sunrise [until dawn]

iv: what you did

"I think you should talk to him," Matt rubbed my arms to keep them warm, "He's had it rough, you know."

A bitter feeling washed over me, and I spit, "He could have called, Matt. He didn't have to stop. One day, out of the blue, he ignored all of my texts and calls. I..I expected the worst. Yet there he was, calling Chris every day. Playing XBox live with him, going out to sports games. Like, I get if you don't want to talk to me anymore. Tell me. Don't hang me out to dry."

"I get it," Matt soothes, "I do. It happened to me, it happened to Emily. But, we need to be here for him right now. Put aside the anger. Forgive and forget. He needs us right now, and we can't let the past keep us from doing so."

I scoff, knowing that Matt is right. Like always. I can't let my own bitterness keep me from being comforting in a time like this. I had to be a bit more patient given the situation.

"Of course you're right," I chuckle, "It's good to see you again, Matty."

He sticks his tongue out at me in mock anger as I pad through the snow to Josh. He eyes me up and down as I approach, making my heart skip at one thousand miles a minute. I stop in front of him, letting him take in my appearance.

Although it had been only a year since our last physical encounter AND we followed each other on social media. I still had changed drastically from the girl I was. I had matured; my hair was darker, I put on a couple of pounds, and I grew an inch.

He stands up, wiping the snow off of his jeans, "Hi."

I smile, "Hi, Josh."

The two of us stand in silence for a moment, before he opens up his arms and chuckles, "Can I get a hug?"

"Definitely."

I threw myself into his arms before I could compose myself, snuggling my face into his chest. Despite my better judgement, I was hugging him a lot harder than I had intended. It had been quite a long time since I had seen him, after all, and he had been one of my best friends for quite a bit of time.

"How are you?" He whispers, tightening his embrace on my waist.

"Good," I can't sit press the smile on my face, "It's been a while, Mister Washington."

"You as well, Miss Maggie," he sits back down and wipes the white fluff off of the spot next to him, "Sit, take a load off."

I take a seat next to him, hugging my legs to my chest as to conserve body heat.

"So what have you been up to?" I ask, blowing into my hands.

"Nothing much," He shoves his hands into the pocket of his jacket, "I, um, I dropped out of college."

"Why?"

"Wasn't really my scene," he said, in air quotes, "Really, though. Tell me about you. What's new in the world of Maggie?"

I tell him a bit about school, applying for college, basic things. I don't want to shut him out completely, but come on. He's denied communication with me for over a year. I'm not going to talk to him like he's my "BFF," it's not happening.

"Maggie, um," Josh scratches the back of his neck, "Is there something up?"

I bite my tongue before anything can come out of my mouth. I have to be diligent about how I say this to him. I can't be too rough about this, but I can't just turn a blind eye to how he treated me.

"No, it's just-" I sigh, "You can't just talk to me like you've been in my life, when you haven't been."

"Maggie, I-"

"Josh, listen, okay?" I interject, "Please, for me."

Silence.

"You were one of my best friends. And after...what happened, we needed each other. I used to look forward to you calling me every day. I thought you cared about me. But one day, you just stopped calling me and answering my messages. Meanwhile, you were talking to my fucking brother, the brother who, news flash, was sitting right next to me! I thought you hurt yourself. I thought you did something really bad. And it tears me up inside because you were fine, you just dumped me and left me for the scavengers."

Josh presses his lips together in a tight line, before standing up, saying, "I get it," placing his hands behind his head, jumping off the stairs, and trekking through the store.

I try to keep him from walking away, but he shimmies from my grasp.

"Fuck!" I kick a sock, letting the tears roll down my face.

-

Josh: 7/10
Chris: 10/10
Ashley: 5/10
Sam: 9/10
Jess: 5/10
Mike: 5/10
Matt: 5/10
Emily: 1/10

Honest: 9/10
Charitable: 7/10
Funny: 6/10
Brave: 6/10
Romantic: 7/10
Curious: 7/10