The Arts

25 - Dance, Dance

ANDI

Everything she had tried to keep together had fallen apart in one fell swoop. Because Robbie was stupid enough to talk to Henry. Because Andi was desperate enough to stay in this dumb band, and for what? A pipe dream that she had never actually worked for in her life? Because Kiara lied about her in the first place. And she was tired of not calling Kiara out about it.

"You heard me. The only reason any of this happened is because you lied to Robbie to put me in his stupid band."

          "Oh my God, Andi, you have got to stop playing the victim. Okay, I was joking around and got you into a jam session with people you admired. My bad. But you could've ended it before it began. But no. You kept up the lie because you had some sick need to replace Tyler like some kind of creepy weirdo stalker," Kiara shot back, venom in her voice. It took a lot to make Kiara mad, but once she got there, it was like watching a volcano explode.

          Andi, unfortunately, was too stubborn to back down. Or admit her faults. "Tyler doesn't even have anything to do with this anymore. We've been actively avoiding each other. So how can you call me a stalker? Find a better insult. And I'm not playing the victim. I am the victim. You always convince me to do the stupidest things and then act like it's my fault I'm in trouble when everything is your idea in the first place!" She picked up the notebook from her lap, slammed it down onto her bed, and crossed her arms.

          "Andi, at some point you're gonna have to start taking accountability for your own choices. I am not responsible for you blowing everything out of proportion. And I am so sick of being your scapegoat. Sometimes you make stupid choices. Own it and grow up. I'm done." Kiara whipped open the door and headed for the bathroom.

Andi followed her, wanting to get the last word. "Oh, there you go again! Miss Perfect Kiara, always having to pretend to be the bigger person. You know, you need to stop lecturing me like you're my mother. Find someone else to project your mommy issues onto, because I'm not gonna let it be me anymore."

Kiara turned around at lightning speed, her hand cracking against Andi's cheek. Before Andi even had time to react to the slap, Kiara had gone off.

"Don't you dare come at me about mommy issues. You don't know anything about mommy issues. You have two parents who are together and provide for you and are sober. And yet you're screwing up your life at every opportunity because you're so desperate for people to like you. I cannot believe I ever called you my friend. My sister. You're nothing of the sort. You never were and you never will be."

"Seriously? You're throwing our entire friendship away because you can't just admit that you like to be the boss of everyone and control every little thing? That's crap. Good riddance," Andi spat, rolling her eyes.

Kiara's eyes narrowed. "We may be roommates, but I'm requesting a dorm transfer as soon as possible. In the meantime, don't even think about speaking to me. As far as I'm concerned, you do not exist to me. We're done." Kiara slammed the bathroom door. After a few beats of silence, Andi heard the shower turn on.

Suddenly every sad emotion hit Andi all at once. She returned to her dorm and dropped down onto her bed, staring absently at the wall. What the hell had just happened? Kiara and Andi had always had their differences, but they'd always managed to push through. It seemed as though Andi was always the one letting things go. Why couldn't Kiara just apologize for her meddling so they could move on?