Suicide Saved Me

Chapter 9

I had no right to be angry. He'd known her before me. Being as blind as I had been to having someone like Suicide in my life, I didn't even deserve to have her. He'd recognized her remarkable beauty before I had. Who was I to complain, when I'd undoubtedly walked past her a million times in school without noticing?

"Uh..." I trailed off uncomfortably.

"What's wrong, Carter?" Suicide asked me.

"I was wondering if Andrew wasn't here," I laughed deceitfully. "But here he is!" I grinned like it brought me joy.

"Hey, Rainbow!" Andrew said when he reached us. He wrapped his arms around Suicide in a warm embrace and I saw him kiss her for the first time.

He turned to me after and said rather passively, "Oh, hey, Carter."

I nodded and smiled stiffly. "Hey."

"You want to learn how to skate, huh?" he smirked. "How come?"

"Seemed intriguing."

He nodded, his eyes narrowed as though he was on to something. He dropped the skateboard he was holding in front of me and told me to stand on it. I still had my sense of balance, but once I kicked the ground for momentum, I tripped.

"Have you skated before?" Andrew asked me, his eyes still narrowed. I was beginning to think that was his facial expression anytime he was focused on something. Or else he was strictly suspicious of something, and that caused panic to cloud my mind.

"No," I lied. "First time ever."

He nodded slowly, taking in my expression before saying, "Bullshit. But you're a good liar. I almost believed you for a moment."

Suicide rolled her eyes. "Either way, he sucks at it. Might as well be a noob."

I glared at her jokingly. "Let me see you ride, Suicide."

"Move aside then, Carter." She shoved me gently to the side and stood on the skateboard like a pro, kicking and taking off down the path. She rode around the whole playground in a matter of seconds, and returned smugly. She kicked the skateboard up into her hand and raised her eyebrows at me as if to say, "See that?"

"You told him your name?" Andrew asked, sounding annoyed by the idea.

"He sort of guessed it." Suicide smiled at me and, for the first time that day, I felt as though it was genuine.

It was early in the afternoon when we decided to get something to eat before heading home. Suicide offered to hang out again the next day, and Andrew declined the invitation. On that account, I couldn't stop smiling, knowing that we would be spending time together without Andrew on our tails.

I offered to eat at a seafood restaurant near the beach. I'd eaten there a couple of times as a kid, and from time to time with Ethan throughout the years. It was one of my favorite places to eat at, even though I wasn't all that big on seafood. The venue was what always beckoned me forward; I loved the setting and the smell of the ocean.

I excitedly pulled the entrance door and held it open for Suicide. She walked through it, thanking me with a dry smile. Andrew walked in after her, looking around like he was a child during his trip to Disneyland.

"Andrew loves anything that can swim," Suicide explained to me, lowering her voice so he wouldn't hear us. "Unless it's a human."

"Yet he eats seafood?" I wondered, looking down into her marvelous eyes as they gleamed back up at me.

"Andrew's not exactly..." she lowered her voice into a whisper, but made sure Andrew heard her just the same. "Normal."

Andrew faked a gasp and tickled her side. He teased her back while I awkwardly stood by the hostess table.