"The first thing I ever said to her was, 'I like your scarf'. Amazing pick up line, right?"
"I think that's cute, actually." She smiles tracing circles with her finger on my back. The sun beats down at us, jealous. "Do you remember the last thing you said to her?"
Her hands were tight around the steering wheel.
"Why do you always do this to me?" She cried out in frustration, banging a fist against the dashboard. I rolled my eyes and cranked the radio louder. Some whiny pop star blared through the speakers.
"Look, I told you to get a drink and loosen up."
"God, you idiot, we weren't there to get completely trashed. The fuck is your problem? You're always screwing around. Someone had to be responsible."
I banged my head against the dashboard, moaning. Stupid headache.
"You can't even drive fucking straight!" I gestured to the road that we were weaving on.
"Don't start lecturing me, we're both fucked up but you're the one who's fucked over tonight--" Knuckles white, wheel held tight. Tears roll down her face. She's pissed, and that makes me pissed.
"If you could just not be a bitch for once--"
Tires squealing, brakes screeching, someone screaming.
And that's it.
"No, I don't remember much about what we last spoke about." I lie, shrugging. "You?"
"I don't either. To be honest, I don't remember much about our conversations. She was always so perfect and everyone loved her, I spent more time trying to shine out from her shadow than getting to know her." She shifts off my chest, rolling on her back and propping herself up on her elbows. The sand left imprints on her stomach, and I run my hand over them.
"She felt the same about you, you know. Always thought you were the favorite." I murmur, lying back down and closing my eyes. I can hear the ocean, and her thinking.
"That's so weird. She had everything. Looks, love, personality, intelligence..." She trails off, glancing at me and looking away.
"You have all that, too." I touch her freckled cheek, brushing away a strand of hair. She could be her sister's twin, to be honest.
"She always had one thing, though. One thing I never had." A lopsided grin. "And the one thing I always wanted."
"Oh? What's that?"
"She had you."
YOU ARE READING
BURN (Wattys2015?)
Poetry"Poetry...is thoughts that breathe and words that burn."--Thomas Gray "Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash." --Leonard Cohen Poems on the tough stuff in life. Poems on the crazy good stuff in li...
