The only light in my room comes from my alarm clock. I sit on the floor next to my bed, sitting next to me is a spilled bottle of Tylenol. This damned headache just won’t go away. I’ve already taken more than the daily dose and my head is still killing me. *buzz* *buzz* That’s the tenth time my phone’s gone off today. I don’t bother to check it, I’m not interested in talking to anyone. I just want to sit here and rot away. *buzz* *buzz* On Monday I'll be heading over to the recruitment office first thing in the morning. Spears can go fuck himself, I’m not going back to that hell-hole of a school. I have to get the hell away from this city. The Navy will help me do just that. *buzzzz* *buzzzz* I get up, grab my phone and wrap it with my blanket. The constant notifications are doing absolutely nothing to help my headache. I’m not popular enough to be getting this many notifications, maybe Trish doxxed me again and gave everyone at school my number. I walk over to the bathroom and flick on the light. Checking myself out in the mirror only makes me feel worse. Huge bags under my eyes and paleness makes me look like a dead man walking. I haven’t really been outside since I went to school yesterday. I don’t plan on going outside tomorrow either, although I will have to get a good night's sleep and fix myself up to look good for the recruiter. My stomach growls, I haven’t eaten much in the past week either. I shut the light off and walk to the kitchen. Not much to eat now since I haven’t been shopping in forever. Rummaging around the cupboards I find an old tin of oatmeal… this will do I guess. … Sitting down and getting ready to eat I reach into the blanket and unearth my phone. *buzz* *buzz* Motherfucking son of a bitch. I toss my phone back in the blanket and throw the whole thing across the room. I’ll just watch something on my PC instead. I press the power button and the screen turns on, I’m greeted with an updating screen… I’ll just eat in silence. After finishing my bowl I leave it on my desk and step over to my bed. I sit down on the edge of the mattress and cup my face in my hands. I’m once again bombarded by memories of last night. Seeing her walk away in someone else’s arms, walking back home alone, crawling into bed, and crying myself to sleep. My vision begins to blur as tears well up in my eyes. I have to get my mind off of her. Maybe a little sun would be a good idea. I stand up and walk over to my closet, grab a new set of clothes, and walk over to the bathroom to change. … I walk over to the blanket on the floor and fish my phone out. Taking a quick peek at the notifications shows 14 texts and 4 missed calls. I pocket the phone without checking them. Walking into the kitchen I grab my keys and walk out the door, locking it behind me. It’s really bright outside. Actually, that might just be because I haven’t been outside like this in a week. The sun shines through the clear sky and bathes everything in warmth. It feels pretty nice, although I am slightly worried I might get a sunburn. As I walk through Skin Row I take in the sights of the distant buildings and even more distant mountains. The city really is beautiful. I suddenly realize that I’m standing in the middle of Skin Row not paying attention to my surroundings. I pick up the pace and keep walking out to the nearest bus stop. Yesterday was Friday which means money from Dad should be showing up any time now. I’ll stop by the bank on the way home and see if it’s been deposited. … Arriving at my destination I hop off the bus. I walk down the sidewalk and eventually turn off onto a path in the sand. Volcaldera beach… I walk up to the shoreline and take in the view, the sunlight bounces off the blue water and far away boats slowly make their way across the water. I walk along the beach, taking in all the beauty of the ocean. Won’t be long until I’m out there on the water. As I walk I begin to feel a sense of deja vu… I look over to my left and see a familiar-looking park bench and light post. I realize where I am. This spot in the sand… Fang and I drank right here. We set our belongings on that same bench and walked up to the shore and sat down. I walk up to the bench and take a seat. I stare out into the vast ocean. I never thought I would come back to this spot, even accidentally. I am once again filled with the desire to leave. The feeling of dread slowly but surely spreading over my body. A pit forms in my stomach and a knot forms in my throat. I stand up and take one last look at the beach and the ocean. Time to go home, I’ve seen enough of the outside world for now. *buzz* *buzz* I pull my phone out of my pocket and fight the urge to throw it into the ocean. Unlocking it and checking the messages reveals 15 texts… all from Reeda. 10:07 am ‘Reeda: hey bro did u see fang last nite’ 10:15am ‘Reeda: bro?’ 10:28 ‘Reeda: did somethin happen? ur usualy up by now I scroll down a bit ‘Reeda: bro rly are you ok??’ ‘Reeda: i asked trish and she said fang didnt see you’ ‘Reeda: anon?’ ‘Reeda: please answer’ What is her problem? I check my missed calls and they’re all from Reeda too. I pocket my phone and start walking again. Did Trish finally decide to fill her in? Is that why she’s so worried? I feel a little annoyed and relieved at the same time. On one hand, all the texts were from one person constantly texting me and driving me crazy. On the other hand, someone still cares enough about me to text and make sure I’m alright. … Back in Skin Row now, trying to come up with a response to Reeda’s texts. I don’t wanna brush her off, but at the same time I don’t wanna dump everything on her. My apartment comes into view as I struggle to type something out, stuck between simple reassurance that I am okay, or apologizing for not answering and coming up with a bullshit excuse. I walk up the stairs to my floor and turn the corner of my hallway when I stop. I hear some nervous muttering, usually I would just say it was a junkie in the next-door alley but this sounded different. It sounded closer. I look up at the end of the hallway to see someone standing in front of my door. They’re wearing a white hoodie with the hood up and ripped blue jeans. The name on the back of the hoodie reads ‘Bigly Die’. A red tail thrashes around behind them as they knock on the door to my apartment. Great, another druggie’s got the wrong address again. I puff up my chest a little and yell. “Can