ASHLEY

2💎

   Before going home I make Kayla drop me off at Burger King to grab Angela something to eat. I just order her a burger and fry with a large coke and the same for me. When I get home the lights are all on so I know Angela is still up. It's going on one o'clock but since we don't have school tomorrow Angela tries to stay up as late as possible. This isn't even late for her. 

   I find her plundering through the refrigerator looking for something to eat. I wave the bag in her face. She pops her head up and snatches the bag out my hand. "Oh my gosh, I was starving. Thank you!" I follow her to the couch.

   "Whatcha watching?"

   "The Uninvited."

   I give her a weird look. "A scary movie before bed?" I always have to watch some crappy comedy after watching a scary movie if I want any luck with going to bed.

   "Who says I'm going to bed? It's only one o'clock." She answers in a matter-of-fact tone. I roll my eyes at her and kick my feet up after taking off my pumps.

   I silently contemplate bringing up Kenneth. He was a big part of Angela's life too. He was just as much my friend as he was hers. That's what makes it so hard to cope with this. He may not even want to talk to me or see me. I meant nothing to him. He showed me that when he left and never bothered to check up on us. I missed him the most when my parents died. He was the only person I wanted to be there with and he wasn't.

   I cross my arms in front of my stomach. I watch Angela as she stares at the screen. "Ang?"

   "Yes?"

   I hesitate before answering, seriously considering shutting the conversation down before it even begins, but I know now that I opened that door she won't leave me alone until I say what it is I have to say. "Do you miss Kenneth?"

   She turns to look at me, all traces of joking gone from her face. "At first but now I hate his fucking guts. He can roll over and die for all I care."

   "Don't say that, Ang. You don't say that about people." I definitely hadn't expected that reaction from her. I knew she was hurt but I didn't know she was that hurt. She use to call Kenneth her brother so to hear that from her is shocking, leaving me flabbergasted.

   Angela shrugs. "Why do you ask anyway?"

   "I was thinking about him today."

   "Why?" She asks.

   "I just was."

   "Yeah, but why?"

   "I just was! Why do you have to be such a brat sometimes? I was just asking a question." Having enough of her funky attitude, I get up and storm off to my room. The first thing I do is tie my hair up and put my gold cap over it. I then strip out my clothes and make my way to the shower and turn the water all the way on hot. I stand in front of the mirror, naked. Grabbing a wipe, I wipe off all my makeup and peel off my lashes then wash my face with a cleansing facial.

   When I get in the shower I turn the temperature down some and lather my body down with my pomegranate shower gel. I throw my head back as the water cascades down my body, washing away the dirt and oils on my brown skin.

   After my shower I throw on a large t-shirt and climb into bed, feeling good from my shower. It doesn't take long for me to drift off to sleep.

   I wake up the morning to insistent banging on the front door. I try to go back to sleep, hoping whoever's knocking will go away or someone else will answer the door. When that doesn't happen I jump out of bed and run to the bathroom and brush my gunky teeth and rinse my mouth out with mouthwash and put on my contacts. I stomp to the front door. "Hold on, I'm coming!" I yell to the person on the receiving end. "Who is it?"

   There's no answer so I peek through the peephole, standing on the tips of my toes. My mouth hangs open and my stomach starts doing weird twists and turns. I seriously contemplate waiting the person out but I already spoke so they know I'm here. I swing the door open.

   "Did I wake you?" He asks seemingly genuinely concerned.

   "I-I-"

   "You look good. Different than when I last saw you." I look down at my large shirt and baggy sweats. I still have my cap on and my eyes have dark circles underneath. I don't look good. He's just saying that to make conversation with me.

   "Um..." I'm not sure what to say and so an awkward silence is bestowed upon us. I lick my dry lips. Whether I wanted it to be a rumor or not doesn't matter anymore. He's here now and I must say he looks sexy as hell. He's not the same awkward boy I use to hang out with years ago. He's taller now and doesn't have braces or dress like he put his clothes on in the dark. He's tall now and skinny. His lips are just as pink and full. I take note of the ink decorating his mocha skin. He even had a few on his neck. He offers a smile to be nice. Gosh, he has a nice smile.

   "It's me, Kenneth. Did you forget about me? We use to be friends-"

   "Yeah...use to," I say, snapping out of my daze, realizing what a fool I'm making of myself. "What are you doing here Ken? We aren't friends. We aren't associates. You decided that when you didn't answer any of my calls after you left. You know what, don't come back here. I don't want to see you and neither does Angela. She hates you, you know."

   "I-"

   "Goodbye, Kenneth." I shut the door before more hurtful words start flying out of my mouth. I press my back against the door and release a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I listen as Kenneth curse himself loudly.

   "I know you don't want to talk to me right now but I'll leave my number under the third flower pot just in case," he says before storming off.

   I didn't know what else to say. I never wanted things to turn out the way they did between us but they did. It's all his fault. I shouldn't care about him; after all, he doesn't care about me. But I do care. I want to know what happened, where I went wrong. What did I do to make him not talk to me for four straight years? He use to tell me he loved me but I know now he didn't mean it. They never do.