Everything Has Changed

I Knew You Were Trouble

Chapter Three

I Knew You Were Trouble

Her

I always thought that I had been imagining how happy I was with Darius. It felt like it had been years ago, that the minute he left my life I automatically matured into someone who couldn't remember such happiness.

And obviously, I grew to hate him. And my hatred for him clouded everything, that somehow I had convinced myself that I never loved him, that since he was the only person I was romantically involved in, that I settled for him. That he manipulated me, made me believe that I needed him.

And one look of him tonight crushed every thought I believed myself to carry. I thought I hated him, but I didn't. I thought I never loved him, but I did. I never settled for him, he never manipulated me, and despite everything I tried to do, I did need him.

Now I had a deep predicament. I didn't know what to think. I certainly knew how to act, because I was not opening a glimpse of myself to the bastard.

I was so mad, I needed to punch something. I had explained everything to Kelly, knowing full well that she'd be pissed. She certainly lived up to my expectation, because I had been copping the silent treatment the whole ride home, but I knew it was out of love.

As soon as Darius had stepped out of the theatre and we both saw him, she was putting the car into drive and zooming off. She was so protective of me, and I never wanted her to worry for me, which was a main part of my reasoning behind not telling anyone. I didn't need people walking on eggshells around me, what with my senior year approaching. Somehow, I thought the best thing to do was to tell people that I knew he was leaving and that we were going to remain friends.

We were now pulling up outside my house where Kelly put the car on park and refused to look at me.

"Kelly..."

"How could you not tell me?" She snapped.

I sighed, knowing that she wouldn't ever understand my reasoning. I knew this because if the roles were reversed, I would have killed her if she had omitted such a monumental aspect of her life.

"Admit it, you would have treated me differently."

"And why would that have been a bad thing?" Her hand gestures were going wild, adding on to her frustration. "I would have taken care of you!"

"I didn't need to be taken care of, though. I didn't want anyone to think I was some lovesick, fragile, broken-hearted girl."

"But you were."

"What?"

"I don't care what you say, Summer. You can't convince me that you weren't a lovesick, fragile, broken-hearted girl. Come on, I know you're strong, stronger than most people I know. But you gave that boy your whole life. You'd have to have hated him to not be broken-hearted. And everyone knew that you guys were in love."

I winced. I couldn't handle words like that. Words that suggested that he and I were ever in love.

"Well then I was too damn proud to tell anyone. Okay? It's humiliating, Kel. Spending your entire childhood with this one person. You love him, you take care of each other, you give him your all. And the day after you give him your virginity, he leaves. How could I tell people?"

"You tell people so they can snuggle in bed with you and watch action movies and eat chocolate all damn day. Darius was my friend too, and I have spent this last year missing him. You think I would have let this slide if I knew? That asshole needed to be put down. And you needed to grieve, because you cared."