Damon

Chapter 7

*Attached is how I imagine Grace to look like* :)

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"I'm going to guess it's Colonel Mustard with the lead pipe in the lounge." mom says confidently after moving her game piece into the lounge square. "Melina, do you have any of those cards?"

Melina shuffles through her Clue cards then flips over one to show mom. Mom squints her eyes to look at it then marks down on her piece of paper with her pencil.

"Okay Melina, your turn."

"I'm actually going to make a final guess. I think I have enough clues to get it. It is Miss Scarlet with the knife in the lounge." Melina states nervously.

"Let's find out." Mom slides over the envelope that will reveal the answers to the board game.

Melina slowly opens the small envelope and pulls out three cards to study them. "Yes! I got it! I won!" she yells, pushing her chair back as she stands up and jumps up and down.

"Good job!" mom congratulates her.

"Since I'm the winner, you both have to clean up the game." Melina exclaims with a big smile on her face.

"I guess that's fair." As I reach over to pile the cards together, the doorbell rings.

Mom gets up to open the front door revealing Jen on the other side. Her eyes are puffy and red, she is wearing no makeup, and is in a hoodie- a look I don't see on her often. "Jennifer, are you okay?" Mom asks concerned.

"Can I talk to Grace?"

"Of course." Mom moves over to the side, letting Jen in. She looks at me questionably before she and Melina leave the room.

"Hi" Jen mumbles, looking at the floor insecurely, not wanting me to see her face in this current state.

"What's up?" I ask, sitting down on the diner chair.

Jen slowly goes to sit on the chair next to me. She takes a deep breath before speaking. "I'm worried.. about us."

"Okay." Yup, that's all I can think of to say.

"And I want us on good terms."

"I agree."

"Which is why I want to have a mature conversation with you." She finally looks up at me.

"Okay, you want to start?" I offer.

"Yes, so you're probably my favorite person on earth. We have so many memories together and you make me so happy. You're the best friend I've ever had and I don't want to lose you. I feel like we've been distant recently and it makes me sad. I miss us and I want my best friend back. I love you." She lets out a breath she seemed to be holding.

"I love you too. Maybe we have been a little bit distant but we're still best friends. Nothing has changed Jen."

"You don't think anything has changed?" She questions me.

"No honestly."

"That's the problem Grace!" She raises her voice. "You don't notice the change in our friendship but I do! That shows how much I care compared to you. The fact that I'm the one to come over here to fix things while you did nothing shows."

I stay quiet in shock at her words while she continues ranting.

"The last thing I deserve is to be in a friendship where I'm putting all the work and the other person isn't. I am worth more than half-ass effort, Grace. You used to be different. You used to ask me to hang out instead of it only being me. You used to text and call me all the time but now I'm lucky if I even receive more than one text from you in a day. You used to laugh and enjoy yourself with me. Now you're always zoning out as if I'm not there. You're the reason why we've barely been talking. It doesn't feel like I have my best friend anymore and it hurts, Grace. You don't do that to your best friend!" Her face is red and she looks like she's about to cry.

I can't deal with this attack right now. I have too much going on for added stress and I definitely don't want to deal with Jen and her aggressiveness. What does she expect me to do? Say "I'm sorry, it won't happen again"? No, she's putting all this blame on me and now I'm angry.

"Why are you coming at me like that? Was I ever mean to you? Did I ever tell you I don't care for you or don't want to be your best friend? No. It's exhausting to give all your attention and energy to a person every single day and that's what you want from me. I'm tired, Jen. Not of you but of life. I don't even have the energy for myself. You can't give me space until I get myself together again? You need me all the time and I'm sorry I can't be the person you want me to be. You need somebody who will talk to you 24/7 and will do anything you want them to do."

"Wow. Do you even hear how you're talking to me? If you did care you would see where I'm coming from and apologize. You would help fix things." She looks at me with her glossy eyes. I almost see the invisible fumes coming off of her. "And I am NOT controlling like that! I don't need someone to be at my hands and feet! I just need my best friend to give a fuck about me! But you clearly don't. You should want to spend time and talk with me. I am hurting and you're abandoning me and being selfish!"

"Oh, I'm selfish!? That's really funny you say that Jen because you know what's selfish? Not respecting somebody's need for space and always wanting things on your terms. It is so selfish of you to NEVER think of me and how I feel. You're hurting? Think about how I've felt throughout this whole friendship having to bend over backward to keep you happy because if things didn't go your way, hell would break loose. Our friendship is me constantly keeping that from happening. I love you and I mean that whole-heartedly but I am tired of living in your world." By the time I finish speaking, I'm out of breath. I just said everything I've held from her for years.

"It is not my fault that I am a Leo." Tears start pouring down her face. "If that is how you've felt then that means our friendship has been a lie and there's no saving us."

"Maybe so."

"You're a bitch." She states calmly.

"What?"

"You're a bitch and I hope life slaps you in the face to show you what goes around comes around because that karma will get to you. You're a shit person and have a lot of growing up to do." She says with a dead stare.

"Okay.." I almost want to laugh at the words that are being said to me right now. And this is my best friend? It doesn't even hurt, It's just comical.

"Exactly, you have nothing to say because you know I am right. I have done nothing wrong. I gave my all into our friendship and showed you so much love. I told you things I have never told anyone and we shared memories and experiences that I will never forget. I feel like I'm talking to a stranger right now because the person in front of me is not my best friend."

"Hmm."

"I want to fucking slap you for these one-word responses! You really couldn't give a shit." Her voice shakes and I can tell by the way she's clenching the muscles in her face that she's trying to hold back more tears.

My face? Not a tear in sight. I almost feel psychopathic with such little emotion I have right now. My best friend is crying in front of me over our friendship and I don't feel bad? Am I a horrible person for that? I don't feel like I am. I'm just not in the mood to feel emotions. Or to be dealing with this. Is she leaving soon? I'm kinda tired. Ooo a nap sounds so good right now.

Her attempt to hold back a sob failed and is evident in her voice. "I wish you were better than this. I wish our friendship was stronger than this and I wish it could be fixed but I don't think it can. This is all on you Grace, not me. I can't have a best friend who doesn't care about me so I think this is it. When I walk out this door and we never speak again, I hope the fact that you ruined the best friendship you ever had and will ever have eats you alive. I hope you live a life with regret and when you see me happy and thriving, you think about how you wish you were still in my life. I lost all respect for you as a person."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." I honestly can't think of anything else to say to her. I just want to take my nap.

Jen pauses for a minute before standing up from her chair. She shuffled to the front door and looks back at me. As if she's expecting me to stop her and save our friendship but I stare back at her quietly.

My lips don't make any attempt to part as a watch her open the door and walk out of my life.