Bad Habit | Lottie Matthews

09

"Dad ! I already told you to take out everything you have in your pockets before putting your clothes in the washing machine !" Angela screamed from the laundry room.

"Sorry !"

"It's not that complicated." she grumbled, throwing the clothes violently.

She grabbed another hoodie and searched the pockets. She frowned as she felt something crumple under her fingers.

"Gabrielle Màrquez." She read out loud. "Why Gaby's mail doing in my pocket-"

She purged the envelope and found a letter.

She started to read.

And the more her eyes read the letters, the bigger they got. She opened her mouth wide in shock.

She gasped.

Then got up quickly and banged her head against the shelf above the washing machine.

She groaned in pain and almost ran out of the room.

"Tim I need to use your-"

Paul rolled over on the couch and frowned. "Angela you're bleeding-"

"Where's Timothy ?" She asked quickly, pacing around the living room.

"He went to buy me some shaved foam why-" He stood up and opened his eyes wide as he saw drops of blood falling down his daughter's forehead. "That's a lot of blood. You don't want us to go to the hospital-"

"I'll walk." She announced as she took the door in hand.

"Walk where-"

The door slammed.

------------

"You had a crush on me ?" Angela asked, pointing to the letter she had in her other hand.

Lottie remains silent, and then she nodded. Her eyes roved over Angela's hand and the crumble paper in between her fingers.

"I still do."

"You have a crush on me ?" She asked in disbelief tilting her head to the side with frowning eyebrows

The blonde was at Lottie's doorstep, completely drenched from head to toe. The wound on her head no longer had any trace of blood from the water that had trickled into her hair.

"And you rejected me." Lottie mumbled as she clutched the front door in her hand. "Twice."

"Wha-" She looked behind her. "How twice ? You never-"

"You never agreed to be friends. Which to me sounds like a rejection." Lottie cut her off as if it was obvious.

"I didn't want to be your friend because I wanted to be more ! I have feelings for you and that's why-" Angela pushed the letter against her chest. "I couldn't be around you, because I knew I had more than just a crush on you."

Lottie looked down as she picked up the letter. "Oh, I wish I knew."

"I wish I knew that too." She smiled sadly. "Lottie what you wrote in that letter, that's so-- I never thought anyone could love me when I didn't even love myself at the time."