Gradually Accepting You

Destroyed.

Troy's POV:

I woke up with the alarm blaring loudly, meaning it was time for me to get up. Surprisingly, I didn't hit snooze. I guess I was aware of how much I had to do.

I called Selena quickly on my phone letting her know I was on the way to her house. Once I was finished, I hung up the phone and got in my car.

I walked into Selena's house. It seemed empty and there was no sign of her father anywhere. I walked slowly up the steps saying, "Selena?"

Suddenly I heard loud screams coming from Selena's room. I quickly ran up the stairs and opened the door to her room. She jumped and I realized she was watching a horror movie.

I took a second to catch my breath before I asked her, "What the hell Selena? Why are you watch a horror movie at like 8 in the fucking morning?"

"It's always better to prepare yourself for any scary moment that might happen during any time of the day."

"Even in the morning?"

"Even in the morning."

"Well, your face is scary right now, go wash your face, you weirdo. I wanna leave soon so hurry up," I ended with saying. She rolled her eyes, paused the movie, and went to the bathroom.

I sat somewhere on her bed and waited for her. I took my phone out of my pocket and texted Anna and asked her if she wanted to tag along.
Anna replied back saying she would love to come.

Selena came out of the bathroom and she startled me by saying, "who ya textinnnn?"

"Just Anna. I asked her if she wanted to come along with us," I said as I put my phone in my pocket. We walked out of the house and planned on meeting Anna at our rendezvous.

As we were about to leave the house, Selena's father came through the door.

I told him, "Good morning, sir."

"Good morning, where are you taking my daughter?" he asked.

"I thought it would be nice for me to take her out for some breakfast with some friends."

"No, sorry Troy, she's not going anywhere."

"But she needs to get out-"

"I said no Troy, please respect that."

This time Selena spoke up, "C'mon dad, what's up with you today? Why can't I go out with my friends?"

"Selena, honey, just stay with me inside the house."

"You're being ridicu-" Selena said.

"Don't make me repeat it twice," he impatiently stated. I nodded my head at Selena and headed out the door.

And for a minute, I saw Selena running to her room. There was something missing in that picture. For some odd reason, I never noticed how lonely it was. How lonely Selena's father was. How there was an absence of someone in Selena and her father's life. A mother.

I had never asked Selena about her mother. I guess I just never got around to it. Or maybe I just hadn't known her long enough to ask such a personal question.

I continued to go back to my car. Before I pulled out of the driveway, I noticed someone pulling into the driveway.

I couldn't tell who it was. It was a guy around my age I would say. He was speaking with someone on his phone.

I couldn't hear what he said, but he stopped his car. All I could hear was a loud laughter. Almost like a donkey...

In that moment, I remembered Selena describing someone to me with that same description. His laugh was a dead give away.

Someone I never would've expected to see so soon.

Hello, Roy.

I quickly opened my door and got out. I walked toward his car and he looked startled. He grabbed something from the passenger's seat and got out of his car.

He hung up the phone and saw me.

He said, "Excuse me," walking around me.

"Wait," I yelled.

"I'm sorry do I know you?"

"I'm Troy. I'm a friend of Selena's."

"That's nice man. I'm about to see her, so if we're done here, I'll just continue to do so."

"No, actually, I'm not done."

"Can I ask you something?"

"I guess..."

"How long were you and Selena dating for?"

He laughed and said, "Dude, that's what she tell everyone. We didn't even date."

"Then why are you here to see her?"

"Because I was caught up in some messed up shit with her. I was practically her cover up. I knew she was gay. I did her the favor and pretended to be her boyfriend. But, after I found out her secret girlfriend was Anna, I was out of the whole thing. And now, seeing that they've been caught, I think things could go back to normal. Her and I can be friends again."

I gave him a confused face. I asked him, "Wait, why was it bad that she was with Anna?"

"Anna is my cousin. If my family knew I was involved with helping Anna, they would threaten her mother out of money. My family and Anna's mother have some sort of rivalry. So after I found out, I tried to stop Selena and Anna from seeing each other. Selena then cut me off from her life. I never said anything about them."

Oh Selena and Anna.