Michaela
James almost always had a reason for his actions, or at least he used to. So, why he continued to hurt me I did not know. He was practically chasing me all gym class and then he said that to me, purely to inflict pain. I was happy Derek was in my group yet again, but when he put his arm around my waist it felt weird and out of place. Like it didn’t belong there, it made me feel awkward and I was sad to admit, I never felt that way around James. With James, I was always comfortable and at ease, hanging off him or the other way around, the closer we were the more comfortable and safer I felt. I hadn’t felt that way since the day I went over and he said all those heart-breaking words to me. I had never seen it coming, I was completely blindsided. There was no way I could have predicted it ever happening but it did.
I was at his house and we were sitting on his couch together watching TV, I was sitting curled up against him and he had his arm around my shoulders and then he got a call on his cell phone. I remember he left his arm around me and answered his phone. Halfway through the call, he removed his arm and shifted uncomfortably. I thought it was strange but I never questioned him about it. Later that night, I came back to his house and there was a Jeep parked in the driveway. Gert, Tiffany, Neil, and Brad were all there. I walked over to James, ignoring the looks of disgust they all gave me, including my step-sister.
“Hi,” I said a little confused, “I thought we were watching a movie tonight,” I said wondering what they were all doing together. James rolled his eyes at his friends but I saw it and it hurt. “Unless you’re busy,” I added, completely taken aback. This was not like James; who was this person? Everyone but James laughed.
“He’s busy,” Gertrude said, looking happy as I squirmed uncomfortably.
“I was talking to James, Gert. Unless he’s lost his voice, he can answer for himself,” I said, pretending to be stronger than I felt.
“I’m busy,” he answered, not looking at me but at the ground.
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow?” I asked, not feeling sure of anything at this point.
“Nope.” Gert smiled, shaking her head.
“No Michaela,” he told me, saying my full name. He never said my full name and that’s when I knew this was serious and it was going to be bad.
“Mick,” Reggie called, we were okay now after the smack, I had been grounded but not as bad as I had thought it would be. She came into my room wearing a bikini.
“What are you doing Reg? Its November,” I said in disbelief.
“Going to the pool. Now does this look good? I’d ask Gert but she’s out and so is Paix, so here we are,” she said doing her best to make me feel rejected and making it clear I was her last resort.
“It’s okay but your black bikini looks better,” I told her honestly, as she twirled in her little, red, shiny number. She stopped mid-twirl.
“You’re right. Surprisingly,” she agreed and left me to myself.
“Honey,” dad called coming into my room. I jumped off my bike, after having done over an hour. Taking a towel and I wiped the sweat of my face.
“Doing good,” he commented. “How do you feel about ice cream?” he asked.
“Ice cream for dinner sounds great to me! Just like we used to.” I smiled at the memory of dad, James, and I.
“Just like we used to, baby girl.” He smiled. Our favorite ice cream stand was a half-hour away but the drive was nice and the ice cream would be worth it.
“What’cha getting darlin’?” he asked as we looked at the menu, not that we needed to, I always got the same thing.
“The Chocolate Oreo Avalanche.”
I smiled in delight, it had been so long and I was salivating just at the thought. He smiled and went to order while I snagged us a table. The place was pretty empty, there was only one older couple here, but then the bell on the door rang and more people entered. I didn’t bother looking, I was fixated on my iPod. So, when I heard an older man say, “Mickey! Fancy running into you here,” I was shocked to see Mr. and Mrs. Kirk, June and, unfortunately, James standing in front of me. I think they saw the surprise on my face.
“Hi.” I smiled to all of them but James. “How are you all?” I asked politely, feeling incredibly awkward, unlike I used to around them.
“We’re all doing good! We haven’t seen much of you around lately, you should stop by,” Mrs. Kirk said and I could tell she meant it and missed me too. I missed them all, they’d practically raised me. I nodded politely at her and smiled.
“My, you’ve grown into quite the lady. I remember when you and James were small and inseparable,” Mr. Kirk complimented. I remembered too. I swallowed hard, finding it difficult.
“Well, hello neighbors,” dad said, breaking the awkward tension surrounding us and passed me my ice cream. I took it and my spoon as he sat down. “Do you want to pull up a table?” he asked them. I nearly choked as he said it. “We’re just here for Mick’s birthday and wouldn’t mind extra company, as Tanya used to say, the more the merrier.” I couldn’t believe he’d just invited them to join us or that he was bringing up mom.
“We’d love to,”
