❝AMONG THE MIDST OF THE EMOTIONS RISING
in his soul and trying to regulate his heart rate
and his breathing, paul couldn't help but wish
for one thing: god, i hope i remember this
tomorrow.❞
𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐥...
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The record spun around and around; Theodora's younger cousin, Adrianna, was entranced by the little piece of vinyl and how it moved so smoothly.
"You're going to make yourself dizzy." Theodora tried.
Adrianna stopped what she was doing to blink at her cousin. "I'm not the one spinning, am I?"
Scoffing, the older and (somewhat) wiser girl returned her gaze out her window.
Outside stood her mother and uncle, two soft figures standing adjacent and juxtaposing the harsh winter world. By the looks of it, they were fighting again. Honestly, Theodora didn't know why her mother insisted on inviting Uncle Omar over every single Thursday if all they ever did was fight about bills, assets, and wills.
"Are they at it again?"
"You know it."
"I wish they didn't do this." by then, Adrianna had stopped watching Theodora's copy of Electra Heart spin. She was lying with her feet up against the wall, gazing at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling.
"You and me both." Theodora stood up and got off of her bed. Lying beside her cousin, she, too, gazed up at the stars. "When I was younger, I tried to name all of these stars."
Making a noise in the back of her throat, the younger girl gawked at her cousin. "You're joking."
"Nope. I don't know, I always thought they deserved to have names. Unfortunately for me, they all ended up having the same name over and over again."
"What name was it?"
"Theodora." the girl laughed out loud and, soon enough, her cousin was laughing along even if she didn't know why it was so funny.
Truthfully, neither did Theodora. She just thought it would be nice to laugh when both girls knew that unkind words were being exchanged outside of the window.
Adrianna's laughter subsided first as a picture caught her attention. Stuck up on the older girl's cork-board was a picture of Theodora and some boy whom Adrianna never met.
Wondering why she stopped laughing, Theodora stopped too. "What?"
"Who's that?"
"Who?" she asked as she followed the other girl's gaze. The familiarity of Paul's face had her beaming again. "That's Paul."
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Rolling her eyes (12-year-olds can be so childish), Theodora shook her head. "Nope. he's just my best friend in the entire universe."
"He's not just that. He can't be just that." the younger girl propped herself up on her elbows.
Following suit, Theodora felt herself grow more and more confused. "Come again?"
"People don't talk like that about their 'just friends.'"
"Yes they do. How would you know if they didn't or did? You're only twelve."
"I know, but, it's just -- I don't know. I think there's something you're not telling me."
The record player stopped spinning, signaling that the album was over.
Getting up, Theodora returned the pink vinyl to its resting place. This gave her a second to realize that she'd just blatantly lied to her cousin, something she'd swore that she'd never ever do.
She had to make it right.
"We kissed once."
Adrianna's eyebrows went up and her jaw went down.
"No way."
"Yes way."
"Details! I need details right this second!"
Taking a deep breath, Theodora recalled the night that everything changed for better and for worse.
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HOW DOES THIS HAVE ,,,, SO MANY LIKES AND READS
YOURE ALL TOO GOOD FOR ME I'VE SAID IT 39 TIMES BUT I'LL SAY IT A MILLION MORE
