I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache and a gross taste in my mouth.
I slowly rolled over and sat up.
Kimberly sat on the couch, rubbing her temples.
I hesitantly got to my feet. "Uh, good morning."
She looked over at me, what looked like a blush forming on her cheeks. "Morning, um, how'd you sleep?"
I walked into the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. "Like shit. You?"
"Not much better." She replied.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Hey, about last night-"
"I don't remember a thing, I got way to drunk." She said quickly.
I nodded. "Yeah, me to..."
We sat in silence for a minute before she stood. "Well, how about I make us some breakfast?"
I stood up as well. "You made breakfast yesterday, let me handle it."
She smiled a little. "Ok... Thanks."
I gave her a nod before starting breakfast.
A little while later, we found ourselves sitting on the couch, staring at the wall.
"Who would've thought that the end of the world would be this boring?" Kimberly asked.
I lit a cigarette. "I mean, it could be worse."
She grabbed the cigarette from my hand, taking a long hit. "True, we could be ash outlines on the sidewalk..."
I looked over at her as I slowly took the cigarette back. "That's kinda rough..."
She sighed. "I know, sorry... I'm just... It's just hitting me kinda hard today..."
I lowered my head. "I know what you mean..."
Silence filled the room after that. The agonizing silence, paired only with pure and utter boredom...
I slowly flicked my Zippo open, then closed it, the familiar clink ringing through the room.
Kimberly inspected the shelves, almost as though she was at a grocery store...
As time slowly ticked by, I found myself sitting on the couch, staring up at the ceiling, taking note of every time the light would flicker.
Kimberly paced around the room, attempting to pop her knuckles for, like, the millionth time...
That carried on for what felt like a life time... Until she suddenly stopped, turning to face me. "Alright, there has got to be something to do around here."
I glanced up at her. "Like what?
"I don't know... Something." She said as slid down the wall to a sitting position on the floor. "I've never been this bored. I feel like I'm losing my fucking mind."
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. "I know... But, we already drank all the booze, I've heard just about as many childhood stories as I can stand, and there isn't a TV in here."
She looked up at me. "No board games? Cards? Anything?"
I stood up. "I'm not sure, let's take a look."
So, we searched the whole room from top to bottom, then double checked it.
Just when we were about to lose hope, I found a deck of cards hiding underneath the stove.
"Score!" I said as I stood up, Kimberly rushing over to me.
"What were those doing under the stove?"
I shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me."
We took seats opposite each other at the kitchen table.
I pulled the deck out and shuffled it a few times.
"So, what're we playing?" Kimberly asked.
I handed her the deck. "Dealers choice."
She picked it up. "Go Fish it is then."
I chuckled a little as she dealt the cards, strewing the rest in an uneven pile in the middle of the table.
A few hands later...
Kimberly glanced at me from behind her cards. "Got any sixes?"
I sighed, pulling one from my hand. "Yeah."
She smiled as she snatched it from me. "That's another set for me. Looks like that'll be three games in a row."
I rolled my eyes slightly, letting out a small laugh. "Whatever, I was always better at poker anyway."
She set her cards down, studying me for a second.
I raised an eyebrow. "Everything ok?"
She nodded, averting my gaze. "Yeah... Just thinking..."
I set my cards down now. "What about?"
She nervously tapped her fingernails on the table. "You know, we've known each other practically all our lives?"
I nodded. "So?"
She looked down. "So, all that time and we really don't know a thing about each other."
I leaned back in my seat. "True... Now's a good a time as any time change that, you know..."
She finally met my gaze, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "Alright... What's your favorite band?"
I smiled a little myself, tapping my lips with my finger. "Hmm... I'm gonna have to go with Deep Purple. How about you?"
She thought for a second before replying. "Styx."
I nodded. "Not bad. Favorite movie?"
"Anything with Clint Eastwood." She replied.
I gave her an amused look. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah, my dad was a big fan. What about you?"
"Oh, Mad Max, hands down." I replied.
The more questions we asked each other, the more we found out that we weren't as different as we once thought. We maybe even could've been friends...
Kimberly looked over at me, shaking her head slightly.
"What?" I asked.
"I just can't believe the way we acted towards each other for all those years." She replied.
My eyes moved down to the table. "Yeah, I was just thinking that same thing."
Then, she stood.
I watched as she started to pace around the room again.
"Kimberly?"
She stopped, but didn't look at me. "Yeah..?"
I rubbed my forearm nervously. "Why did you hate me..?"
She gave a defeated shrug. "At this point, I'm not even sure anymore... It all seems so trivial compared to what's going on now..."
I just nodded, and a silence started to fill the room once again.
Then, she spoke up. "Why did you hate me..?"
I let out a long breath. "Honestly?"
She nodded.
"I... I guess I was just upset about how confident you were... How comfortable you seemed with yourself... It made me think of all the things wrong with myself..." I replied, rubbing my forehead.
"Oh, Jade..."
She surprised me by pulling me up into a tight hug.
As the shock wore off, I slowly wrapped my arms around her, sinking into the embrace.
I could feel her heartbeat against my chest, her breath against my shoulder, her soft hair against my cheek.
I slowly closed my eyes, taking it all in with open arms.
She let out a low whisper.
"I'm so sorry, Jade..."