"Where the FUCK have you been!?" I yell, angrily punching Ari in the arm.
"Ah! Damn Nova!"
"Answer the question you dick!" I yell while punching him again in the same spot, now slightly bruised.
The three of us were making our way over to a picnic table to sit and talk, or rather, I was allowing Ari to explain himself.
My annoyance was growing stronger by the minute. I still had not eaten my once craved for sandwich and by now it was surly growing lukewarm.
"Can I explain myself?!" He hurriedly stated so as to avoid another rabid punishment punch from me.
I wave my hand at him to indicate that I approve of his commencement and begin to unwrap my well-deserved sandwich.
Ari entwines his hands and rests his face within them like he's contemplating how to start this long story he apparently has for me.
While waiting, I finish opening my sandwich, which is indeed lukewarm, tear 1/4th off and hand it to Bruce who is patiently waiting for me.
"First off, I would like I mention that you look great," he starts, "and did you do something different to your hair? The color really compliments you well."
"Bitch, if you don't move on and get to the point."
"Ok, ok. I'm really sorry Nova. For missing your graduation, for missing the last couple years. My life has just kind of been all over the place. Not like you haven't been facing adversities of your own or like that's an excuse to my absence. I had just been dealing with school at the time and trying to make it and not lose my scholarship at the last second. I was a mess! Well, I'm still semi a mess, but I really was a mess before graduation.
I was skipping classes, drinking, smoking a lot more, doing hard drugs, not turning in assignments, hooking up with a different guy almost every week-"
"Every week??" I interrupted, "Please tell me you used protection and still get checked regularly."
"So out of all of that I just said, that's what you picked up on? Yes, I used protection and still get checked regularly. I know I was a total whore, Nov."
Nov.
I haven't heard that nickname in quite a while. I'm not even about to front like it didn't warm my quickly pacing heart just a little and calm my angry nerves just a tad.
"Continue," I prompt while taking another bite.
"Yeah, so I was hooking up with a lot of different guys. I was also dealing with my family and my dad's persistent pestering of when I was going to bring home another girlfriend for them to meet."
"Girlfriend? You haven't come out to your family yet? Or is it just your parents that still don't know?"
Ari breathes in deeply and takes in the crisp cool park air as if it will replace the stale and troubled oxygen he held within his lungs currently.
"Simply put, no. Neither my parents nor siblings know. At least, I don't think so."
All I can do it stare sadly at my formally close friend. At this point, I feel like we don't really know each other too well now. At least not the current people we are. I know the guy from pre-dropoff, but post dropoff, I'm not that sure.
"What's been going on with that? Why haven't you told any of them?" I cautiously ask.
"My siblings are also some of my best friends. I guess I am just too scared to tell them. To suddenly have them view me differently or feel like they need to tiptoe around me. What if they shun me or cast me away or are disgusted by me? What if they decide they don't love me anymore because I failed them? I wouldn't be able to bear losing a relationship with any of them.
My parents are my parents. Every time I go back home, it's nothing but girls being thrown at me. My dad is always trying to introduce me to one of his cop friend's daughters or be my wingman.
He's very traditional. As in, a husband and wife, and at least two kids; the man being the main breadwinner and head of home. Wife being the caretaker and the one who mainly raises the kids and takes care of the house.
He doesn't mind my mom having a job though because he knows how much my mom loves being a teacher. This one time recently, he even tried to introduce me to the new neighbor. Oof, that one was a bad one."
"Why was it bad?"
"Well, we were having a cookout one sunny afternoon with a bunch of family and friends over, right.
Blaire and her family were there too. Which, by the way, my mom kept asking us both questions on when we were getting back together. Pretty sure Blaire was super uncomfortable. Anyway, after she helped me successfully curve and distract my mother, in walks this emerald-eyed blonde cutie I've never seen before.
I'm just looking at this girl like, uh, pretty sure she's not in the right place. Looks like I'm the only one who has noticed this mysterious intruder, so I make my way over to her to help her save face.
I inform her that she's in the wrong backyard and tell her that there is a house down the street that is also having a party and she is probably supposed to be there. This girl just looks at me confused and tells me she's in the correct place. I'm like, no sorry, none of us recognize you so you're in the wrong place."
I laugh at Ari's bluntness towards the girl as he continues with the story.
"Insert my dad here who walks over from stage left, eagerly greeting this stranger. Is she a long-lost cousin I've never met before? One of my dad's cop friend's daughters? Shit, a mistress?? Who the fuck is this girl?
Turns out my parents had a new neighbor and they invited the girl over to try and make friends and get to know me. My dad had set me up on a blind date with this girl and had failed to mention it to me because his old ass brain is failing."
Ari rolled his eyes and rubbed them like just the memory of this event pained him.
"So, then what?" I asked, now invested.
"I apologized to the girl, Emmie, and informed her that my dad must've forgotten to mention to me that I should've been expecting someone.
She was understanding and nice about it and actually turns out is kinda cool. Funny enough, she proposed that the two of us go out on an actual "expected" date."
"Oof."
"Trust me, I know. I felt bad for her. After my dad walked off to entertain more guests and check on the food, and no one was within earshot, I apologized to her again and broke the news to her that I was actually gay and no one there knew yet.
Needless to say, she was fairly shocked and a little embarrassed which I told her not to be. She told me she would keep my secret though.
After the whole shindig and everyone was gone, my family and I went back inside the house to finish cleaning up and my mom asked me how the whole ordeal went with Emmie. And I uh..."
Ari paused again.
I almost hit him again so he would continue with the story because it sounded like it was just getting good.
By this time, it wasn't as many people in the park anymore. The air wasn't as cool but rather a warmer heat started to move in like an unwanted roommate.
