How I Knew, Pt. 2

    The only times he doesn't text me back is if he's asleep or if he's talking to another girl. And at this moment, I knew he wasn't asleep. I tried to convince myself so vehemently that it wasn't the latter, but I knew.
Text: JB might not join us tonight. He's taking Piper to the movies.
    Oh my gatos, my heart ached. What made that pain worse was my self-loathing because I still cared about him so much. I got that text when I was getting into a van for an hour- long trip home. That much time for thinking needs to be illegal. He fucking forgave her... This guy is almost pathetic as me!
Me: Are you going to talk all the way home?
Girl: Why? Do you want me to?
Me: I want your headphones.
   The back two rows of girls erupted in laughter. I was trying to be cool because we had won a basketball game a few hours earlier and I was very proud of them. But it was sulking time for me and I deserved it.
Girl: Oh! The left ear is louder than the right one and my little brother tore off the padding around the bud.
   I just let out a giggle and pushed them in so I could drown out the world. Usually, when I'm sad I like to listen to rock. "Uneasy Hearts Weigh the Most" by Dance Gavin Dance was what my fingers were drawn to first.
To feel her touch,
it's almost impossible to hold still.
maybe we could go back to,
the way it was.
Well, at least let me love you the same.
    Beautifully sung and so full of meaning. I immediately wanted to text Scotty. Did he know the story? What's the shortest way to explain? I started typing a text that said, "So this Piper bitch from Oga and JB stopped talking because she kissed another guy when she was drunk..."
    I deleted it all. He doesn't need to be hearing about unimportant matters like so. He has his own worries, which he still needs to tell me about.
    I spent four and a half days away from my boys and I thought about them every second. Anything and everything related back to them. They always make my cares drift away and right now I need one monstrous care to be taken away. I would approach Scotty on the subject if it came around, but I wouldn't prioritize it.
    When we got to the school, I sped to the House. I ran across the yard of the neighbor's duplex and skipped up the stairs. I pushed past two doors and there they were: just as I had left them. Penguin was sitting in the recliner closest to the door, Brown and JB were sitting on the couch, and Matt was playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
    "Is Scotty here?" was the first thing I said in flushed manner as I closed the door.
    "Wow!" Penguin exclaimed. "All you care about is Scotty. You don't say hi to anyone else, you always just go straight for Scotty. If you're not here to see anyone else, then don't bother coming here at all." The whole house grew silent. All you heard were the machine-gun rounds from the game. I didn't say anything either, but I did walk around the furniture and settle on a recliner across the room.
    "Can we go do this now?" I asked Brown. "I'm sad."
    "Swag," was all he replied with, and then we went downstairs.
    "When's JB leaving?" I asked as I took a deep hit off of my pipe.

    "I guess he's not going anymore. Piper stood him up," he said.
    I don't think celebrating people's misfortunes is appropriate except for sometimes. She stood him up! I just spent an hour fuming over nothing. In some sense, I consider this karma, but on the other hand, no one wants to see the person they love in pain. We smoked a bowl or two and retreated back upstairs. When I got into the living room, I walked straight to Penguin's recliner and climbed onto his lap.

    "I don't only care about Scotty," I whispered, in a soothing voice. "It's just that he's hurting, too, and understands more."

    "That's not true," he said.
    "He forgave her, didn't he?" I asked solemnly.
    "Who? Piper?" he inquired a bit too loud for liking, but I nodded. "I guess."
    "Do I have to hurt him before he cares about me?"
    "Yes." I rested on him silence for a few minutes. I hoisted myself up and grabbed a Black & Mild to smoke.