Just Good Friends

Chapter 67

[trigger warning: this chapter mentions sexual acts such as assault and r8pe towards the end. If this topic makes you uncomfortable, please skip it.]

"What did you want to talk about?" Sam asks as she sits on the bed next to me.

"I'm sorry how everything went down. Today and in the past," I begin. "Dana was way out of line talking about you sleeping with the crew. I know that's not true and I couldn't just ignore it. I feel so stupid that I really regarded her as a friend..."

"I told you. I been telling you that she didn't really care about you, that she was nasty and caused drama, but you were too obsessed with the booty..." Sam claims with angry eyebrows.

"That's not true. I wasn't trying to sleep with her-- and I didn't sleep with her. I don't know why you think that."

"Oh, please. Don't act so innocent. I've seen the way you and practically all the guys at school stare at her like some hungry animals. It's like y'all excuse her behavior because she's cute, and it's annoying." She releases a huff as I don't have any excuses for her claims. "The worst of all was that you were no different. I thought you had common sense being my best friend, but I guess I was wrong."

"Maybe I did find her attractive... but you're right, that's no excuse for me to ignore her red flags. I'm sorry."

Sam rolls her eyes and sucks her teeth.

"Everything you were warning me about was right. About Dana and about Julie," I shake my head while thinking about all the drama that these girls brought me. "I ended up believing their words over my own best friend's..."

"Since you brought up Julie, what's up with y'all? You acknowledge that she hurt you but you still invite her to your birthday party? Are y'all trying to get back together now since Dana didn't work out?"

"Whoa. What makes you think that I'm trying to get with Julie?"

"I saw the way y'all were looking at each other, and giggling, and sharing inside jokes. It seems like you seem a bit closer. So what happened?" Sam faces me while searching my eyes.

"Alright. I'll be honest. I didn't expect we'd be completely back to normal again since we broke up, but something changed," I shrug. "Julie changed. We have classes together, and we were partnered for assignments, so I guess I just saw other sides of her that I respected."

"Really? How? Let me remind you this is the chick that lied about carrying your baby and tried to sleep with Jake."

"I know! I wasn't trying to be around her. I was avoiding her the majority of this year!" I exclaim.

"Did y'all hook up?" Sam pries while squinting her eyes.

"No, Sam! Is that really what you think of me? That I'm so easily persuaded by women that I'd do anything just to get close to them? Seriously?" I ask with more offense than anger in my voice.

Sam shrugs. "I mean, I just don't understand how you can become friendly with her again."

"Because people change, and I'm not so stubborn to give them a second chance. Since the breakup, she hasn't shown me any problematic behavior. She just minds her business and goes to class, even despite all of the rumors that were going around about us at school. Even when she sits with us at lunch, she's not catty like before. She's chill. She's treated me well, so I respect her. What do you want me to say?"

Sam nods her head as she toys with the pink and yellow 'BEST FRIENDS' bracelet on her wrist. "Okay. So you're not interested in her at all?"

"Listen, Sam. Like I said, I should've trusted you in the past about Julie. I admit that I could've handled a lot of what happened back then better. Now I've learned, and I'm not gonna make the same mistake again. To answer your question, I like her as a friend. That's it. I don't plan on dating her, but why does that matter to you? We've had this conversation before. Why do you care who I date? It's my life, and as a friend, you're supposed to support me no matter who I hang out with..." I sigh while looking up at my bedroom wall. "I mean, you might as well be like Dana trying to tell me what friends to hang out with and--"