When It Hurts the Most

2

Chapter 2

My life shifted from one day to the next as I consciously counted the days till Gabriel's return.

He managed to write letters to me for over month, then it stopped. His last letter to me was vague. 

"Hey, tiny tot. To my surprise, the time spent here has been doing me a lot of good. I started working alongside my uncle in his garden renovations. It's not fun, but he is paying me for it, and it is good exercise. So that's that. I hope everything is going well there. I can't wait to see you again, dude. Only a couple weeks left. I'm glad I have a friend waiting for me when I get back."

Sincerely, Gabe."

I happen to be an amazing friend. That is the thing about me, I am such a good friend.  But that's all I ever was to people.

While at the library, I came across this quote in a book I was reading.

"The sad truth is that there some people who will only be there for you as long as you have something they need, when you no longer serve a purpose to them, they will leave. The good news is, if you rough it out, you'll eventually weed these people out of your life and be left with some friends you can count on."

I could only hope this would be true for me.

Although these thoughts badgered me, I was still looking forward to Gabe returning. 

In the last few weeks of waiting for him to come home, I sat around in my room, worked a few open shifts at Nina's. Only when Chloe wasn't there. 

I was a bum, and I didn't mind it one bit. 

 I was alone for the day due to my father grocery shopping. He took Ariel with him so she could get out of the house. He wanted me to go but I declined his offer enough to the point where he didn't feel like asking anymore.

There was a knock at the door downstairs and I decided to let it go un-answered. Until knocker persisted with the blows on the door. 

I sauntered down the stairs, and hesitatingly opened the door. 

While opening it, I found Chloe on the other side, standing there with a sorry smile on her face and a homemade pie in her hand. 

"What ar-" I tried to say but she interrupted. 

"Okay, just let me talk." 

I stood there with my arms crossed. I was going to just let her talk. Although, anything she was going to say to me was going to go through one ear and out the other. 

"Can I come in?" She asked, her eyes sincere. 

She started to walk in, as I motioned her to, and then I closed the door. 

We were inside now, sitting around a small counter in my kitchen that had chipped off corners, and food that hadn't been put away since breakfast. I set my eyes on the clock above the sink, listening to it tick in a almost annoying manner. 

"First, I want to give you this pie," She put it on the table, but I still never took my eyes of the chicken shaped clock whose ticking started to sound like water droplets. "Second, I want to apologize for what happened that nigh-"

"Did you make this pie yourself?" I tried changing the subject because I honestly just didn't feel like talking about it. 

"Um, yes, I did." She tucked the hair that escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. " I stayed up all night making it." 

I didn't reply, but I could see her looking at me in the corner of my eye. 

"I know that what happened seems like I was ditching you, but I-"