Devil-ish

Chapter 17

           Life was terrible and she wanted to die. And if Luce was here right now, she was going to strangle him so hard that the devil himself would be appalled at her ferocity.

          After Luce dropped her at home the night before, Angelisa had tried desperately to sleep and forget about all of her problems, but her brain continued to replay everything over and over. In the fight with Mia, she thought about all the things she should have said. And when she thought about Luce, she felt even more ashamed. She still felt fury and annoyance whenever his face appeared in her mind, but she hated how her cheeks would flush when she thought about the way he kissed her. And for some reason, that was what her mind decided to focus on, leaving her desperate for a distraction. She tossed and turned for longer than she could remember before giving up and finally turning to watching mindless television on her phone. She guessed she must have fallen asleep somewhere around early morning, with her thoughts full of trashy reality television and the hazy feeling of Luce's fingers brushing against her face.

          Now, she vaguely recognized flickers of light coming in from behind her blinds, and more than anything, she registered the pressure of a body shifting the mattress as it sat right next to her legs. Her mouth turned into a scowl and she sat up quickly, prepared to tell Luce off for disturbing her without warning. But instead, her complaint died in the back of her throat as she looked at her mother's gentle smile.

          "Sorry, sweetheart, I didn't want to wake you, but Mia insisted she see you." Her mother reached out, smoothing down some of Angelisa's bed head as her mouth turned downward. "She said something about you two having a fight? She's waiting in the living room now, but if you want, I can tell her to come back another time." Her mom leaned forward to press a kiss against her forehead.

          In all of the years Angelisa had known Mia, they'd only had two other fights, and her mom knew that, which must have been why she was being so affectionate. Either that or Mia had looked so torn up that her mother must have thought it was something bad.

         "Um, yeah. You can tell her to come in here." Angelisa smiled weakly, trying to wake herself up. As much as she wanted to curl back into her bed and sleep for the rest of the day, this was something she needed to face sooner or later.

          A few moments later, her door was slowly opening, and Mia poked her head in, as if she was scared of upsetting her. In the past, she'd always just barged in, so her hesitation gave Angelisa a twinge of sadness. Mia approached her slowly, letting her thick brown hair fall in front of her face. She wore a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants, which was very unlike Mia. For as long as she could remember, Mia loved dressing up and looking put together more than Angelisa ever had. Her eyes were red, and she sludged forward with an air of exhaustion. She sat on the bed silently, and the two girls stared at each other for a few moments. The tension between them made Angelisa feel sick, so she opened her mouth to speak.

            "I'm so sorry," Mia blurted out, and Angelisa clamped her mouth shut. Mia leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Angelisa as she started to cry. "I'm sorry about everything. I've been so dumb, so stupid and--" She stopped herself, inhaling two gasping breaths. "I already lost Colton, but I don't want to lose you too. I don't ever want to lose you. Please tell me you'll forgive me."

          Angelisa hugged her back, feeling the wetness of Mia's tears against her shoulder and cheek. "Mia, you have nothing you need to be forgiven for."

            "But I do! You were right!" Mia's protests came out in a blubbering sort of way. "I've neglected our friendship, all because of a... man." She made a disgusted face. "Actually, no. Not a man. A boy. A man wouldn't have told me he lost feelings for me over text."