15
I walked down the fire escape and stepped back into the house. I took a deep breath and walked over to the room. I found Erica lying in a ball on the bed. I stopped at the door and looked at her for the first time in a week. She had on sweats instead of shorts and her hair was more disheveled than normal but that’s not what I really noticed about her. It seemed like more than just her appearance was different. Her whole vibe was different from what it once was. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not and I’m not sure if I like it.
I knocked quietly on the door and went inside. She didn’t roll over but she did acknowledge me with a small smile once I walked to the other side of the bed to face her. I smiled softly back at her. Her smile wasn’t what I was used to seeing on her face, but it was genuine and that was indeed a good thing.
“Hey Erica.”
“Hey Shaina.”
“How you been sweetie?” I asked, hoping she would catch the double meaning in my words.
She paused thoughtfully for a moment and I wondered what was going through her mind, “I’ve been doing better.” She sighed and sat up, “It’s nice to have someone actually care about me for a change.” She laughed dryly.
I looked at her and tried to keep my face still, “What do you mean?”
She shrugged and rubbed her arms like she was cold, “I mean that it’s nice. It’s something that I have to get used to, you know? It’s like… new to me.”
I shook my head with my feelings seriously damaged. Did I not count as someone who cared? That was the whole reason that I brought her here in the first place. I wanted her to be stress free for a while and I knew she wouldn’t get that at home. I planned this trip because I cared about her and I want her to be better; I want her back to her old self. As I stood there though, and I saw how disheveled she looked and how her eyes still hadn’t regained their spirit, I realized that more was on her mind than just that night with Jalen.
I also realized that she wasn’t going to tell me what it was.
The weight of knowing that made me want to cry. My best friend would rather trust my brother with her secrets than trust me because she thinks that I don’t care about her. I wanted to cry, but I wanted to laugh too. How ironic is it that she thinks I don’t care about her, while my boyfriend thinks that I care too much?
I looked at her and shook my head, “I’m sorry you feel like no one cares.”
“Alex cares.”
I frowned at the name, “Alex? Who’s Alex?”
“Your brother.” She said plainly.
“Why are you calling him Alex?”
She looked down and smiled. I vaguely heard her respond and tell me some story about him taking her to dinner and letting her call him that, but I was stuck on other things. That smile wasn’t an ordinary smile; it was a loving smile. It was the kind of smile that I give Tyrell and it’s the kind of smile that only someone who is completely smitten wears. I looked at Erica. She had looked different when I walked into the room, but I know what the difference is now. She’s completely in love with Ricky.
I don’t know how I feel about that, but I shoved it into the back of my mind and listened to Erica’s story.
“So yeah. That’s why I call him Alex.”
I nodded my head and forced a smile, “Okay. I guess it’s really none of my business. That’s between you and Ricky.”
She laughed quietly, “I guess so.”
YOU ARE READING
Summer Vacation
Teen FictionMy name is Shaina Jones. This is my story. Its not "Lovey-dovey" but it's not "hardcore" either. It's real. This is the summer where everything became real. It's not that things were fake before, it's just when everything changed. Where people had t...
