Silence.

Chapter 12

Myah

When I got home, Mason was furious. After finding out about Daniella, a girl who had bullied me since childhood and whose words had lead me to bring harm to myself, he wanted to beat Rome's ass, to put it bluntly.

Layla, who had been with Mason since they were 15 and I was 11, already knew about Daniella. She laid in my bed with me for hours, having calmed Mason down considerably. Her beauty was undeniable, and she was just as lovely on the inside.

She had been my best friend since the day Mason first brought her home. We had just lost our parents, after they ran away from their responsibilities to hike all over Asia.

Being 11, I drew a lot of pictures of and for her, which she absolutely adored. She treated my brother like royalty, which made me respect her ten fold. Her and Mason were made for eachother, no doubt about it.

I see it in the brightness of her eyes when she watches him play basketball, or him hyping her up with a genuine grin on his face as she does her makeup. They are more than content to just hold hands, to sleep in the same room or even to make eye contact in a crowded area.

The poetry he writes her is constantly littered around the house, entire sonnets on how green was never his favorite color until the first day her smile reached her jade colored eyes.

It was disgusting at times, but also heartwarming, to see a love so undeniably pure on a day to day basis.

Layla stroked my short brown hair soothingly, singing softly under her breath. My face buried in my pillow, the image of Rome in such an intimate position in such a public place with her made my stomach ache and my eyes burn.

"You know, Mason almost cheated on me once."

I snap up, my eyebrows furrowing.
What? When?  I signed, sitting up.

"He was about to be eighteen. It was his first college party, and he didn't remember asking me to pick him up," her eyes cloud and she gazes past me, frowning. "He was heading upstairs with some brunette. She was curvy and beautiful and she looked so wild, like she should have been in a movie as a druid," she clears her throat, continuing.

"I was so shocked, like surely she was just showing him to the bathroom or something, right? Well, I was wrong."

Though it was over 3 years ago, I feel my cheeks heat up. How could Mason do that to her? A girl who would go to Hell and back if he asked her to?

"I sat outside their door. I knew it was going to hurt me, but I needed to be sure, you know? I didn't want him to be able to say I had misunderstood, or that I was being crazy. So I sat outside of that door and listened to the sound of their clothes hitting the floor."

She gives me a small smile, scrunching up her nose. "He was so drunk and so fucking high, he couldn't even tell me his name. But he knew mine." She leans back.

"I guess the girl sort of looked like me. He had taken about three bars, smoked, and drank a whole bottle of vodka to himself. Safe to say he was out of his mind. I have a birthmark on my hip, its big and weird and I've always hated it and he kisses it every chance he gets," I cringe, shaking my head. Gross, I grin, nodding for her to continue.

"The girl looked like me, but she didn't have my birthmark. And that was the first thing he went for. So I'm sitting there, practically screaming inside because I'm about to listen to the man I love make love to a woman who isn't me, when I hear him yell."

I tilt my head a little, curious.

"He couldn't talk very well, but he said my name like it was air and he was drowning. I heard him say, 'What the fuck? You aren't my girlfriend, what the fuck?'" She curls her arms around her legs, chuckling.

"My heart practically springs out of my chest, and I kick the door wide open. He sees me and he's half naked with an angry face but when we lock eyes, he knows me. He practically bum rushed the girl out of the way and tackled me. I think he started crying."

"What I'm trying to say is, sometimes people aren't in their right minds. If you love a boy while he's young, it won't always be perfect. But being young isn't an excuse to allow him to treat you like less than you're worth."

She stands, stretching and tossing her long black hair over her shoulder.

"I had my birthmark, and it made your brother tell me apart from a gorgeous naked girl right in front of him. Sooner or later Rome will realize Daniella doesn't have your birthmark Myah, and it may not be soon, but it will happen. Sweet dreams babe, I love you," she kisses my forehead and walks out, and I am left alone once again.