endless goodbyes. (discontinued)

Chapter 3

After ages of debating on whether or not I should change my outfit, my mind was suddenly made up when I heard Lee's obnoxiously loud car outside.

Sure enough, seconds later, he honked the horn.

I quickly grabbed my purse off of my bed and ran through the house.

"Bye dad!" I yelled as I opened the front door. I didn't stand in the doorway long enough to know for sure if he yelled back, but I knew he would text checking on me in a few hours.

When I jumped into the car, Lee was definitely upset. He was usually bright spirited and so happy. But he wasn't this time. It didn't look like he'd been crying, but he had a frown on his face. He hasn't even said hi to me.

I felt my forehead crease, "Lee?"

      He turned his head to me and gave me a fake smile, "Hey, Shelly."

I kept my body facing his, "Are you okay?"

He nodded but I could tell it wasn't the truth. He wasn't okay. At this point he would've made a sexist remark about my outfit. But he didn't.

"Put your seatbelt on," he demanded, turning back to face the road.

I did as he said before he started driving.

**

Me and Lee's trip to the mall was probably the most boring activity we had ever done together. Who would have known that his sarcastic remarks and complaining made the mall so entertaining?

The car ride there was painfully silent and awkward which was unusual. The whole time I shopped, Lee was either zoned out or glued to his phone, which was not normal.

    Even though I had grown unbearably worried, I didn't ask him what was going on or try to cheer him up.

   Usually I could tell what he was feeling just by his expression. But he was so blank that it was like I didn't know who I was talking to.

   How could Lee go from normal to whatever this was overnight? What could have possibly happened that made him not even want to talk to me?

   We had left the mall and were eating at a burger joint about a block away.

   Lee was still as quiet as ever, but I was sick of the silence. What harm could speaking up do anyways?

   "Okay," I slapped my hands down on the table and stood up, crouching over the table, "What the hell is going on with you?"

   He set his burger down, still chewing, "Shelly, it's nothing. Sit down."

   I rolled my eyes, "Clearly it's not nothing, Lee. You've barely said anything today and you're not acting like..well..you, at all!"

   He looked like he was trying to hold back tears, "Rachel said it was best that we break up," he confessed. "There. Happy now?"

   He got up and scooted the chair in aggressively before storming off and going outside. I stood there, still over the table. My heart sank.

Lee was heart broken. I know how that feels. I never would've expected Rachel to do that to my best friend. Even though I teased them about finding other people, I really had thought they'd stay together through college.