Thinking About You - Joel Pimentel

Chapter 3

"Bye guys!" I said and walked out of the theater. I looked across at the In N Out and felt a wave of guilt hit me. I gulped and continue walking. The sun was barely setting so there was still light.

"Need a ride?" Mario asked as he drove by me. I rolled my eyes and looked at him. That's one thing I loved about him. No matter how mad or dirty I do him, he's still by my side no matter what. I sighed and got in. "So do you want to tell me why you left Patricia hanging?"

"Joel was approaching us." I simply said as I put my belt on. He looked at me and gave me a 'be honest' look. I sighed and looked ahead not saying anything.

Mario started driving and said. "You panicked because you knew he'll want to explain everything and you would give in. And God forbid! You want to avoid him but it's hard for you and we all know that."

I looked at him annoyed. "I'm not. I just can't face him."

"Because you know it's not his fault." He added.

"If you're going to start again, just drop me off here. I'll walk the rest." I sassed.

"You wouldn't get mad if it wasn't true." He whispered. I rested my head on the window and looked at everyone walking. Two teenagers were running and laughing as they hold hands bringing back flashbacks.

.   .    .    .

"Joel run!" I shouted from across the street. He looked both ways and ran towards me. I laughed as he took a deep breathe. "Oh come on, Pimentel. Stop acting like you ran a mile."

He stood up and glared. "I could've gotten ran over."

"But you didn't." I chuckled and continue walking leaving Joel behind. Soon, I heard footsteps getting closer. I looked on my right and see Joel caught up. He was on his phone texting.

"It's actually a nice day today." I said getting his attention. He locked his phone and put it on his pocket.

"Yeah. It's weird because during this time, it's freezing." He said as he squinted due to the bright orange sun rays. The sun was setting as people walked into the small shoppes. Typical Friday afternoon.

"Let's get pizza!" I said excitedly and grabbed his arm. We walked into the pizzeria and were greeted by the warm and delicious smell of pizza.

We sat down near the window and waiting to be attended. The whole time, Joel kept playing with his bracelets. Knowing him for years, I knew something was up.

"What's wrong?" I asked making him look up at me. He sighed and stopped playing with his bracelets.

"I got in." He said. I looked at him confused and in hope he'll elaborate. "I made it to La Banda."

My eyes widen. "Oh my god! Congrats!" I said cheering him up but he looked upset. "Why aren't you happy?"

"Because I'll leave soon." He said with no emotion. My smiled faded but I tried to hide the fact that I was upset.

"But you'll go after your dream. You always wanted this, Joel. Be happy." I said grabbing his hand. "Go for it."

"I don't want to leave you and my family." He said letting go of my hands. He looked out the window and sighed.

.     .     .      .

"What are you thinking?" Mario said bringing me back to reality.

"You know what's the only thing I think about." I simply said as I sat up straight. He looked at me and nodded before looking back at the road.

Mario stopped in front of my house as I stared down at my hands. I just couldn't get the guilt out of me.

"Stop beating yourself up for it. It happened. Let it go." He said now looking at me. I looked up at him and noticed how serious and a bit annoyed he was.

But who can blame him? He's been listening to me talk about Joel for a year now. I'd get annoyed too. In fact, I'd leave myself. I opened the door of his low rider and got off.

"Thanks." I said before closing it. He drove off as I made my way to the front door. The light of the living room was on and both my parents were watching television.

"I'm home." I said and closed the door. My mom looked up and smile.

"How was work?"

"The usual." I said taking my black leather jacket off. "I'm going up to my room."

"You're not going to eat?" My father asked. I shook my head no and headed upstairs.

I closed the door and threw myself on my bed. My headache was worse than it was, making me groan. My phone rung and I picked up without looking at the ID.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" Linda spat.

I rolled my eyes and said. "I work Linda. I'm not white nor privileged."

She sighed and I knew she had rolled her eyes. "Anyways, guess what?" She said excitedly.

"What." I said with no emotion.

"David asked me out!" She squealed as I stayed mute. This isn't news. This happens all the time. One month they'll be on and then the other they'll be off. It's annoying! "Why aren't you excited?" She pouted.

"Because this is like the 100th time you guys go back together. I'm sick of it." I said in all honesty.

"Look, just because Mexican boy left you, it doesn't mean you need to be so rude and depressing. You don't need to bring others down. God damn! Why can't you be happy for me!" She shouted.

"You want me to congratulate you on something that happens every month?" I said getting mad. "You only care about yourself. You never cared about me and it's my fault for being so stupid. You're selfish as fuck!"

She gasped and said. "I do care about you! You're the one who doesn't care about me!"

"You know what, go fuck yourself Linda! I don't need you in my life when all you're going to do is rub everything on my face!" I spat.

"So you're just going to throw away our friendship?"

"There's no friendship being thrown away if there was never one to begin with." I said before hanging up. By now, my blood was boiling. I rubbed my temples as my headache got worse.

Why is my life falling apart? Why am I depressed?

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Published: May 24 2017

Word count: 1086