"I would give anything to have a brother again and look at you two. Do you know how lucky you are?"
I didn't feel very lucky now. On the contrary.
"You two used to be so close. Don't you remember that? Don't you remember how you used to spend house playing together. Hours! You even had your own special language that no one else could understand. Remember? No one knew what you were saying, only you guys did. Remember how the two of you wouldn't sleep in separate beds for years. You always wanted to be with each other.... " He paused and looked at us for the longest time. "And now look at you. Just throwing it away!"
I shifted uncomfortably. I had forgotten all that. The language that we'd made up, which allowed us to talk to each other anywhere without anyone understanding. I shot a tiny glance to my side at exactly the same time as McKenzie. Ours eyes met for a second and we both pulled away.
"And over what... a boy?" My dads gaze came to rest on me and a massive wave of embarrassment made me shift again. My dad moved closer and kneeled on the floor in front of me. His face changed and he looked softer now.
"A boy that hasn't noticed for ten years Maria... "
I couldn't stop the tears and my dad gripped my hand. "You are worth more than that! The right boy would notice you in seconds Maria." Out of the corner of my eye it looked like McKenzie was trying to move towards me, but then stopped herself.
"You wanted to travel the world once, to see it all. Don't throw it away. And don't throw your relationship with your sister away over this either." He got up swiftly and marched to the door before turning around. he held his hand out.
"Phones. Give them to me." He clicked his fingers impatiently.
We both obeyed and handed them over.
"Now, you two are going to stay in here until you sort this out." He exited and the locked clicked.
McKenzie and I were alone. Locked in a room together.
Mike.
I climbed the tree and sat in my usual spot. Maria was everywhere. The carvings we'd made on the tree together over the years, and there was even a small piece of blue wool stuck to a twig, from the time she'd ripped her cardigan on it.
I thought back to the day that I found out my parents were getting divorce, how she'd bunked school to come looking for me, and how we'd sat together for what felt like hours. We hadn't said a word, but I had felt so comforted.
I traced my fingers over one of the carvings.
C & S
Best friends eva
We'd carved that when we were just . I remember that day too. We'd thought about slicing our palms and doing that whole, "sealed in blood friendship thing" but we'd both chickened out and decided just to spit and shake on it.
In fact, if I think back over the last ten years of my life, there's barely a memory that doesn't involve Maria. She had always been there for me.
I was trying to wrap my head around it all. What had just happened? I started to trace back the sequence of events. She'd known who kissed me from the start; from the day we had sat here and chewed all that gum together. She'd listened to me for hours as I spoke about trying to find her, and there she was, in front of me this whole time. The party I had organized at Brett's house – she'd known. She must have been messaging me while I was right there. Literally, behind my back. And how the hell had McKenzie gotten involved? Pretending to by the MMK was one thing. It was almost something I could forgive. In a way, it was almost amusing to think about. But what really hurt right now was the lie about her parents getting divorced. She'd used that lie to manipulate my feelings, even if she'd been trying to make me feel better.
If I thought about it with a little distance... sure, maybe she'd done it for the right reasons. But something about it just hurt so badly. The divorce was so raw and painful that the idea that someone- my best friend- would make up an elaborate lie about 'her' divorce. It felt patronizing somehow. Almost mocking. Making light of it. Pretending. Lying.
That was the part that really got to me.
I kicked a small branch off the tree with my foot. And then another, it felt good to break the little branches and listen to them snap. There was something quite soothing about being destructive right now.
But what the hell was I meant to do now?
I'd almost had her in my grasp, and without realizing it, she had been what I wanted for a long time... and now what? She was gone? We were over?
God! I grabbed my head between my hands. I was so fucked up right now. I wasn't even thinking straight. This had been the craziest, most eventful, the best and the worse three weeks of my entire life. A massive turning point. Massive!
My phone beeped and I reached into my pocket, it was Brett.
Brett: Don't tell me ur fucking up all my hard work!
Mike: Did you know it was her?
Brett: Does it really matter if it was her?
Mike: YES! She lied to me. She put me through hell.
Brett: AND U DON'T THINK YOU'VE PUT
