Chapter 4
I’m typing away on my computer. I write a bit but not often. My story hasn’t been going well for this past month. I think I’ve got writer’s block!
I shut my computer and just sit back on my chair.
Hm, what should I do now? July is in trouble and I can’t help her. Now David knows that she’s been using him- which is overall bad. David hates her guts. This is just perfect. Why did I even ask David? Why did I even tell David that he was being used? Why? To ruin July’s life? To have David? To be an idiot? I never knew that I wanted to be one. Now July is confused, David isn’t talking to her. She knows that I know something but I’m not going to peep anything out here. I was stupid. It’s just I didn’t think that July was a user.
My phone rings and I see David’s name.
I answer it. “Hello,”
“Hey Lily,” he says.
I get off the chair and walk onto the balcony. The summer breeze calms me down.
“What’s up?” I ask wanting to hang up. I ruined his life.
“Uh, nothin’- I broke up with July last night.” He says it like it was nothing.
“You broke up with July? Why?” I practically yell and I see some people stare at me from under me.
I mouth out to them “Sorry,” so they would stop staring.
“Because she was using me, what was the point to stay with her?”
He doesn’t sound sad. Maybe I didn’t ruin his life. I just showed him that she was wrong for him. I just pointed out that July was stupid and desperate for money so she did anything to get it.
“I don’t know- love?” I sit down on the balcony floor.
“Ha-ha, you’re funny,” he laughs.
“What?”
“We didn’t love each other Lily; I loved her fake self that she pretended to be at the party not her.” He explains in a louder tone.
“Oh,” So, I didn’t really ruin him. He found out himself with a little of my help. July is really stupid for doing what she did.
I take in the smell from the bakery across from our apartment. It smells like fresh baked bread. Now I’m getting hungry- curse the great smell of bread!
“Are you busy tonight?” he asks.
Is he- no he can’t be? That’s impossible! Is he asking me out? Like on a real date? My heart speeds up and I start to sweat down my neck.
“No,” I answer quickly.
“Maybe, I you want to, we can go to the beach on Lake Michigan. Like around eight-pm when the sun goes down. There’s gonna be a concert there,”
He is asking me out. Oh my God, I wouldn’t expect this ever.
“Sure, I’d love to go.” I say with a smile.
“That’s great! So I’ll see you?” he sounds excited.
“Yeah, see you.” We both hang-up.
This is amazing.
***
Here I am at July’s house trying to control her breakdown. She’s really sad about her breakup with David. If she was using him then she shouldn’t be this sad- unless she’s faking it so she can get more money or something.
“July!” I yell into her ear. She’s lying on my lap with a million of tissues around us. She’s a good faker.
“What?” She asks showing her puffy eyes.
“Stop faking,” I push her off my lap so she could sit.
“What do you mean?” she has an angry face now.
I pass her the box of tissues.
“You were using David. Why are you so sad?” She told me earlier today that she was actually using him.
“Because, I feel in love with him,”
“Lie,”
She picks up a yellow pillow and throws it across the room.
“Okay, I just never got dumped. I always dumped the guy and my parents might start to care more,” she says without a pause.
“You mean that they’d give you more money,” I point out.
“Kind of,”
July always tells me the truth so I don’t have to worry about lies. Even when she lies I catch her right away- she always blurts out the truth after that.
“July,” I stand up in front of her.
“What?”
“This is sick- what you do to get money is sick. All you want is money! Do you even care about your family and friends?
Do you care about anything but money?” I start to yell in her face and sway my hands in every direction.
She looks shocked and scared at the same time. Her brownish-reddish hair is standing up in many directions. I think she gave up on the argument. Maybe she even started to think about the damage she made with the whole “wanting money” deal.
“Do you really think I only care about money Lily? Do you? I have you as a friend. I care about my best friend, friends and family. I think you’re sick.” She says with a quivering voice.
“Well, it looks like it,”
“You’re just saying that because I used a person for the first time,” she stands up two inches away from me.
I can actually smell her fruity breath.
“For the first time? Come on July, don’t kid yourself. You’ve been using people ever since you learned to persuade people. You’ve been doing crazy things just for money! I remember the time when you dressed up in a spy disguise and stole money from your dad’s safe. It’s a safe- it’s there to not be stolen.” I almost cry saying this; we never fought like this- ever.
She walks up to her window. I can hear her crying. It’s all her fault though.
I walk up to her to try to comfort her. Why would I do that? She’s persuading me to be nice to her. But I have guilt inside me... No, I won’t hug her.
“July, you were the greatest friend I ever had. You had flaws like everybody else but accepted it because you’re my best friend. You never went to extremes for just money. So, you just ruined your friendship because of selfishness.” I walk away from her to the door.
July doesn’t do anything to stop me or to fight back. I feel sad and leave her room.
***
I check myself in the free standing mirror that stands in my parents red bedroom. It’s seven forty pm and I just finished my three hour hunt for the perfect outfit for my date with David.
I think it’s perfect for the beach-concert type of date.
“Why are you so dressed up?” my mom walks in holding the laundry basket.