I help you?” Hopefully, I sound a little more intimidating than I actually am. The figure whips around and- “Reeda?” “Anon?” She breaks into a sprint and throws herself at me. “OHMYGODANONIWASSOWORRIEDYOUDIDNTANSWERANYTEXTS-” “WOAH! WOAH chill out Reeda, what happened? What’s wrong?” She shakes in my arms as she tries to explain. “Why- didn’t- text- me-” Okay, let’s bring this inside. I reach into my pocket and pull out my keys, shuffling over to the door I insert the key and unlock it. I pull her inside and close the door behind us. Still holding her in my arms I drag Reeda over to my bed and sit her down, she’s not shaking as bad as before but she’s clearly still upset. “Alright, what happened Reeda?” She keeps her head down as she explains the situation. “I sent you that text about the concert and you said thank you, I thought you were going to see Fang.” “But then you didn’t respond so I asked Trish if Fang had seen you and she said no why would she.” “I told her I let you know about the concert and she started trippin out, she said Fang went with another dude.” “I… I thought you might’ve seen them there, so I sent a couple more texts to make sure you were okay but you didn’t answer” “I thought you might’ve… might…” She looks up at me and our eyes meet through her loose bangs, tears start to fall down her face again. I pull her in for a hug as she sobs, her tail comes around and wraps around my waist. So that’s why she was texting me so much… she thought something happened to me. I should’ve checked those fucking texts. “Sorry Reeda I haven’t been checking my phone lately” I can’t tell her I was ignoring her, she’ll kill me. We sit like this for a few minutes as her emotions settle. Eventually, she eases up a little and she sits back a little bit, putting her arms down and unraveling her tail. “I’m” *sniff* “I’m also outta carfe… so I’ve been a little anxious all day.” She says with a small smile I stand up and walk over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water from inside. I also grab some napkins from the counter. I walk over to her and offer the napkins, she blows her nose and tosses them into the trash. Sitting back down on the bed I hand her the water bottle. Taking the water and unscrewing the lid she drinks the whole bottle in one go. “Thanks bro… and sorry for freakin out on ya… I just didn’t wanna lose you.” A familiar pain in my chest makes itself known as she says those words. “It’s… okay… feels nice to have someone worry about you. In a weird way, I mean.” An awkward silence fills the room, I’m walking on eggshells and not certain how to continue the conversation. She finally breaks the silence. “Can you fill me in on you and Fang? I’m Tired of Trish just tellin me everything’s okay when there’s shit goin on in the background.” Is it my place to tell her My and Fang's business? …She shouldn’t just be left in the dark. … I recount that night. The sneaking away from Fang’s house, the beach, and the drinking. How I drank a few too many and lost my filter. I then explain the following days of loneliness, followed by her texts on Thursday. How after school on Friday I raced home to get ready and ended up being hours early, this got a small chuckle from her. And finally, I explain what happened at the concert, and how I saw Fang with another man and decided that night that I’m going to join the Navy. Reeda doesn’t seem to be listening anymore. While she was maintaining eye contact and nodding along before, she now seems to just be staring into the void. “Reeda?” She still hasn’t remade eye contact but I hear a soft “mhm” “Are you… Are you mad at me for this?” Immediately her eyes lock onto mine and her brow furrows. “No.” Her expression softens a little, “We all have our own little fuck-ups every now and then ya know?” She breaks eye contact and looks down at her hands. “When I tried carfe for the first time I was… such a bitch.” She giggles. “So I don’t blame you for getting plastered one time and saying some mean shit bro.”... “But Fang…” Reeda shifts in her spot a little. “Now I know why they were keepin this all behind my back” “Huh?” I ask, I hope I didn’t just start something between the two of them. “Nothin bro, don’t even worry about it.” She says with a smile. I’m getting more and more worried as this goes on. “But I need you to do somethin for me.” She says as she stands up. “What’s that?” “Don’t leave before graduation.” It takes everything I have not to facepalm. “Reeda I-” She wags a finger at me “No buts! I didn’t become your number one friend for you to dip right before graduation.” I want to argue my case but Reeda already stood up and is walking toward the door. I stand up and start to follow her but stop short when she turns around. “Also, let’s meet in the auditorium on Monday.” “But won’t Fang be there?” “Nah I’ll be sure to let Trish know that you and I’ll be in there, I’m sure she’ll keep Fang away.” I hesitate a little but eventually give her a nod. I open the door and she steps out. She turns around one last time. “Oh and uhh… don’t… hurt yourself over this, okay bro? It’ll all work out, I'm positive.” “Ok Reeda I believe you” She smiles and begins to walk away, but turns around and yells “See you on Monday bro!” and shoots me some finger guns. I give her a little wave as she walks around the corner… I shut and lock my door, walk back into my bedroom, and flop down onto the bed. Stay until graduation? Is she serious? That's like two weeks away. Two weeks of seeing Fang at school? Two weeks of being in the middle of the drama that’s definitely going to get stirred up because of what I told Reeda? I sit in silence as I contemplate my next move. Really it just comes down to two options, either sit around tomorrow and wait for Monday to come so I can go to the recruiter's office. Or go to school and deal with the emotionally draining exercise of ignoring Fang and most likely Trish, who will 100% know that I’m the one that filled Reeda in on the situation. …My mind shifts back to Reeda, and how distraught she was from me not answering. She came all the way through Skin Row just to see if I was ok. She’s always been a bro… as much as a girl can be… And I do owe her for all the math work she’s done for me. I sigh and sit up in my bed. It’s only two weeks, Anon, then you can leave and never look back. [POST-NOTES] another chapter down. and no ntr this time? what a surprise!