Bleeding Hearts

four

for Alena, who is so sweet and adorable and has been here for me for the longest time.

FOUR:

"Hey."

My eyes cast over to Kendra, clad in light wash overalls that hang over a pastel purple crop top. Her hair is thrown up in a bun and she looks relaxed, content even, as if life has been doing good by here recently. I sigh in envy.

"Hi." I attempt to smile while shrugging my backpack higher up my shoulder and shutting my locker. "I don't know about you, but I am so ready for a two hour nap."

"Two hours?" Kendra repeats, sounding shocked. "How will you get any sleep at night?"

I shrug. "I'll stay up late and watch some Netflix I guess."

It's then that Kendra stops me by halting directly in front of my walkway and gripping my shoulders with her thin hands. She looks me up and down—glancing distastefully at my lazy outfit of leggings and a plain tee shirt and grimacing when she eyes my greasy hair. "Leah, what the fuck is going on with you?" Kendra demands with eyes like steel.

I blink, slightly dumbfounded. Kendra has always been the blunt one in our relationship but never has she caught me this off guard. "I guess I'm just tired." I reply, but as soon as the words leave my mouth I know they aren't enough for her.

"Don't lie to me." She sternly scolds. "I know you too damn well Leah, and this—" Kendra gestures to my outfit with her head. "Isn't you."

"Excuse me for wanting to just be comfortable." I shake my body so that I'm free from Kendra's grasp, and attempt to walk away but am stopped once again.

"You smell and look like shit."

"Wow thanks, you look great as well." I roll my eyes.

Kendra sighs, gripping onto the shoulder of her backpack and giving me a sympathetic look. "You haven't been sleeping at night, you're messy and unorganized, and you spend way more time alone than I know you're letting on. Somethings going on Leah, and it most likely has to do with Ford. I don't know, but I need you to just be okay for me."

"That would be possible if there were actually something wrong with me." I groan. I'm beginning I get annoyed with Landon and now Kendra always bugging me about being better. If they knew what I was going through mentally than they'd probably back off, or at least be a little more considerate. "But in reality, you're just freaking out for no apparent reason."

"Then prove me wrong." We begin to walk at a normal pace towards the main doors of the school. "Come bowling with us tonight."

"Bowling?" I distastefully scoff—it's a known fact between the group that I hate bowling.

Kendra nods with a bright beam on her pretty face. "It'll be so much fun! None of the popular kids will be there and it'll give you a chance to forget about Ford for the night."

I tuck a few strands of dirty hair behind my ear. If I don't go, that'll just give my friends more of a reason to think that there's something wrong me when they're actually isn't. Plus I'll be doing something that I don't enjoy—bowling. But if I do go, than there's a good chance that I'll have a lot of fun because that's just one of the things that happens when the four of us are together. Also, it'll give me an excuse out of the many chores that my parents most likely have planned for me.