Bruce, from boredom, had fallen asleep under the table, and it looked like the sandwich man was moving to a different side of the park and the ice cream/ gelato man was moving in to usurp his vacant spot.
Ari still hadn't spoken yet, and it was starting to make me anxious. Whenever Ari would take long pauses like this in the middle of him telling a story it was because he had done something idiotic and rash.
"Are you going to continue?" I question eagerly.
He turns to me with a dopey smile on his face. A smile I will admit, I greatly missed.
"It really is ironic that I ran into you today. I was going to contact you anyway, but just the fact that you're already here is kismet."
"Ari. You're beating the damn bush. Stop abusing it," I tell him.
"Well, to get my mom and dad off my back, I kinda told them I had a girlfriend. And that I had been seeing her for the last year."
"What?! Not this again. Arizona Audrey Matthews!"
"I knoooow! Trust me, I know. I panicked. I didn't know what to do."
"So, what do you plan on doing when you need to finally produce this girlfriend? You can't use Blaire again. You gonna use this neighbor girl?"
"See, that problem has actually already been fixed because I told them her name."
"Oh? Who is it? Someone you met while in college?"
"Not college."
"Not college? Someone you met in your everyday?"
"No."
"Well who is it? You know I hate that 21 Questions game."
"The girl's name is Nova."
Ari cringes.
"Nova? You found another girl with my name?? That's pretty cool. I've never met another Nova."
I'm not stupid. My subconscious knew exactly to whom he was referring, but my conscious had not caught up yet because it was still in shock to the fact that he not only dug his ginormous hole larger, but also shoved ME into that dirty endless abyss.
"Nova, I told them it was you. I told my family that we mutually finally decided to give a romantic relationship a chance."
"Mutually??? Were you talking to me in another timeline at some random time? Were you somehow transported to FlashPoint because there was no mutuality involved in this."
"I told you I panicked!" He yelped.
"But why meee???!!! Why not just make up some girl's name and then wait a few weeks and say ya'll broke up?"
"Because they wouldn't have believed me! They already knew that the two of us were attached at the hip like conjoined twins! In fact, they were all happy for us!"
"US?!"
Have you ever wanted to bitch slap someone so bad that it becomes a pain in your stomach until you finally act on the violence?
I'm about at that stage right now.
Is he really expecting me to lie to these people that have become like family to me?
Is it getting hotter out here? Or is it just me?
By now, a few people nearby were turned to us because I was verbally voicing my rage to the stupid male in front of me. I didn't need any of these park goers to assume I was going to physically do something to him (no matter how much I wanted to) even though Ari was clearly taller and bigger than I was.
Bruce was also now awake and peeking at me from under the table because he could sense the upset in my voice and body language.
"I'm so sorry Nova. I'm just not ready to tell them. I know it's taking me a long time to finally work up the courage. I shouldn't have pulled you into this. Especially because I was M.I.A towards you and Maya. I didn't even contact you back even when you tried reaching out to me so many times.
I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you on your sad and bad days, or even your good days. I was a terrible friend and I sincerely apologize for neglecting you. I just fell apart after Charlie. That mixed in with school, the alcohol and drugs, losing a friend, and everything else. I was just too embarrassed to be your friend at the time because I knew I wasn't the friend you needed. I didn't even want to be my friend.
I'm working on cleaning myself back up and becoming the person I need and want to be."
I sigh heavily and actually take his appearance in. I'm just now noticing that he looked visibly exhausted. He looked unhealthy and like he hadn't slept well in weeks. He looked sad.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close to my warm comforting and forgiving body. His own stiffened under my sudden touch but he soon relented and wrapped his weak arms around my torso to soak in the comfort I was trying to give him and rested his face in the curve between my neck and shoulder.
His grip around me seemed to tighten with each realization that came to his disquieted mind and before long I could hear and feel quiet sobs coming from him.
I rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him, but I think it just made him cry even more. It seemed as though he hadn't received this kind of comfort in quite some time and he really needed it.
I pulled away from him to kiss his forehead and his wet cheeks, then used my thumb to wipe away the tears that fell after.
"Hey, hey, I understand now why you were gone. You were going through some things that you aren't proud of. But I really wish you wouldn't have put yourself through all that misery by yourself. That's dangerous and you know it. Don't you ever do that again; you hear me?
I'm sorry that you had to go through all that and felt like you couldn't talk to anyone and had to exclude your friends and family from what was going on in your heart and soul. But please, include us. We're here for you, ok? I forgive you baby boy."
Ari weakly nods his head and brings me back to his embrace to give himself more much needed comfort like he was a drained battery needing the recharge.
"Now, I don't know about Maya. She may not be as forgiving."
He laughed with me and finally let me go to wipe his eyes and nod his head in agreement.
"Yeah, she most definitely won't be so forgiving. But thank you so much Nova. You really are a true friend and I'm so glad I have you. I love you so much."
"I love you too Ari."
The both of us gather our belongings from the table and get up, stretching our strained bodies.
I watched him as he stretched his aching and tense muscles and see a smile forming on his face. His eyes looked just the slightest bit more alive and I'm glad I could be the source of that.
Ari walked and chatted with me catching me up on a few of the other things he had been up to while in California and before long we had made it to my car. I unlocked the back-driver's side door to allow Bruce to hop in and get settled before turning around to face my old friend again.
"I guess I can forgive you for lying to your family about me and you being in a relationship," I laugh.
Ari's eyes start to wander around and settle on all and everything that wasn't me.
"Um," he started, "actually, Nova, will you be my fake girlfriend?"
"BISH, WHAT?!"