“Well, that fight was just about being mad at each other. This fight gets deep into the issue of trust. I can’t help you guys but I wish I could. You need to talk this one out yourselves and I promise it WON’T be easy,” Kevin walked out back and left Nick, AJ, and me in silence.
“Obviously your friendship has always been and always be more important, so I’ll leave and let you two talk,” Nick said as he got up and we out back with Kevin.
AJ and I sat in silence for a while, both of us staring at the ground. “So...”AJ spoke first.
“So what?” I asked rudely.
“What is your problem? You’re never this bitchy!”
“Ohhh gosh, let me make a list. First, I tell my best friend something and ask him not to tell anyone and he tells the one person of ALL people I don’t want to know. Second, I can’t fucking trust him anymore, and third I don’t wanna be here right now.”
“You know he would have found out sooner or later, what difference does it make?”
“Well....I didn’t want him to know right now and YOU told him. The problem isn’t that he knows, it’s that you broke your promise to me not to tell. God, and now Nick thinks our friendship-which by the way isn’t much right now-is more important than him!” AJ just sat there and continued to stared at the floor. “And you don’t even care...about me...or our friendship!”
“How could you say that?”
“You aren’t doing anything at all!” I cried.
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked helplessly.
“Apologize...or something. I don’t know!”
“I’m sorry...there..is that gonna fix everything?”
“No...no, it won’t. I just want to know that you are and you really are sorry. And you aren’t doing a very good job of showing it right now.”
I got up off the couch and exited through the front door. I left the house still mad at AJ, not talking to Nick, and a little mad at Kevin too. ‘What a great night,’ I thought.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Are you two ok now?” Kevin asked as he re-entered the condo.
“Ohh yeah, just freaking peachy.”
“I told you, it won’t be easy.”
“Thanks man,” AJ said sarcastically.
“I’m trying to bring you back to reality. I’ll help you as much as I can, but-”
“You don’t need to help. This is something we need to do ourselves. But she thinks I don’t even care that we’re in a fight.”
“You, Lindsey, Nick, Brian, and Mary confuse me to the point of insanity, WHY do you all have to act like you’re 12 years old?”
“I’m going out, I’ll be back later,” AJ said ignoring his comment.
“Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it,” AJ said before walking out the door and getting into his car.
~*~*~THE NEXT DAY~*~*~
AJ was walking out of the mall in the afternoon when he bumped into someone. “I’m sorry,” she apologized sweetly.
“Uhuh.” AJ looked up at the girl. “Hey- don’t I know you?” he eyed her curiously. “Yeah I do...you’re Lindsey’s friend, umm....umm...” he tried to remember her name, “Samantha.”
“Yeah, I don’t believe you remember me.”
“Yeah.”
“Is something wrong? You seem kind of..”
“Nope, I’m fine,” he lied.
“Ok. Where ya going?”
“Home I guess. I don’t really have anything planned for today.”
“Yeah me either.”
“Really? Wanna go to the beach with me or something like that?”
“Sure!”
“Ok, come to our condo later ok?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”
When Sam pulled into the driveway later that day, AJ walked out of the condo and stared at her silver Mustang Convertible. “That’s a pretty cool car!”
“Thanks.”
“Ready to go?”
“Yep.”
Sam and AJ swam and talked for a while before Sam decided she wanted to visit me. “I had a lot of fun. I think I’m gonna go see Lindsey.”
“I had fun too. I’m just gonna stay here so I’ll see ya later.”
“Don’t you wanna see her too?”
“No.”
“Oh. Ok then, bye,” she waved before turning and walking to my condo.
When she knocked on my door, I answered, still in my pajamas. “Hey Lins!”
“Hi Sam. Whats up?”
“Nuthin much, I was just hangin out with AJ when I-”
“You were with him? Did he seem kinda mad?”
“He told me what happened.”
“And..?”
“And he wishes you would listen to him.”
“I know...how is he?”
“A little out of it...and..oh yeah! He got a new tattoo last night.”
My face dropped and I got serious as I was hit with the realization that AJ really did care, and he was upset. “Uh..Sam..where is he now?”
“On the beach.”
“Ok. Sorry..but I can’t stay and talk to you now, I really need to straighten things out with AJ. Call me tomorrow and we’ll do something.”
“Ok. Good luck.”
“Thanks, see ya.”
I went out the backdoor and saw AJ sitting in the sand, facing the water. Quietly, I walked up behind him and said, “Hi AJ.”
“What?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“It can’t be THAT important.”
I sat down next to him and said, “If it wasn’t important, do you think I’d still be wearing my pajamas? You know I don’t go outside looking this terrible.”
He eyed me oddly, “Well...I guess not.”
“Do I have your permission to talk?” I joked.
“Do what you want.”
“Promise you’ll listen?”
“No, but go ahead anyway.”
“Ok..well Sam told me you got the tattoo and it hit me..”
“What hit you?”
“That you do care.”
“How do you know?”
“Cuz you told me ages ago that you only get a tattoo when you’re upset about something.”
“You remember that?”
“Yeah...I remember the whole night. That was the night I realized you were my best friend. Gosh, it seems like yesterday.”
“Yeah it does,” he laughed.
“Oh my..he smiles!”
He laughed some more, “Yeah, it’s been a while.”
“We’ve always had so much fun together. You always make me smile.”
“Yep.”
“Me and Nick have had a lot of great times together too...”
“Lindsey-just talk to him. You know it’s what you have to do. What do you have to lose?”
“NOTHING! That’s just it..I’ve lost absolutely everything, you, Nick-”
“Me?”
“Well, yeah. You’re like majorly pissed at me.”
“Not mad enough for you NOT to be my best friend. You’ll never ‘lose me’. I’ll always be here for you. Just tell me and I’ll be there.”
“AJ?” I asked looking at him.
“Yeah?”
“I need you,” my eyes pleaded for comfort.
He wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace and said, “Lins, it’ll be ok. Everything will work out with Nick. I promise.”
“I really hope so. Things are all so confusing right now. It doesn’t matter if we’re together or not, as long as we’re friends.”
“You’ll be together.”
“Right. I’ve been hearing that for almost a year now.”
“Ya never know..”