At least nothing bad happened. He’s alright with his friend. That’s fine. He could’ve picked up my call then. This is weird but I guess it’s alright. Everything is perfectly fine.
We haven’t talked about what happened yesterday yet. I should apologize for leaving abruptly. He must be upset about it knowing how clingy he is. I’m the adult here, I should show the example.
I slump against the couch, sighing loudly as the tension in my shoulders eases. Today was hectic to say the least. Maybe I should’ve accepted Jason’s offer.
Gazing at the city bustling with life, I sink into the familiar embrace of a feeling I spent my entire life running from.
Loneliness.
47
Visha
I couldn’t take the idea of facing Aoi after what happened yesterday, so I stayed with Liv instead and we had a sleep over.
She pulled out some face masks after the third horror movie we sat down to watch. Eventually, once we smeared the green jelly on our faces, she asked me, “What’re your plans for after high school?”
I didn’t know what to answer, so I returned the question instead. “What about you?”
“I wanna go to NYU and live in New York,” she said, grinning. “It’s a cool city and I’m sure I’ll be happier there than here.”
I nodded. “True. It even suits your aesthetic. Guess I could tag along.”
“You should,” she assured me, earnestly. “If there’s nothing else you wanna do after graduation then we can go to NYU together.”
I pondered the idea for a minute, imagining our lives in college as grown adults. “What about Aoi?”
She cocked her head. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be what? Like in his thirties by then?”
I sighed. “That’s not what I mean. I’m saying that I wanna be with him after graduation. Don’t forget that he’s literally my soulmate.”
She bent over, laughing like J. Jonah Jameson fromSpiderman 2and wiped a tear at the corner of her eye. “Do you really think your crush will last for another four years?”
I nodded fervently. “Duh. I’m telling you he’s my future husband.”
“Yeah, right,” she snorted, playfully shoving me.
We laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. “Promise we’ll see each other again?” she whispered, holding her pinky up.
I intertwined our pinkies and smiled. “I promise.”
***
I wake up confused and dazed until I blink it away and realize I’m still at Olivia’s place.
“You up?” she mutters as she brushes her teeth.
I nod, pushing the covers off me and head to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and wake me up.
I want to skip school and sleep in, but I can’t do that or else Aoi will whoop my ass. After everything he’s done for me, I barely sent him a text telling him I wasn’t coming home.
Talk about being ungrateful.
Olivia smacks my back. “Damn, you look like shit in the morning.”
“Says the one looking like a witch,” I shoot back, cackling at her offended expression. “Two can play this game.”
She shoves me out of the way and spits the toothpaste in the sink then rinses her mouth. “Do you wanna die? I can make it happen.”
