No Love On The Court

Chapter 16: Me, Myself, & I

|Raelyn|

Months Later [Leaving the NBA Draft]

I scoffed as I watched Zayden and Fine Kyla walk to his car while I walked with Aaliyah and Hakeem to his car. They had made it official, but he was still fucking Faith and Kyla had no idea. It had been a while since I had seen Hakeem and Zayden. Before the draft, they had to participate in the draft combine and working out of some teams.

Zayden and Hakeem both got drafted into the NBA, but on separate teams. Hakeem got drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers and Zayden got drafted to the Washington Wizards. Both of them would be moving away and it would just be Aaliyah and I left.

They were all going out to celebrate, but I was going home. I hated being the third wheel, and I really didn't want to be the fifth wheel. Once, we made it to Hakeem's car, both of them embraced me in a hug.

"We're gonna miss you so much, Rae!" Aaliyah squeezed me tighter.

"We?" I asked confused.

"Well, I'm moving to LA with Hakeem." She said. I released the both of them from the hug.

"You're leaving too?" She just nodded. "Aaliyah, what about school? You're just going to give up and move away to Los Angeles?"

"Rae, no, I can transfer to one of the schools there."

"Congratulations, Hakeem." I said and walked away. I couldn't believe Aaliyah was just going to up and leave like that. I understand that she loves Hakeem and that she would go anywhere that he is, but what if things didn't work out for them? If they were to ever break up, she would be out there in Los Angeles, where she knows no one. Not only that, but she was leaving me.

This school year, all of us had gotten so close. We were the four musketeers. Hakeem and Aaliyah are moving to Los Angeles. Zayden's moving to Washington. What's going to happen to me? I'm the only one staying in Kansas.

I walked to my car and just sat there for a while. If none of my friends were going to be with me in college, who could I come to for advice? Who could I just sit and chill with?

Suddenly, there was a knock on my window. Zayden.

"What?" I growled once I got the window down.

"You alright?"

"No, just leave me alone. Congratulations."

Zayden walked over to the passenger side of my car. "What's wrong?" 

"Get out of my car."

"What's wrong?" He repeated.

"Please just leave me alone."

"I'll leave when you tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong, Zayden. I just want to get home. I'll call you tomorrow."

Zayden said nothing else and got out of my car. As I drove home, I thought about the big mistake that Aaliyah could be making, and I didn't want my best friend to just throw her life away because of a relationship that might not last.

Maybe I was just over-reacting. Maybe I just didn't want her to leave me. 

~~~

"Our flight leaves tomorrow, Rae." Hakeem announced.

"Okay." I muttered. I don't even know why he and Aaliyah are even over here right now.

"Are you going to come to the airport with us to say goodbye?" Aaliyah asked.

"No, I can say goodbye from wherever I'm at at that moment. I don't need to come to the airport to see Hakeem start his career and I don't need to come to the airport to see you ruin your life. That's wasting my gas."

"Rae, what that fuck? I'm moving to Los Angeles with my boyfriend to start our new lives and you can't even be happy for us? You're so fucking bitter. If you did what I told you and confessed your feelings to Zayden, you could be leaving with him, instead of being a bitch to us about the situation!" She yelled.

"Zayden has nothing to fucking do with this. And it doesn't matter anyway because he's with Fine Kyla and he's fucking Faith! I'm just trying to look out for you! I'm making sure you don't make the biggest mistake of your life!"

"No, you're being selfish. You want me to stay here in Kansas with you because you have no one else! You're a lonely, selfish, and bitter ass bitch!"

I wasn't even going to continue arguing with her. "Hakeem, I wish you the best in your basketball career, but both of you have to leave my house." I said as I gently shoved the both of them out of my bedroom door.

Aaliyah was right though. I was a lonely, selfish, bitter ass bitch. Everyone around me was in a relationship and now my three friends are leaving me, therefore I was lonely. I was selfish because I started an argument with my best friend just because I didn't want her to leave me. And I was bitter because they were all leaving and I would have no one. 

"You alright?" Noah asked, poking his head into my room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" I smiled. On the inside, I was bawling.

"I heard you and Liyah yelling, then she left. Y'all never fight like this."

I shrugged. "Well, friends come and go. In the end, it's just me. Me, myself, and I."

~~~

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