The Gods of Song and Poetry

Chapter 59 - Aloha

Chapter 59 - Aloha

By the time I got back from lunch, the smell of Kala's roses was pacing around my tiny room like a caged animal. My window was open, but with my door shut there wasn't much of a breeze. The scent hadn't realized that it had a path to escape, so it just kept getting stronger, demanding attention.

I took out my phone, looked at it for a moment, then sat it on my desk. I had ruled out texting Kristy. I had to call her. Once I called her, though, the news about me and Kala would get back to Kelly, and having Kelly hear about it second hand felt wrong.

What would Kelly think when she heard? Would she think that I had a thing for Kala all along? Would she suspect that all those sleepovers weren't so innocent after all? At best, she would know that I had moved on a mere four months after she left. It killed me to think that she might question how much I really loved her. Even worse, I had a horrible feeling that my hesitation to have Kelly find out meant that I hadn't moved on, I had simply learned how to not think about her.

For a couple of hours, I did just that. I stopped thinking about Kala, Kelly, and Kristy. Instead, I wrote an argumentative essay about whether or not the electoral college should be abolished. Nothing could have numbed my mind better than getting into the nuts and bolts of the definition of fair when it came to creating a democratic election process. By the end of the paper I had to keep reminding myself which side of the argument my professor had assigned me.

When I finally hit the button to submit my uploaded paper I felt relieved...for a brief moment, anyway.

Devil: Okay, now it's time to call Kristy and the girls and tell them we're over Kelly.

Angel: That's hardly what we're going to tell them.

Devil: Isn't it? We better be over her. We're in love with Kala now, aren't we?

Angel: Yes.

Devil: And we're screwing her, right?

Angel: That has nothing to do with it. This isn't about sex. It's about love.

Devil: So, which is it, then? Are we not over Kelly and not really ready to be completely committed to Kala, or are we over Kelly and in love with Kala?

Angel: You're trying to create a false dichotomy.

Devil: You wish. We are romantically monogamous. If we really love Kala, then we need to be over Kelly.

Analee: It isn't that simple.

Devil: You're lying to us. You don't believe you're capable of being truly in love with two different girls, and you want to believe true love is forever. Maybe what we had with Kelly wasn't the ideal love you thought it was. Maybe it was just another high school romance.

Angel: No! We felt love. It was pure, it was beautiful, and it was real!

Devil: Okay, then it's time to answer Tara's question. If Kelly moved back to Madison to live with her dad tomorrow and she wanted to get back together, would we go back to her?

Angel: ...It's like Cullen said. Kelly was the perfect love for who we were. Kala is the perfect love for who we are now.

Devil: Boy, four months really made a big difference in who we are, huh?

Angel: Yes, as a matter of fact. We've been through a lot of changes since graduation. In many ways, we are a different person.

Devil: Well, then...prove it.

I could feel them looking at me. Waiting to see what I would do. My hand hadn't left my mouse since submitting my paper. The cursor slowly crawled across the screen and opened the shortcut to the secret drive Kelly and I shared.