I turn around a smile. “Uh, just a hangout with some of my friends,”
“Really- a boy named David called earlier. He told me to tell you that your date was off for tonight,” She starts folding some laundry as she says this calmly.
My heart falls and I freeze. The date is off? This can’t be happening, it just can’t. I was dressing for three hours, my room is thrashed with clothes and shoes and all of this leads to David saying no more date.
I can smell the laundry detergent and it clogs up my nose.
“Wha-t?” I barely say.
My mom looks at me. She walks up to me and hugs me.
“Its okay, that boy was stupid to do that.” She tries to calm me down from a panic attack.
The world gets darker and I feel like I’m about to blow. I just got my friendship broken and David calls my house to tell my mom that the date was off? He could have called me not the house. I must’ve not noticed that he called while I was on my three hour search.
“He wasn’t for you sweetie. Maybe he is back with July,”
I can’t talk. It’s like my throat is clogged with tears.
I tell my mom everything so she wouldn’t have to ask later. Sometimes she helps me a lot with the situation that I go through but this one doesn’t seem to help.
“Mom,” my throat lets me speak.
“Uhuh,” she lets go of me and looks at me with the kindest smile she can make at this moment.
“I’m gonna see what’s up,”
Before she could say a word to prevent me, I run down the stairs and out the door.
***
I’m standing at David’s front door waiting for someone to open it.
I can hear someone running down the stairs and I smell some dog poo that must be close.
The door opens and I see David.
“Lily,”
“Don’t even bother.” I finally blow up with anger.
He stares at me and shuts the door behind him.
“How could you just blow me up like that? I was getting ready for three hours for this- three hours David. I thought that this would be the most amazing night of my life and you don’t even have the guts to tell me that our date is off. You are really disgusting.” I yell feeling the need to cry.
“Lily- I’m sorry it’s just that July came earlier,”
That finished me. He would choose a faker over me? He would just leave me on the curb for someone that completely gives no crap about him.
My stomach turns over and over. I feel really hot even though there is cold wind.
“July…? Really David?” I ask.
“Yeah, she apologized.” He has a sad face.
We sit on the bench that is right next to his door.
“And that made you change our plans?”
I can see his brown eyes which make me melt and angry at the same time. There’s an awkward tension between us.
“I was going to surprise you,”
“How?” I don’t believe him.
“What I was going to do was tell you the date was off and then take you away from your house. It was supposed to be romantic. I have this amazing spot on the beach ready for the surprise. It took me like an hour to make it. I didn’t want you to expect this whole normal date like everyone does, I didn’t want you to dress up like a princess or anything- I wanted you to be you. And that was how I was gonna do it,” he says this slowly so I can catch his every word.
I smile once he finishes and he copies.
I hug him and feel happy.
What I did was stupid. Now I feel like a complete idiot. I ran to his house and complained for nothing, he was trying to be romantic. He was so busy the whole day. What an idiot of me. But how could I have known that he was going to do this? I never dated him before.
“I’m such an idiot,” we stop hugging.
“No you’re not Lily, how would you know that I planned something like this?” he says in a happier tone than before.
“I could have asked you or July?” I try.
We both laugh and he holds my hand. “Come with me,”
***
He did an amazing job. This place is beautiful. The sun is setting and the waves are softly hitting the beach. There was a picnic basket on a pain red rug and some daises in a vase. I can see some candles laying on the rug as we get closer to it. I can hear some rock music playing and spot a small iPod soother.
“David, you outdid yourself,” I say.
“No, this is what I do every day,” he says sarcastically.
I laugh and we sit on the rug.
“I didn’t dress like a princess- did I?” I indicate to my concert/beach outfit.
“No, you look great,”
I smile as he opens the picnic basket. The waves hit to shore softly as I stare at them.
My heart skips a beat and my stomach flips. I can’t believe that he would do this for me.
“Okay, you can choose from a taco salad or a turkey sandwich.”
I look back at him.
“I want the salad.”
We start to eat and talk. This date couldn’t be any better. He got ready for me. This is so amazing, July was the stupidest girl to use him, but then again- since she did that I got to meet him and now we’re on our first date. So really, what July did wasn’t so bad.
I watch the water crash against the shore as the sun continues to set.
We finish ours meals and I lay down on the beach sand.
“Comfortable?” David asks as he walks up to me.
“Yeah,”
He lies down next to me and we both stare at the stars.
“I didn’t know that stars can be this beautiful.” I say.
“You are stuck in the city for too long then.” David laughs.
“Hey!” I punch his arm.
We both laugh and I keep on watching the stars.
I don’t know what July even thought when she asked him out. He is so not her type, thank God I met him. He is so perfect.
I lie on my side and look at David.
“David,”
“Yeah,” he looks back at me.
“This is the most amazing night of my life.” I say.
He smiles and I smile back feeling like the happiest person in the world.
I feel my heart skip a beat and my stomach turn a million times more.
“Maybe this will make it even better,” he says.
He gets closer to me and I can hear fireworks in my mind.
Is he going to kiss me?!
I can feel our lips touch and a choir singing “Hallelujah”
This is all I need at this very moment.
