Confused, I try to shrug it off and I start running towards Kelsie's house. I try as hard as I can to get that boy out of my mind, but my brain won't allow him to leave.
I finally arrive at Kelsie's, my chest inflamed and legs cramping. I knock on the door and Kelsie's grandma opens it. She wears an old fashioned floral print scarf and a peach colored blouse. Her thinning, silver colored hair lays atop of her head, matted and tangled. "Who are you?" She exclaims sourly. I sigh. She can never remember me. "It's me. It's Noelle." I say with a huff. "You know, Kelsie's friend?" She processes the information and finally says "Oh. Come on in sweetheart. Kelsie has a friend over and they are upstairs." I cautiously step through the doorway and limp up the steep staircase. When I find Kelsie's room, I open the door without knocking. My jaw drops at what I see.
Kelsie and her "friend," a tall boy with shaggy dark brown hair, are lying on Kelsie's bed, lips interlocked with each other. Kelsie straddles her leg over the boy's hips and groans. The boy places one hand on Kelsie's beach blonde hair and his other hand creeps up underneath the hem of Kelsie's bright green sweater and clutches her small, skinny stomach. I'd never seen my best friend so absorbed in a boy. She always ignored them.
I stand there watching for about a minute. Neither of them acknowledge my existence.
I clear my throat loudly. Both continue their make-out session without even turning my direction. "Kelsie." I say aggressivly. She doesn't hear me. "KELSIE!" I practically scream. She pushes the boy away with the heels of her hands and swings her left leg off of him, sitting on the bed casually. She acts as if nothing just happened. "Oh, hey Noelle. This is my good friend, Jackson." Good friend. Yeah, right. More like make-out buddy. Jackson props himself up off the bed and shakes my hand. "Hi." He says with a smirk. His face is excruciatingly unattractive, bushy eyebrows and acne, and a smile that makes me want to throw up. I roll my eyes.
"Kels, I need to talk to you. I came up with a plan and---"
"Noelle, would you just be quiet." She snaps at me.
I look at her with a puzzled expression.
"What do you mean? I...I..."
"Ugh. Nobody cares about your nonsense. Grow up." She retorts.
I stare at her, gawking. My one true best friend just told me to grow up? I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes, itching at my eyelids to escape. My face turns a bright strawberry red.
I stomp out of Kelsie's room and slam the door shut. I dash down the stairs, swing open the front door, and storm outside.
Anger.
Pure anger fills me from top to bottom, boiling and trickling through my body. My one friendship, completely shattered. Broken. Torn apart at the seams.
My whole world is falling apart, crashing down right before me. I start to cry. Black mascara filled tears stain my cheeks like a watercolor painting.
Parents- gone.
Best friend- gone.
What else does this cruel world want from me? I've lost everyone that I've ever cared about. I don't have the slightest clue to why my parents died either. It stings to even think that sentence, "parents" and "died" together in a lifelong pair that will haunt me forever. Well, if my "forever" lasts any longer...
I feel like screaming. Screaming as loud as I can. I decide to walk up to the mountains. When I arrive, I start to climb. My hands and feet find platforms of rock and I hike up the tallest hill I can find. As soon at I reach the top, I fill my lungs with a shaky breath, oxygen filtering through my body. I exhale a large scream, my eyes closed and nose scrunched up until it cramps. My scream lasts for about 30 seconds, fists clenching and fingernails driving into my palms harshly. When my breath finally runs out, I slowly force my eyelids open.
And that's when I saw him, staring right at me.
