Invisible

FRIENDS

I TURN ON THE TELEVISION, listen as I stare at my phone. It’s been a week since I got here and I still haven’t checked my voicemail, only because I figured all three of them were from my grandfather. Michelle would always leave a message when she’d call several times and I wouldn’t answer.

“Morning,” Jeremy says as he walks into the living room. I stop breathing only for a second before I stare at the floor. He sits next to me.

“So, what are we doing today?” he asks, his hand rubbing against my thigh. I try hard not to pull away as I shrug, flip through channels. His hands work their way into my shirt.

“I know what I want to—”

The doorbell rings, interrupting what Jeremy was about to say. I smile, and he glares at me, his fist crashing into my side.

“Answer it,” he says. I nod as I stand up, walk into the foyer. When I open the door, my eyes widen, heart stops. My best friend stands before me, her shoulder-length red hair flaring more than it used to, her warm brown eyes reminding me of how everything used to be before she graduated, before last summer.

Her name is Anna.

“Hey!” she yells as she jumps toward me, wrapping her arms around me. I smile as I hug her back, try to remember everything. Something’s blocking it out. I guess it’s the fact that Jeremy’s sitting in the living room, watching us.

“Oh my God,” I respond as I pull away, “it’s been forever.”

She smiles brightly, her braces making her look younger than she really is. She’s a year older than me, graduated after my junior year. Worst time for my best friend to leave, and you could only imagine why.

“Yeah.” She walks past me, into the living room. This is how we always were. She’d hardly ever ask for permission to do something when it had to do with me. We were like sisters, and it’s been that way ever since the first grade.

“Hey, Jeremy,” she says, “Still trying to fuck every girl you see?” She smirks, straightens out her bright green tank top, the one I got her for her eighteenth birthday.

“Nah,” he responds, standing up, “I’m looking at you but we still haven’t done anything yet.”

“You’re acting like you’ve never tried.”

He flushes, glares at her. They’ve been rivals ever since the day they met. Anna’s junior year, fourth period gym…

I still remember it, and I’ll never forget it.

“Well,” she continues, “are you just going to stand there like a dumbass or are you going to hug me?”

He laughs, squeezes her.

“Jeremy,” she struggles, “seriously?”

“You asked for it.”

I watch them, my throat burning again. This time it’s different, though. I feel like I’m going to throw up, like my gut is trying to cut its way out. They pull away, and she turns toward me. I’m watching the way Jeremy’s looking at her, the same way he looks at me. That tears me apart even more, the thought of him doing this to someone else.

His body was pressing onto her.

I squeeze my eyes shut, my voice trying to block everything out.

Yo his bod y ca was pressing su vi onto her thi.

It’s not working too well.

“Well,” she says, “come on!”

“Come where?” I ask.

“Please tell me you got my voicemail.” 

Uh…

I stare at her blankly. She rolls her eyes.

“I told you we’re hanging out today. No excuses.”

“What if I were dead?”

“Nope. You’d still have to come.” She sticks her tongue out at me, walks toward the front door. I freeze, watch Jeremy. He’s still watching her, his eyes longing so hard…

She tried to scream, but he covered her mouth…

My hands tremble.

“Emma, there are clothes we have to try on and boys we have to stare at… Seriously, come on.”

I nod, walk after her. Don’t dare to look back, just in case his eyes warn me to stay home. I follow her into her car. She turns the engine on.

“Jeremy got hotter,” she says as she turns the radio on, volume high.

I force the fakest smile I can and nod.

“Yeah… sure.”