Gus

House with the Pink Tulips

It took me another hour before I reached the neighborhood in Richmond. I was low on supplies since the gang already ate half my stuff, so I had to use some of the money to buy food.
See, this is why I come prepared.

I remembered the only description Lina had given me about Kelly's house was that there were tulips in the front. That's very vague to me. Lots of houses could have tulips. What kind of tulips? Big or small? Purple or pink? Alive or dead?
I came across a house with white tulips in the front and got out the car. I rung the doorbell and an old lady answered. She looked a little like my grandmother.
"Are you the paper boy?" she asked.
"No," I said. "Does anyone named Kelly live here?"
"No, but I had a friend named Kelly once. She had lots of freckles." Then the lady shut the door and I went back to my car.

The next house I tried had purple and yellow tulips. I knocked on the door and nobody answered. I peeked inside the window and saw a dog sitting in there. Kelly told me she was allergic to dogs, so this couldn't be her house.

The third house I tried had hot pink tulips. I knocked and a woman answered. She had silky, black hair that had been cut short and a little acne on her face. She smiled when she saw me, and I smiled back.
"Gus, you finally came! Lina must have convinced you to come. Come in," she said, ushering me in. I walked into her house and looked around. It looked very similar to Tessa's old home; a small TV, couch, carpet that didn't cover the entire floor, and beige curtains covering a large window.
"I was beginning to think you'd never come," she said. "Do you want anything to eat or drink? I just got this tea from Japan."
When did she go to Japan? I thought. "No thank you."
"Okay, well if you want anything let me know," she said. She saw me lingering in the living room and chuckled. "Go ahead, sit down. The couch won't harm you." I obeyed and sat down on the leathery sofa.
Kelly came back in with her Japanese tea and sat in a chair across from the couch. She didn't say anything at first, looking intensely at her mug. Then she looked up at me with the mug in her hands.
"Did you know about Tessa?" she asked quietly.
I nodded.
"When I heard what happened to her... I wasn't as surprised as I should've been, I must admit. I mean, I knew she did crazy shit like that all the time, but... I never thought she'd go far enough to get herself killed, you know?"
I didn't respond. I stared at the ground, waiting for Kelly to continue, which she did.
"My parents took me out of school for a couple of weeks. They thought it was 'best for me.' Honestly, it just made me depressed. If anything, I would think being in school could be a distraction from it all rather than a bother.
"I'm glad you're here, Gus. I haven't seen you in such a long time, and... I just wanted to see you again. I felt really bad for what happened on that Christmas. I hope you'll forgive me... will you?"
"Of course," I replied.
Kelly sighed. "Good. I just need someone to talk to right now... did you know it's been 15 years since the fire?"
Crap. I didn't even realize it. I shook my head.
"I don't like to think about it. But every anniversary my parents are always bringing it up; they're always like, 'oh, let's go to her grave this year,' or 'oh, let's go to her favorite restaurant.' I mean, I miss her and all, but I don't understand why my parents can't get over her at all... Tessa was always using them."
"So? She's their child," I said, "she should be lucky someone cares about her this much."
"Yeah, I guess so," she said.

We sat in the living room for a couple of minutes in silence. I patted the seat on the couch next to me to signal Kelly to sit next to me. She did, and I took her head and laid it on my shoulder. We sat there for another couple of minutes before I decided to make my move. I lifted her head from my shoulder and kissed her on the lips. Unfortunately, it only lasted 2 seconds before she pushed herself off me.
"What the hell are you doing?" she cried.
My stomach dropped. My mouth opened a little, but nothing came out.
She sighed again. "Gus, listen... I don't like you like that. I see you as a friend, and that's it. Besides, I have a boyfriend."
I began panicking a little out of the blue. "Wh...what?" I stuttered.
"Gus, I... did you really think that I liked you like that? Oh my god. I'm sorry... I just---"
I put a hand up to stop her. "Nope. It's fine. I'm just gonna leave." Then I got up and walked out the door. Once the door closed behind me, I let out a large scream. I ran to my rental and punched it in the side, putting a dent in the front seat. I walked along the curb, cursing myself several times. I found Kelly's trash can on the curb, picked it up, and threw it into the street while shouting, "GODDAMNIT!!!" I turned and saw Kelly watching me through the window. I stormed back inside her house and put myself close to her.
"Do you know what I had to do to fucking get here? Did you know that I got jumped and left in the woods by some gang while trying to find you? Have you even thought about me for a second after that Christmas? Probably not, because I'm just too weird to ever be with anybody? Huh? Is that it?"
She looked down and didn't respond.
"Yeah. I fucking thought so. Please don't come looking for me again."
"Gus..."
"Don't. Just fucking don't." I almost grabbed her by the shoulders out of frustration, but stopped myself. I walked out and got into my dented car, and drove off without looking back.