Now Or Never

Chapter Twenty

Katia Freeman

"Anybody home...?" I call tentatively,

Silence.

Okay. I hoist by bag off my shoulder and dump it on the ground. I run in to the kitchen only to find Mel, teary-eyed and blinking.

"Can you please move?" I ask roughly. "I need to get the crackers."

She moves, sniffling. I roll my eyes, not about to ask what is wrong. When I needed her, she laughed at me. When she needs me, she shouldn’t expect anything from me.

I grab some crackers and put peanut butter on them before going to the living room and turning on the TV.

A few minutes later, Mel comes and plops down on the couch next to me. She looks at me, her big blue eyes pathedic and pleading.

"Kat..." I hear her say. "Can I talk to you?"

"I don’t want to hear your little problems, mm’kay?" I clarify. "I have headaches of my own to deal with."

She is silent for a while. Then, "Kat, no one wants to talk to me. I’m sorry for everything. I really am."

I roll my eyes. "Don’t you think it’s a little late to be saying this? You’re already with Jason now. If you cheated on him, it’s not my problem," I scoff.

"I didn’t cheat on him. It was the other way around."

Inside, I jump, but force myself not to show it. "Didn’t I say that I don’t have time to listen to your life-changing problems, Melanie?"

She flinches as I use her real name, but quickly recovers. "It was with Rubia Quinn."

Wow. Even more shocking.

"Whatever." I return my eyes to the TV.

"Kat, all my friends are laughing at me."

"Let them laugh." I say, not meeting her eyes.

She dissolves in to silent tears once more and I force my eyes to remain fixed on the screen.

"My life is ruined!" she wails meledramatically.

"Okay, Bella Swan. Men aren’t everything. You have other things to deal with. Like, exams! Life in general." I say roughly.

Mel sniffles, glancing at me.

That is when the phone rings.

"Yoy answer it." Mel tells me.

I roll my eyes, hitting the TALK button. "Hello?"

I am surprised when a manly voice floats out of the phone. "Hey, Katia. This is Jason. Can I talk to Mel?"

I remain silent.

"Hello...?" Jason asks uncertainly.

"I’m here, Jason." At the sound of Jason’s name, Mel violently shakes her head. That’s what I thought. "Mel isn’t here."

"When can I call back?" He persists annoyingly.

"Never." I say. Yeah, so dramatic Kat. "Jason... I didn't think you were that type of guy when I accepted to be your friend."

"What type of guy?" He asks, his voice gravelly.

"The type of guy to cheat on his girlfriend. Not once, but twice," I say softly, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry, but I don't want to be your friend."

"Do you want to be more?"

"You complete jerk!" I scream, making Mel jump. "First you cheat on me, then you cheat on your new girlfriend now you really think we can be together again?!" I finish breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not." I conclude. "If you were, you wouldn't have cheated twice."

And I hang up.

"What did he say?" asks Mel.

I shake my head, and run to my room.

Florence Esmond

"LESLIE!" I call out. Then I realize I shouldn't, since if the girl isn't Leslie, she will think I am absolutely mental.

Oh well.

The girl turns, and it is Leslie. Aha! I knew it.

Okay, just shut up, Flo.

"Hi Flo!" 

She is wearing a black shirt and red jeans. In her hand is one of those disgusting green vegetable milkshakes.

"What are you drinking?" I ask, revolted.

"A spinach smoothie. I'm dieting," she explains.

I look down at Leslie's slender waist, thin arms and skinny legs.

 "Yeah. You really need a diet." I ironise.

She looks at her body in horror. "I do?!"

"No you don't," I scoff. "I'm implying that you're already too thin."

I snatch the smoothie from her hands and toss it into the trash can on the street we are walking on.  "C'mon. Let's get you a real smoothie."

She allows herself to sigh, but follows me. 

Okay.

Leslie just obeyed me.

Maybe I'm turning into a leader.

Not a follower.

We enter the Burger King's and order too chocolate milkshakes. Then, we exit.

That's when my phone beeps. It's Katia calling.

"Hey! Katia!" I answer.

"Flo," Her voice is shaky. "Jason cheated on Mel."

I freeze.

Heyyyy, sorry for the long wait! And the short chapter! But please understand, that I now have two books to update instead of one, and school and all the drama that comes with it to worry about. 

So sorrryfor everything, bla bla bla. 

Please check out my other book which is updated more frequently!

BuhBye!

-Val

xoxo