Love Yourself (JB+AG)

[5]

Wednesday, 5:47 pm

"Derrick, I'm going across the street."

"Why?" He asks.

"Because I can. Watch your stupid game." I roll my eyes.

Thank God he had some friends over or it would've been bad. For me, mainly.

"Tell him to come over here, if he wants."

I grab my keys and walk out the door and across the street. I knock on Justin's door and he comes immediately.

"Hey. Come in, come in." He says quickly.

He pulls me inside and closes the door behind me.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. I'm watching football."

"Boys. You're all stupid."

"I'm a man."

"Hardly. Anyways, Derrick said you can come over if you want. He has some other friends over, too."

"Cool. I will come with you when the next commercial comes on."

I nod, sitting next to him on the couch, which, besides the TV, is the only thing in the living room.

"You definitely need my help." I say.

"I know I'm lazy. Don't judge me." He replies and I laugh.

I stay on my phone, playing games for the next 6 minutes until there's another commercial break.

Derrick

"You trust her that much?" Jayce asks me.

"Yeah. She never does shit about anything." I nod, taking a swig of beer.

"Bro, you can't send her to another mans house without supervision." Tyler says.

"She ain't doing nothing. She'll be back in a couple minutes anyway." I say, although I didn't really believe myself.

I could tell Ariana thought Justin was attractive, and her saying she was going to his house without hesitation seemed weird.

"Derrick, think logically. This Justin dude is attractive, right?" Jayce says.

"Yeah. From a female's point of view."

"So, if she just went to his house like that, especially talking to you the way she did, she could be doing anything over there."

"Jayce is right, man. This Justin dude could be fucking her right now, and you would never know. He could be coming over in the middle of the day when you're not here, and they could be doing God knows what." Tyler agrees.

"Listen, bro. All I'm saying is, get some cameras or something. Make sure you can trust her before you actually do." Tyler finishes, just as the door opens.

Ariana walks in with Justin behind her and immediately fogoes into the kitchen. I introduce Justin to Jayce and Tyler, even though I can tell they're not a fan of him, and we continue watching the game.

Nicole

Little did Derrick know, I heard every word him and his friends said, and they were not going to get away with it. I would tell Ariana as soon as she got back.

I continue working on dinner, since Derrick's friends, and if Justin comes over, probably him too, are staying for dinner.

I hear the door open and male voices in the living room as Ariana walks into the kitchen, dropping her keys on the counter before sitting at the island.

"Ari, I need to tell you something." I say quietly.

If I can hear them, the men can probably hear me as well, and I do not want that.

"What?" She asks, looking up from her phone.

"While you were gone, Derrick was talking to the other two about you and Justin. Both of them, mainly Jayce, tried to convince Derrick that you were cheating on him. They said Derrick should think about investing in some cameras to watch you when he's not here."

"Oh my God. I fucking hate him!" She groans, slamming her phone down on the counter before standing up and leaving the kitchen.

I know she's upset, but it's best that she knows.

Ariana

"Oh my God. I fucking hate him!" I slam my phone down on the counter and stand up, leaving the kitchen.

I go straight into the downstairs bathroom, standing in front of the mirror. I look at myself. I know I'm not ugly, or fat, or anything like that. I wouldn't ever try to cut myself, or starve myself, but the pills really help me. And I know I'm promised Justin I would stop, but Derrick is getting on my last nerve.

We don't even love each other, and now he's listening to his stupid friends about watching me with cameras. It's too much. I open the medicine cabinet and take out the bottle of pills. I unscrew the cap and pour two into my hand.

"Ariana, stop. Now." I jump, dropping the pills into the sink.

I turn around, coming face to face with Justin standing in the doorway.

"You promised me." He says.

I can tell he's hurt, by his face and his voice.

"Ari, why do you do this to yourself?" He asks.

I back up, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. He kneels down beside me and I cover my face with my hands.

"What's wrong, Ariana?" He asks again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I tell him, standing up.

I leave the bathroom, not even caring about the open bottle of pills on the counter.