through your emotions"

"I didn't ask for your opinion."

"I'll give it anyway. Why won't you deal with how you're feeling in a healthy way?"

"Are you fucking joking me right now?"

"Well, you're studying like nothing is wrong, why aren't you sad?"

"Listen you dick," she's yelling. "I am sad. I don't think I need a reality check from a guy who hasn't dealt with loss."

"You don't know that, stop acting like you know everything about me."

"Then stop acting like you know what's best for me!"

"But I do! Because I care about you, you fucking idiot."

"I never asked for that! I never asked for you to care about me or feel like you needed to protect me, you decided that all on your own. Don't give me your shit when I never asked for this in the first place," I can hear her voice breaking, and I'm just as frustrated with her. "Just get out." This stings. My heart hurts when she says that, and she turns her back to me. I get up and leave her room, slamming the door. Violet and Lilly are sitting on the couch, wide eyed.

"Lover's quarrel?" Violet asks.

"Not the time," I mumble, before leaving and throwing the thank you card I meant to give Iris on the coffee table. I get in the car and drive straight to the gym. The gym is a place I use to blow off steam, and I'm fuming now. I grab weights and start lifting.

"Liam?"

"Oh, hey," a pretty girl that I've talked to before, I think she was in my civil law class freshman year, is walking over to me. "Farrah, is it?"

"Yeah! Long time no see! I feel like I never see you at the gym anymore."

"I've been crazy busy, no time to do anything," I chuckle.

"Would you have time in your crazy schedule to take me out on that date you promised freshman year?" She looks at me doe-eyed.

"Oh um, uh, no, sorry. Super busy."

"You seem to have time for that girl Iris though," her arms are crossed, she looks unhappy.

"Yeah that's not what you think."

"Sure, pretty boy." My head twitches. No one else has called me a pretty boy but Iris. I feel something else twitch. Oh fuck, what has she done to me?

"Really, it's not what you think. And with that, I have to uh-get to basketball practice, so bye! Nice seeing you!" I rush out of the gym and into my car. I run my hands through my hair and sigh. What am I feeling right now? Why does she have me so riled up? Why am I so angry when she tells me she didn't ask for me to care about her, or hurt when she tells me to leave. She is one hell of a person to hate.

A/N: Honestly, I am PRAYING these chapters are edited. I just got home from a concert and I am ZONKED and don't have the energy to make sure they're edited so sorry in advance if there's mistakes. I'm going to sleep for HOURS now goodnight :)