My Best Friend Brother

Episode 40

“I’ll see you in a while, okay?” Adam says as he gives me a kiss.

Adam insisted that I just catch a ride home with Libby and Liam but I told him that I insisted that I stay and afterward, get a ride home with him. Libby then offered to keep me company for the duration of Adam’s football practice since she didn’t have anything to do anyway. Of course, much to Liam’s dismay, but he understood and told her he’d pick her up when she’s ready to leave.
I nod my head at Adam’s statement and he soon runs off to join his teammates.

As soon as I turn to head over to Libby, I hear my name being called out, “Ariel, wait up!” I soon recognize the voice to be Adam’s. I look back at him confusingly as he stops right in front of me. He grabs my hand in his and draws small circles with his thumb as he maintains eye contact with his movements.
“I wanna talk to you when we get home…” He still doesn’t look at me.

“Oh? About what?” I ask. “Nothing that you should worry about, love. ” He responds as he looks at me slightly through his eyelashes.

I push down the feeling that I get in the pit of my stomach at what he calls me and then nod my head absentmindedly. “Good.” He says with a sly grin, although I can see a hint of something else behind his eyes, maybe nervousness?

He gives me a last kiss on the cheek, snapping me out of my thoughts, and once again, runs onto the field.

I stand in the middle of the parking lot for a while but then shrug my shoulders nonchalantly and head inside of the now semi-empty school to find Libby.

I’m sure if it was something bad, he would tell me right away, right?

I reach Libby leaning against the school doors and we make our way inside of the empty school.

This school is much more appealing when they aren’t children walking around and talking about the latest gossips.

I was so busy conversing with Libby through the hollow hallways that I hadn’t realized that another presence was among us.

I trip over a foot and nearly fall face flat on the floor if it weren’t for my hands stopping the fall midway.

I internally thank the heavens that it was after school and there was no one important to see me fall and cause me embarrassment.
Libby comes to my side and glares in the direction of the source that nearly rearranged my face.

There, stands Elle. A victorious smirk is plastered on her face as she shuts her locker. She’s in her little cheerleading outfit which suggests that she is supposed to be at practice.

Libby, obviously unable to contain herself anymore, stomps over in the direction of Elle.
However, she doesn’t get far since I place my hand in front of her, resting it on her stomach and bringing her to a halt.
“Seriously, Ariel?!” Libby shouts and her voice echoes through the hallway. “Again? You’re just gonna let her get away with this? Please let me get at this b—h!” She glares at Elle who just flutters her eyelashes at her innocently.

“No. Just wait.” I calmly maintain eye contact with Elle. I take a step forward but we’re still a good distance apart.
“Why do you hate me? I’ve never done anything to you.” I ask her.

The smirk on her face quickly fades at my question and turns into an angry scowl. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much hatred in a person’s eyes before……… “Everything’s about you isn’t it?” She takes a threatening step forward but I stand my ground. I hear Libby make a movement behind me but I quickly put a finger up, ensuring her that I’ll be fine.
“Not everything is about the all-so-great Ariel.” She seethes through her teeth. “Other people are more important than you too!” Her voice raises and just then, Adam comes through the door, slightly panting as if he ran all the way here.

Libby was the one who held him back since she had received the message that I wanted no interruption.

Elle’s eyes snap towards Adam and her eyes grow even angrier, “And you…” She points to Adam behind me although I can’t see him and his facial expression. “Are you here to save your “precious little girlfriend” ?” She makes air quotes and chuckles darkly.

“You never cared about me, did you?” She asks although I knew that she didn’t need an answer. Adam just continues to remain quiet behind me. “Yeah, of course you didn’t. You’ve always cared about that- that thing in front of you!” She yells getting angrier and angrier as the seconds go by.

I could have left. I could have thrown back all of the insults that she hurled at me, but I didn’t.

She needed to get this out, get out all of these thoughts that were bottled up inside of her brain. If she did, maybe, just maybe, I would get some peace in my relationship.

“What? You don’t have anything smart to say?” She laughs like a mad person.

“No.” I breathe out.
“That’s a first isn’t it?” She replies.
Elle takes her attention to behind me once again, toward Adam. “You think I didn’t know, did you?” She asks.

“Know what?” I hear Adam’s voice for the first time. He sounds as if he’s trying very hard to control his temper.

She laughs humorlessly at this, “Know what?” She mocks him. “Her.” She jabs her finger at me. “It’s always been her!” She yells once again. “You’ve always loved her and the funny thing about it is that you didn’t even know!” She screeches out.
My heart drops at this.

