I woke up on top of Ian. He was snoring peacefully and Max was out like a light. I got up quietly and walked out of the apartment and into mine. It was silent. I knocked on Mara's door quietly.
"Who is it?" A raspy voice called out.
"Um, it's uh, it's Percy." I said quietly.
"One second." The voice said. A bit later, a shirtless George opened the door. He cocked an eyebrow. "What's up?" He asked.
"Um, I uh, I just wanted to make sure Mara was okay. Do you guys want anything for breakfast?" I asked him.
"If you're making anything. I'll wake up Mara." He said. I nodded and walked away with my head down. Everyone says I'm a pushover. Really, I'm not. I'm very independent. And I like to think I can hold my ground. I just like being nice to people.
Opening up the cabinet, I looked for something to make. I grabbed the ingredients to make waffles and pulled the waffle maker out of a drawer. I plugged it in and started combining the ingredients. I poured a bit of the mixture into the machine to let it do it's work. I sat on the kitchen counter and kicked my feet. Mara walked out and looked at me.
"Babe! You made me breakfast!" Mara squealed. I nodded. She hugged me.
"Waffles with fruit topping." I said. She smirked.
"I was right."
"Huh."
"Joji. He was a good fuck. We went for hours." Was she fucking bragging.
"Okay..." I responded.
"Oh sorry. Thanks for breakfast, girl. You rock." My phone buzzed in my pocket. I took it out and saw a text.
Casey: Hey girl come over!!!!!
This Guy: In a bit. See you at around ten!
I returned my attention to the waffles and made a few more before pulling out whipped cream and some fruit.
"Mara! I'm leaving. Food's on the table!" I said.
"Okay babe!" She yelled back. I quickly walked over to George's apartment. I opened the door to see Ian awake. He looked at me and smiled.
"I made waffles for you guys. I'm going to a friend's house. Later." I said, closing the door quickly behind me. I ran out to my car and drove down the street, taking in the bright blue sky. A hot sun covered my eyes, making it difficult to see. Thankfully, I made it to Casey's house unharmed. Casey was quite possibly the best friend in the world. He was so sweet. His mother owned the bakery I worked at. He worked there part time.
"Girl get up here!" He screamed through his window after I got out of my car. I opened the entrance to the apartment building and ran up the stairs. I knocked on his door. "Get in here!" He yelled.
"Hey Case." I said, opening the door and closing it behind me. He smiled at me.
"Hi. So um, good news!" He exclaimed. I smiled.
"My mother wants you to be the manager of the café. You get to boss people around! It'll be great, right?" He yelled. I nodded and hugged him.
"That's so fucking awesome!" I yelled. Casey smiled.
"I knew you'd be happy." He said.
"I could kiss you right now, Casey." I squealed. He smirked.
"I would not be cool with that." Noah said from behind me. Noah was Casey's boyfriend of three years. Noah was great. They were so easy to talk to.
"Noah!" I yelled, hugging him gently.
"Want a water?" Casey asked me, grabbing himself a beer from the fridge.
"Uh sure, isn't it a bit early for beer though?" I asked.
"It's never too early for beer." Casey said, tossing me a water bottle. He sat on the couch.
"So, I finally met that annoying neighbor. Mara did him."
"She's such a slag. She uses you. She's a fucking stripper for god's sake. She fucked you're fucking neighbor though. That's low even for that bitch." Noah ranted.
"She's my friend." I defended her quietly.
"You always talk about cutting negativity from your life and giving off positive energy. She only likes you when you do something for her. And every time you even look at a guy she has him by the dick. It isn't fair." Casey said, bitterness twisting his words.
"She's a good person, you guys just don't see it." I said.
"Of course you would say that. Percy, not everyone is a nice, happy, peaceful person like you. Not everyone is willing to jump in front of a train for their friends. You have such a nice outlook on the world. It sucks to tell you this, but the world isn't this happy, bright place. Not for people like Mara, anyway." Casey said.
"I heard she's gotten into coke. I mean, she looks kinda fucked up." Noah said.
"I heard she-"
"Guys, stop! She's a nice person. She's just... she's different. She had a bad childhood." I said.
"So did you! Having a shitty childhood isn't an excuse. You're the sweetest person ever, and your parents used to beat the living shit out of you." Casey reminded me. I felt a bang of sadness when he said that. My dad was an alcoholic and my mom, well she couldn't do anything. It's something I don't like to dwell on.
"She's not that bad." I said.
"Percy, you're like family to us. We don't want you to keep worshipping some girl." Noah said.
"Thanks for caring guys, but I'm really fine." I said, shaking my head. I kissed them both on the cheek gently. "I'm gonna get going."
"Bye Perc. Remember what we said." Noah said, embracing me.
"Bye Persephone." Casey said. "See you at work, manager."
"See you at work boss." I said with a grin. I walked out to my car and turned my key in the ignition. Were they right? Was she using me? No, she wouldn't do that. Would she? I mean, sometimes she is a bit...mean, but it's as a friend. She doesn't mean it, right? And why would she leave me out like that and then brag about having sex with George. That wasn't cool. She doesn't usually do that. Did I do something?
I pulled into the driveway and walked into my apartment. I saw Mara in there alone. I walked past her, walking into my room. I wiped off my slightly smudged makeup and threw on some pajama bottoms, not even bothering with a top. I locked my door and laid in bed. Was she using me? Did she hate me? Whatever. I pulled out my phone and snapped a quick selfie.
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I captioned the picture with a simple upside down smiley face emoji. I don't know what to do.
