For the Love of a Patriot || 𝗖𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮 ✔️ [#wattys 2018]

23 | The Uh Ohs

~Christmas~
~Mariah Carey~

•••

"You realized you beat a guy up...for him right?" She drew light brown hair over her shoulder as she stirred her coffee.

I rolled my eyes. "No, I didn't. Calvin was being an asshole."

"Why did you date him again?" She creased her eyebrows trying to think.

"I was probably desperate, I can't really remember." I shrugged, taking a bite out of my Christmas Eve waffles.

"Mm-hm." She muttered skeptically, bringing the mug to her lips.

"Stephanie, don't get snippy with me." I pointed to her and she chuckled, putting her mug down. "Wouldn't think of it, doll."

Steph Richie. I used to call her Richie Rich when we were in college--she was my roommate at Howard University when we were freshmen. Her dad had hella dough, more than my mom did for being an inventor or something. I loved her like a sister, even though she left me when we were sophomores to pursue a career in SHIELD. She was a computer specialist, a fantastic one at that. She was pretty and funny and talented.

I honestly used to hate her.

"Rachel." She said, knowingly, like she was about to start lecturing me about love and how two people belong together and if it was meant to be.

"No," I whined, squirming like a child. "I don't want to talk about him. I just want to sit here with you, and enjoy our Christmas Eve tradition."

She smiled slightly. "Honey, you're in denial."

"No, I'm not," I said through a clenched jaw. "Can we hop off the subject, geez." I used my knife to partially de-fluff my waffles and licked the whipped cream off of it.

The tassel of her dusty blue hat bobbled back and forth when she shook her head, unimpressed.

"What?" I shrugged. "I don't want to talk about him. Not right now."

"Too bad." She smiled. "He loves you--"

I put my hands to my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. "I'm not listening, I'm ignoring you!" I sing-songed, shaking my head, childishly.

She must've been fed up because I felt a pinch on my forearm, making me let go of my ears. "Ouch!" I whined, rubbing the sore spot.