After a year and a half of trying to move on from the what-ifs, the tides have pulled Alexandra Rivera and Zachariah Kim back together again.
*****
In the h...
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"I don't get how you spend money on those kinds of things," I remark, trying not to come off judgmental while staring at the Chanel shopping bag. It's practically screaming how poor it thinks I am. "All I ever think about is getting off this island as many times as I possibly can. The last thing I'd do is spend enough money on a purse that could pay off a fourth of my car."
Katerina sips on her boba. "That's because taking a vacation is a form of self-care for you."
"I think the same could be said about anyone." I cough into my fist. "If that's the case, I'm not feeling well. Let's go somewhere."
Katerina nods enthusiastically. "You know you're the first one I'll call."
Sometimes life hands me endless rain clouds and I almost forget what sunshine looks like. Other times it lets loose a rainbow to remind me there's hope somewhere along with those endless skies. Today is a rainbow among those clouds of gray. Katerina's joy is infectious and I'm reminded of what it's like to laugh and smile. I'm glad she's able to talk me out of the house every once in a while.
"Remember that time we hung out with Tyler at the playground near my house?" I ask as we weave our way through the crowd.
"If you could stop reminding me of one of the most mortifying moments of my entire life, that'd be super fun," she moans.
The three of us had decided, for some reason, that it'd be fun to slide down all at the same time, except there were only two slides so Katerina had to use a set of steps that were formed into a smooth curve. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but it'd resulted in her foot getting caught between two of the steps, sending her face-first into the bed of hard rubber. I'd nearly pissed myself laughing. I'm pretty sure our friend Tyler did pee his pants.
"But it's such a good memory," I cry laughing.
She attempts to glare at me, but her lips betray her with a smile that can't be contained. Soon, she's laughing hysterically with me and the sound falls like music on my ears. "It's good for you because you're not the one with the emotional scarring."
I smack her arm. "Don't be so dramatic."
"It nearly stunted my growth, Alex. I couldn't look people in the eye for weeks, and not just because of the swelling. And my god, all of the homework I couldn't do because I was in so much pain!"
"I think that's because you were too busy sneaking out to fool around with Romi," I sputter. "And you have three deadlines extended because of it."
"Look where that got me! A broken heart and box full of shit he still hasn't picked up."
"If you knew anything about self-care, you'd have already burned all of that trash by now," I scold her.
Katerina sends me a look. "Oh? And have you burned all of Zach's crap?"