I begin to let my thoughts roam with various questions and answers but not for long since she speaks once again.

“Yeah, of course I noticed. I noticed how whenever we would kiss by the lockers you would always focus your attention on her and not me.” She begins. “I noticed how you would always come up with an excuse to go with your sister just to be with
her. ” Elle continues. “Even when we were f—–g and you got a f—–g text from this b—h you would stop and answer it.” She grits out through her teeth.

“I noticed how you would just smile at that text…” She smiles sickly, almost mentally. “You never smiled like that at me before…” She pulls at her hair madly. So much that it falls out of her tight ponytail. “And yet, a f—–g text from her had you smiling brightly.”

I’m sure all of our mouths are slightly hanging open. “You know, I also remember what the text would read…” She scratches her skin, nearly drawing blood. “Do you wanna know, Ariel? Do ya?” She asks as if daring me to say no.

I hesitantly nod at this and she smiles somewhat sweetly at this, “It would say… ‘Okay.’ ” She laughs historically as if she just told the funniest joke in the world. “You hear that? All you did was say ‘Okay.’” She continues laughing madly that I’m now slightly scared of her.

After she cools down a bit, she speaks once again, “I mean, am I not pretty enough? Don’t I wear enough makeup? I mean- both of you hardly wear any and you’re both still beautiful. How do you manage that?” She’s still laughing as she gestures to Libby and I, continuing to scratch her skin.

She frantically begins to wipe off all of her makeup, “Am I pretty like Ariel now Adam?” She asks in all seriousness. Once she doesn’t receive a reply from Adam, she takes a step closer to me. Adam instantly begins to pull me back, obviously weirded out about how delusional Elle is acting. I, however, stay planted in my position, resisting his attempts.

“Am I pretty now, Ariel?” She shyly asks.
“You were always pretty,” I answer in a whisper my instant, honest reply.
“Bullshit!” She shouts.
I jump a little at her tone.

“Do you know what I want? I just want someone to love me.” She wraps her arms around herself. “I mean- my own parents don’t even love me, they think I’m s–t and you obviously love her so… what’s wrong me?” She whispers the last part.
“Am I too tall? Too short? Too blonde? What is wrong with me?!” She breaks down as the tears fall free, pouring out of her eyes like a waterfall.

I still don’t make an attempt to move as her cries fill the hallway.

“Is that too much to ask for?” She sobs. “For someone to love me? Santa didn’t grant my wish…” She whispers lastly as she cries so hard that her knees grow weak and she curls herself in a ball on the floor.

I shakingly take slow steps forward and in no time, I’m by Elle’s side. I hesitantly wrap my arms around her shaking form and she screams for me to let her go, “No! Let me go!” She sobs but instead, I hold her tighter.
She continues to yell at me not to touch her but still, she’s holding a firm grip on my shirt, begging me to stay in her own way.
Her loud cries are muffled as she tears down in my shirt as I rock us gently, humming a soft tune to her and smoothing my hand over her blonde hair.

She hesitantly looks up at me with her big blue eyes while still clutching on to my shirt. I’ve never seen Elle without makeup and sure, she was quite pretty with it but without it, she was quite a sight to see.
She was beautiful.

She had small freckles lining across her cheeks and over her nose. She also had naturally red lips and I could also see a little pimple on her forehead that wasn’t evident to see because of the makeup.

“Am I pretty?” She whispers so softly that I almost didn’t hear it.
“Beautiful.” Is my only reply as I pull her back to my chest.

I take this time to slowly look over at Adam and Libby. They had looks of disbelief clouding their features and also pity. They felt sad for her. I mean, who wouldn’t in her current situation.

Putting all of the pieces together, Elle never loved Adam, she probably barely liked him, she just wanted to be loved. She wanted to wake up each morning knowing that someone was out there who loved her. God, her parents obviously didn’t show her any attention and she relived all of those moments just now.

This was never just about Adam and I, it was about love. It was about kissing her parents Goodnight each night and kissing them Goodmorning each day as she awakes.
Instead of a happy, normal girl waking up on Christmas day and asking Santa for a Barbie doll or the newest clothes that she saw at the mall, she asked him for her parents’ love. That someday, they’ll wake up and engulf her in their arms and whisper sweet nothings into her ear when she cries.

She wasn’t to blame for her actions. Sure, anyone could have treated the situation differently but she, she could have found a homeless man on the street who loved her and she would be satisfied.

It makes you think about how good life is to some of us and what vast emotions we hide behind our smiles, laughs or even makeup.
At the end of the day, we’re all human, and all of us should be treated that way.