sweater weather

52: just a friend

one.

she leans over and touches your ankle,

fingers feather-light and gentle against your skin.

just a friend, you say, she's just a friend.

two.

it hurts to look at her

and it hurts to be in her presence

because she's so radiant,

she's so beautiful and lovely

and it hurts you in the sweetest way possible.

three.

she hates you.

she screams at you,

words dripping with cruelty,

and runs away and vows to never speak to you again.

and it hurts you,

it strikes you right in the heart.

four.

she's dead.

she's been dead for two months

and not a day passes that you don't

think about her.

five.

you're in love again,

only every time he touches your skin

you think of her

and when you kiss him

her name is on your lips

and when he asks you if she was your friend,

you say she wasn't.

because she was so much more than that.

six.

she loved you too,

and you will never know that.