flawed souls

four

her

i should kick him out,
but he's too beautiful to shout at
he stops singing and stares at me,
for exactly twenty-five seconds

"i'm west," he introduces.
his eyes are piercing a hole through me,
his lips are red and chapped from the singing
"i'm lotus," i say.

normally, I say my nickname.
but i think he's special.

-

him

who in their right mind calls their kid lotus?
"lotus? for real?"
she nods, sitting on the edge of her bed.
i snort and she looks up, hurt

"what's that supposed to mean?"
"that your name is weird as hell."
she gulps, "as if west is a good name."

"at least my name isn't a flower."
"god, just call me lottie then."
"no, you're lotus."

she glares at me and i feel amused by her emotion,
"babe, calm down. i'll decide if you're as weird as your name."
she chews on her bottom lip, "fine, north."

"it's west."
"i know," she smiles just a little,
showing off a dimple.
her smile is cute,
but her name's still weird.