Liza

two

'you here?' I text him.

'right outside'

I kiss Drew once I get into his white Chevrolet. 

"wassup babe" He lets out after I pull away. His breath smells of alcohol. I can feel my own shoulder sag. He starts the car and drives down the road.

"I told you enough of the drinking Drew." 

"I'm tryin for you babe but sometimes I just can't help myself. I'm sorry, I'll stop now."

"You said that last week.''

"Well I mean it this week."

"Whatever." I lean back into my seat and side glance at him. His lips are pouty like it is after we makeout, and his hair is disheveled, dark hair sprouting up. "It's hot in here." I fan myself. He cranks up the AC. 

"The car was on the driveway before I picked you up."

"But it's like.. humid?"

"Well I dunno!"

"okay okay jeez." I cross my arms and face him. His knuckles are white as he grabs the steering wheel, and his eyebrows are all serious. Something was up.

"Are you alright? You look...off." 

"Yeah. Just tired, woke up before this."

"uhuh." Something in me tells me to ask further, but my gut wants me to search. And my instincts are never wrong. 

I twist around to the pocket at the back of my seat, and run my hand through. He clears his throat.

"What are you doing?"

"I think I lost my spare key?" I turn my head back to examine the backseat. Nothing. I pull the vanity mirror above me down. Just how I left it. I search in the glove-box, removing all its compartment into my lap one by one.

"Well ya don't need to pull my car apart for it." He was calm, except for his white knuckles.

"I needa get into my house right?" I dump everything back inside. Maybe it's nothing. I'm just overreacting. "It's fine. Well look for it together anyway."

"Yeah course." 

The rest of the ride to the mall were eventful. Telling him more about my mothers pregnancy, him brainstorming ways on paying off his debt to his dad when his broke the TV. We were both sitting on his living room couch one day. Me laying on his lap falling asleep. Him playing some video game downstairs because the one in his room had overheated. When I suddenly awoken. My head was knocked off his lap when he stood up quickly, and yelled "ASSHOLE!" and hurled the controller at the screen. It resulted in large cracks in the left side of the TV, his dad shouting at him, and me leaving, walking home alone. 

"I was thinking I could clean pools? I mean, I could ask around at a rich neighborhood for it."He says. I had been applying lip gloss staring into the mirror. 

"That would sound like it would take about the whole year or 2 if you wanna pay for it all." I placed the gloss tube on my right thigh and rummage through my purse for my phone. I find it and pull it out, letting go of the purses handles. The handles land down on my left thigh, rolling the lip gloss off my leg, landing on the floor. 

"Yeah, but then again I don't see the point in paying him back. Speaking if I'm gonna go to college."

I bent over the seat, looking under to retrieve the tube. I spot it and pick it up. "Yeah but your prolly not if were being hon-" I freeze. 

"What? If were being what?"

Right beside the tube, there, is a white sheet that I can barely make out says, '30% off'.

"What's wrong."

I sit back up, reading the paper. 

                            PACSUN                                                                                                                                                        SUMMER SALE! GET 30% OFF IF YOU SPEND $15 OR MORE!

"The fuck is this?" I demand him. Still looking down at the coupon.

 It's silent for a few seconds until, "uh-My... My dad went somewhere with Lauren a few days ago in here" His neck turns red. "It's probably hers.'' 

I'm shaking my head. It's hot again.

"Were fucking over." I mutter, glaring daggers at him. 

"wait. Liza."

"Don't fucking talk to me." I unclick my seat belt. 

"LIZA!" He reaches over me, belting the seat belt back. He rests his hand over it, covering it from me.

"Stop, you don't understand!"

"ARE YOU JOKING DREW?" I'm yelling now, and I can feel my face getting hot. "THIS CAR HAS REEKED OF CHENEL NO. 5 SINCE I SAT DOWN." His eyes are wide, amber pupils sharp. "DON'T YOU TRY LYING TO ME." I slap the palms of my hands into my eyes. "I told you I loved you back." I stutter. "When." 

"what?"

"WHEN."

He looks down to his covering hands. "April."

I nod about 20 times. "After all the shit we've been through." I can hear my voice quivering. No. I can't show him this affects me as much as it does. "The shit YOU'VE been through. Ya know I'm impressed actually. How your able to have all these 'Internal problems' as you call them." I air quote him with my fingers. "Yet you somehow have the time to fuck someone else."

"We didn't-" I stop him, putting my hand up. "But I love you." He begs.

I turn my head slowly to him. I can tell my facial expression, mouth slightly open, eyebrows together. I shake my head at him, "Were fucking over dude." I force away his hands and unbelt the seatbelt and open the car door. "Don't speak to me. Don't text me. Don't. Go. Near. Me." I'm standing on the mall parking lot now. His hands are placed on the passenger seat where I just got up from. Tawny eye's pleading with me. So much so I have to look away. I want to say more, give him more of me. But I can't. My chest is bailing on me. Shit I can't breathe. I think the floor is collapsing? I take a deep breath and look up to the sky."

"Liza-"

"Fuck you." I slam the door closed and stay there with my arms crossed. Waiting. He's the one cheating, I should be the one watching him drive away. He stares at me from the passenger window until he finally follows. He licks his pouty lips that aren't mine anymore, weren't 'mine' in the first place. And watch him start the engine and pull away from me.