Paper Flower

Layla

I throw myself onto my bed, rolling myself in my duvet and trying to remember what I heard with Micah and Katherine. Her face was so red, and there were tears in her eyes.

"Maybe I'm so 'jealous' all of the time because we never spend time together! Even when I try and call you its always 'sorry sweetheart I'm busy with work' or 'sorry sweetheart I have to drive Layla to Cross Country practice'. She's a SENIOR! Why can't she just drive her own damn car and her own damn self away from my boyfriend!" 

As I slide open my closet door, I see the blue cotton pajama set Micah got me two Christmases ago. I was just 15, and didn't really think anything of it. Later, I found out that Micah had been working two jobs to pay for all of our presents.  After that, I've made sure to get Micah something he really wants for his birthday, Christmas, and Easter.

"Jealous, huh? Over what?" I whisper to myself, walking into the bathroom and starting the shower. I check myself out in the mirror. My ponytail is lopsided and the baby hairs near my forehead are sticking out, but my eyes are still as cold as ever. I've always hated my eyes. I feel as if I look at someone for too long, they'll turn into an ice statue and I'll have to sell them to a fancy banquet to make it look like I didn't just murder someone by staring at them.

I throw my towels onto the sink counter and sigh. What does a grown woman like Katherine want with a high school junior like me? Socially awkward- well, with everyone besides Micah-, a mediocre photographer, and a varsity cross country runner? Does having a five-minute mile really mean that much these days?

The warm water relaxes my sore muscles, and helps me decompress from all that I saw today. If Micah isn't acting like he was just shot in the chest, why do I feel so guilty for his breakup this morning at the park? Should I mention it to him? Would that be prying too much into his personal, personal  life? Micah and I have been close since he starting working with my mom, and since he lives in our basement we see each other every day, but does that allow me to ask him about something so intimate? I shake my hair, splashing water and lavender-scented shampoo onto the grey and blue tiles lining my shower walls. 

A loud groan finally shakes me from my deep thinking, and I finish showering before investigating the cause. Wrapping a towel around my head, I crack open the shower door and call to Micah.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I peek and see if I can see anything from the upstairs balcony overlooking the kitchen, but all I see is a used pan and a plastic tin of butter.

"Yeah, Yeah, everything is fine. The eggs just... never mind. I'll show you when you come downstairs," I hear Micah call back, and I shut the bathroom door again. After showering, my hair falls well below my shoulders, and my skin is pink from the steam. I still can't find why Katherine would be jealous of me, but for now I just decide to let it go and get dressed for the day ahead.