‘You look a bit tired, Flower girl. Rough night?’ Jamie asks Florence when we’ve finally reached our 30-minute break.
I’ve made the same observation about Florence but haven’t figured out how to ask her about it yet. Truth be told, I didn’t get any sleep last night either, too busy thinking about what my girl told me on our call. About her parents’ behavior, what we did besides talking, and of course, her last words before she hung up on me so suddenly.
You can’t imagine the time I spent thinking about those three small words.
Florence chuckles. ‘Why thanks, Jamie. I couldn’t set my book down all night.’ I take a closer look at her since I’ve barely been able to do that today so far. Her eyes are red and puffy and she really does look tired. If it weren’t for the smile on her face, I’d be worried. As it is, my girl seems genuinely cheery and I won’t put it past her to have read all night.
I pull the girl closer, having the sudden urge to hold her again. It’s been too long.
What I didn’t expect was Florence to stiffen in my arms before pulling away. She straightens her back awkwardly and smiles, leans over, and kisses me on the cheek before returning her attention to my friends.
Well, that was weird. Maybe she’s just not in the mood for cuddles.
As the break goes on, I can’t help but notice that Florence is avoiding me. Not in the sense of moving away from me physically but she’s not really looking at me and barely speaks to me. When the guys are busy talking about something else, I decide to ask her about it.
‘Hey, are you alright?’ I lower my voice and lean in a bit.
‘Of course,’ she says but her eyes are bouncing around my face nervously, betraying her.
‘Is it about what we did? If I took it too far or said something you didn’t like, I’m really sorry. Please tell me if that’s the case.’ The girl blinks at me for a beat but after a second, realization dawns on her face. Red splotches creep up her neck and cheeks and she smiles sheepishly.
‘You certainly don’t have to worry about that,’ she tells me with enough conviction to make me believe her.
‘Then… is it about what you said?’ I ask slowly. This time, my girl understands quicker and my stomach clenches in anticipation of her answer.
‘Oh, that. Just forget about it,’ she says, not meeting my eyes and chuckling again.
‘Did you mean it?’ I prod slowly.
‘Yeah,’ she admits before quickly going on. ‘But I shouldn’t have said it. I know it’s too soon and it’s really no problem if you don’t feel the same way,’ she rambles.
‘Florence, look at me.’ I cup her face, relishing in the way she leans into the touch. Then I press my lips to her, a quick and gentle gesture but it does the trick since she seems calm now.
Meanwhile, my heart is beating in my throat as I’m trying to gather my courage. I’ve never told anyone what I’m about to tell this girl but I know it’s the right thing. I know it’s the truth so it’s only fair to tell her.
‘I love you,’ I tell her softly. My girl perks up at that and it’s adorable. She looks like a dog when its owner is about to come home.
‘Really? Because if you don’t that’s totally fine,’ she tries to assure me.
‘I wouldn’t lie to you. I’ve told you what I think of lies.’ Unless my imagination’s playing a trick on me, a shimmer of guilt passes over her features. It’s gone so fast though that I think I might as well have imagined it. Then she smiles at me again and we don’t speak much for the rest of the break.
After school, I quickly go home to change for a job interview. The doctor said I should take things easy for a while because of my concussion but the date for this interview has been set for a while. Besides, I promised Florence I’d give her her aunt’s guitar back eventually.
‘Come on, little brother. I’ll give you a ride just like back in the day. Do you remember when I had to chauffeur your ass to your guitar lessons in middle school?’ Kai teases me, ruffling my hair as he walks past me.
I push my hair away from my face and glare at him. ‘You know damn well I could drive myself if only our dear mother weren’t so worried all the time.’
‘Yeah, yeah. You just keep telling yourself that. Now, get in the car, I’m meeting my girlfriend later,’ he says, heading out of the house. I jog after him.
‘Won’t your boyfriend feel neglected?’ I tease him.
‘Alejandro? Please, you know how he gets when he doesn’t get his weekly dose of telenovelas. He told us if we so much as disturb his marathon with a text, he’ll never forgive us.’ My brother laughs and I can’t help but join. Yep, that sounds like Alejandro.
The interview at the local record store goes pretty well. It won’t pay that great but at least it’s something I’d enjoy and that works with my school schedule. Besides, the old owner needs the help and he thinks the teens coming here would enjoy seeing a young face.
If I need it, I can get a more serious job in the next break.
On my walk home, not too far from my house, something makes me stop in my tracks. Across the street, I see Marcus. It wouldn’t be suspicious if it weren’t for the other silhouette with him. Hood pulled up to cover the stranger’s face, all I see is their hands as they hand Marcus something. Then, the stranger is gone and my friend walks off in the opposite direction.
I curse under my breath and pick up my pace to follow Marcus. When I’m close enough, I grab him by the shoulders and slam him into the closest wall so he’s facing me.
‘Hey! What the h- Eli?’ he yells, his fist cocked and only a few inches away from my face.
‘I could ask you the same thing!’ I snap right back, not loosening my grip on him.
‘What do you mean? And get off me!’ he shoves me and I stumble back.
‘Drugs, Marcus? Really?’ His composure falters for a beat and I can see the hint of panic beneath the anger in his eyes.
‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he tells me.
‘Yeah? Tell me, then. Tell me I didn’t just see what I think I did.’ My friend’s mouth clamps shut. ‘Fuck, why didn’t you tell us it was getting bad again?’ I ask, my voice lower now. Again, yeah. Marcus got in a rough spot a bit over a year ago, not long after his mother’s death. His father drowned himself in work and his younger sister got sent away because of shoplifting.
She was only gone for the summer, luckily. She means the world to Marcus and it destroyed him to have failed to protect her. His father pulled himself together after realizing his kids needed him and Marcus got clean. But now here we are.
‘It’s not the same. It’s just because of soccer, I swear,’ he tries to reason with me.
‘You don’t need them. Down the toilet they go, okay?’ I ask. It’s what the guys used to do whenever we found his stuff. Flush it away.
Marcus lets his head drop forward with a sigh. When he looks back up at me, he nods.
