Brutal Love

Chapter 13

*Joey's POV*

I got a text from Winnie ten minutes ago asking if I wanted to come over. I told my mom that I was going out and I'll be back whenever and left the house. When I was in my car I texted Winnie back saying I'd be there soon. I stopped at the 7-11 first and picked up a couple of slurpees. I didn't know what flavor she liked so I just got a mix of everything, same as for myself.

As I was driving, I kept thinking what was up. Winnie is adorable. And she's pretty hot for a girl her age. I mean she's only 15 but wow! But that's the thing. She's 15. I'm 19. Keep it in your pants, Joe. Do I like her or is this just physical attraction? Would she ever like me for me or just for who my father is? Well considering she hates my father, now's a good a time as any to find out. I feel really bad for her and why she feels like she does. But I'm curious to know what happened to her parents. Maybe if she trusts me enough she'll let me know on her own. She seems like an amazing friend.

I pulled up in Tre's driveway and noticed my dad's car was in the driveway. I quickly pulled back out and decided to park around the corner so he wouldn't know I was here. I didn't want him to tease me or anything. Last night, he came into my room and asked me what I thought of her and I told him I thought she was cute. He took it the wrong way and started teasing me and saying that I have a crush on her. I grabbed the slurpees and walked back to Tre's. I was about to knock on the door when it opened and I saw my dad's shoulder. I side-stepped out of the way as he made his way to the car, leaving the door open.

I saw Winnie just going up the stairs and I bounded in.

"Hey Win." I said, handing her the slurpee.

"Thanks." She took the slurpee from me. "Come on."

I followed her upstairs and I just turned into the hallway when I heard the door close and footsteps going downstairs. I sighed.

"What?" She asked as she closed her room door behind us. Her bed was in the corner by the window and there was a couch by the foot of her bed against the same wall as the window. Across from that was a TV on the same wall as the door. Tre must really treat his guests like royalty.

"Nothing. Just my dad."

"Are you embarrassed to hang out with me? Is it because I'm 3 years younger than you?"

"No, I'm not embarrassed. It's just me and my dad had a fight last night. I said maybe he should've just left you alone." I lied. She put her slurpee down and hugged me.

"You didn't have to fight for me."

"But I wanted to." I wrapped my arms around her and rubbed her back. "What are friends for?" Did I just put myself in the friend zone?

"Thank you." She pulled away and smiled. "So what do you want to do?" She picked up her drink and slurped.

"Wanna watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. You can pick." She turned on the TV and went to Netflix.

"I don't really care so you pick."

"Alright then, we're watching In Your Eyes. My friend Thomas talked about it one time and I've always wanted to watch it but just never gotten around to it."

"Who's Thomas, your boyfriend?"

She laughed. "What's with everyone thinking I have a boyfriend? No, he's just a friend but he moved away a couple of years ago. Haven't talked to him since."

"Shame." I sat myself down on the couch smiling. She sat down next to me.

"It was at first, but now not so much. I have new friends." She pressed play and we watched in silence. Halfway through the movie, she paused it. "Do you want a snack?"

"Sure."

"I'll be right back. Don't watch without me."

"Don't worry, I'll wait."

She smiled at me before leaving the room. I don't know what it is, but I think I do like her. I practically friend zoned myself but maybe there's still a chance.

*Winnie POV*

I went downstairs to get some popcorn. So far the movie is really good and with the snacks I have an excuse to sit closer to him. I went into the kitchen and Billie was in there. Great.

"Hey kid. What's up?" He asked. I ignored him and continued to look for the popcorn. I found it and put it in the microwave. Then I started looking around for more snacks. "Ooh, popcorn. Are you watching a movie?" I continued to ignore him as I grabbed a pack of twizzlers and a bag of skittles. "That's a lot of snacks. Must be a marathon." More ignoring. Then he grabbed my shoulders, making me drop the skittles.

"What do you want, Armstrong?" I asked, irritated. He was still holding onto my shoulders so I couldn't pick the skittles back up.

"I want you to tell me what's up and stop ignoring me."

"I want my dad back but we both can't get what we want, now can we?" I got out of his hold and picked up the skittles. The microwave beeped and I grabbed the popcorn out of it. "Now if you excuse me, I have a movie to watch and I'd like it if you didn't interrupt us." I turned on my heels, snacks in arms, and left the kitchen to go back to Joey.