The Hardest Part

Four

I finished my English lit exam earlier than expected. I dropped the test off on the teachers front desk before quickly walking out of the classroom. I walked out the main entrance doors, pulling my hoodie over my head.

"Haven," someone said putting a hand on my back just a few inches above my butt.

I slightly jumped making Vince look at me with a worried expression. How did I not hear him come up?

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I was just thinking."

"Want to grab something to eat before your next class?"

I glanced down at my phone to check the time. I still had two hours to kill before my next exam. At that exact moment, my stomach growled which made Vince laugh.

"I'm guessing that's a yes," he said.

Vince and I decided to head to a small café that was just ten minutes away from school. As soon as we parked, the rain came pouring down. Vince and I braced ourselves, snuggling deep into our jackets and making a run for the door.

One of the older waitresses that was serving another customer frowned at us. Another waitress rushed over to us, a huge smile appeared on her face when she got a look at Vince. It was something that I was used to over the years but now since we were actually dating, I was having a hard time refraining from punching the girls.

"For two?" she asked sweetly.

Vince nodded in response. She grabbed two menus before leading us to an empty table. She slid a menu in front of us. "My name is Cassie and I'll be your waitress today. Can I get you guys anything to drink?" she asked, looking at Vince not even bothering to spare me a glance.

Vince stared down at the menu. "I'll have a water."

Cassie finally pulled her eyes away from him to look at me. A blush appeared on her face when she realized that she had just been caught checking out my boyfriend.

"I'll also have a water," I said. She nodded before quickly scurrying off. I looked over at Vince who was still staring at the menu. "How did your physics exam go?" I asked Vince.

He frowned. "I'm not sure."

"I'm sure you did great."

Vince's eyes flicked up to meet mine. "How did yours go?"

"Easier than I expected."

Vince chuckled. "Sounds better than my exam."

I rolled my eyes. As much as Vince didn't want to believe or hear it, he was a genius. He was super smart, and he barely had to try, unlike myself. I had to study for hours and hours just to get a good grade in anything math or science related.

He looked up from the menu. "Is Hazel still coming over?"

I nodded. "I have to pick her up from the airport on Saturday."

"How long is she staying?"

"A few weeks. She's going to stay with us for a little bit and then go to my parents."

"She can stay as long as she needs."

I smiled. I know Hazel and Vince didn't get along all that well especially back in high school, but I was glad he was making an effort. I could tell he still didn't fully trust her, but he could see that Hazel has changed and our relationship has gotten better. It's nice to finally have a sister.

"She'll be excited to know," I said.

Cassie came back to take our orders with a sheepish smile on her face. her eyes barely lingered on Vince for a minute as she jotted down his order. Hamburger with no tomatoes. I smirked as he ordered. That was his all-time favorite.

I decided to go with the French toast. Cassie nodded as she scribbled down my order. She collected the menus and hurried off once more. I briefly glanced out the window, to take in the gloomy weather.

"When is your last day?" I asked Vince, still looking out the window.

"Next Friday."

I nodded. "It'll be nice to have some time off. You've been working hard."

He slowly nodded. "It will," he agreed.

I looked over at him to see a frown on his face. I know he enjoyed his internship and I know he was nervous that it was coming to an end. I put my hand on top of his to give a reassuring squeeze. "He's going to want you back."

Vince gave me a lopsided grin. It still seemed like something was bothering him, but I didn't want to push it. If he wanted to talk about it, he would tell me.

***

"Anyone home?" Brenda said, waving her hand in front of my face.

I shook my head to pull myself out of my thoughts. "Sorry, I was just thinking."

Brenda smirked. "I see that. I was calling your name for like five minutes."

"Sorry."

"Are you alright?"

I nodded. "How did your test go?" I asked, changing the subject.

She frowned. "I'll be lucky if I get a C."

"Did you study?"

"I did," a sigh escaped her lips, "but I probably could've studied more."

"You did your best. That's all that matters." I felt something wet roll down my cheek. I glanced up at the sky. A few more dark clouds had appeared which meant it was about to rain any minute.

Brenda and I walked faster to get to my car. I unlocked the car doors as soon as it came into view. We quickly rushed to it to avoid getting drenched. As soon as I closed the car door, the rain came pouring down. Brenda and I looked at each other. We barely managed to avoid getting drenched.

"Do you know what this calls for?" Brenda said.

"Hot chocolate?" I guessed.

Brenda grinned. "With lots of marshmallows!"

I laughed at her giddiness. "I don't have any marshmallows at home, so we'll be making a pit stop at the grocery store," I said.

Brenda clapped her hands together while jumping up and down in her seat. She even squealed with excitement.

Ten minutes later we pulled up to Target and made a break for the entrance. we giggled like ten-year old's as we got pelleted by the rain but everyone else was running as well so it didn't matter.

We made it quick since we were both uncomfortable and shivering from our wet clothes. I wanted nothing more than to go home and change into some sweats and I'm sure, Brenda felt the exact same way.

As soon as we got in the car, Brenda turned the heater on to full blast. I held up my hands in front of the vent to put some feeling back into my hands before pulling out of the parking space to head home.

Thankfully our parking garage was underneath the building and we were able to walk upstairs to the apartment without having to worry about getting wet. Brenda and I kicked off our shoes as soon as we stepped into the living room. Brenda and I padded over to the bedroom.

"Take your pick," I said, motioning to the drawer that held all my pajamas.

My sweats were already on the bed. I quickly shimmied out of my soaked jeans while Brenda did the same. She decided to go with my blue and purple plaid pajama pants. I grabbed a clean t-shirt from the drawer and tossed one to Brenda.

"Socks?" I asked her, holding up a pair of clean fuzzy socks.

"Yes, please."

Once we were both changed, I collected our clothes and hung them up in the bathroom to dry.

"Should we order pizza?" I asked walking into the living room where Brenda was already setting up the tv for a movie night.

"I'm down for whatever," she said flipping through the channels to look for something to watch.

I plopped down on the plush gray couch right next to Brenda. "I'm not to hungry right now," I said.

"Me either. But I am in the mood for hot chocolate."

I laughed. "I'll get right on that."

We settled on watching Broad City – my new favorite show – and before we knew it, a couple hours had already passed. My stomach growled, making Brenda laugh. I glanced at my phone to check the time. It was a quarter passed seven and Vince wouldn't be home for another few hours.

"Shall we order food now?" I asked Brenda.

"I think for your sake we should."

Brenda and I scrolled through our phones for a few minutes before we settled on Chinese Food. Thirty minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Brenda jumped off the couch to answer it.

"Thank you! Have a goodnight," she told the delivery boy. She shut the front door with a small kick of her foot. "He was cute."

I rolled my eyes. "You think everyone is cute."

Brenda laughed. "I do not."

"Yes, you do."

Brenda set the food down on the coffee table while I went to grab some plates from the kitchen along with a couple of water bottles. I handed a plate and water bottle to her before sitting down on the floor next to her.

"How's Robbie?" I asked, opening the water bottle to take a drink.

She frowned. "I don't know."

I leaned back against the couch. "What happened?"

Brenda was struggling to grab the fried rice with her chopsticks. Her brows were furrowed in deep concentration. "He hasn't texted me."

"I'm sorry, B."

She shrugged. "No biggie. He was nice and all, but I don't know." Brenda finally gave up on the rice. She dug around the plastic bag the food came in until she found a spoon. "I didn't think it was going to work anyways," she said.

"It's probably for the best."

Her nose scrunched up as if she just smelt something rotten. "Do you have any wine?"

I laughed. So, it was going to be that kind of night. "I'll grab it," I said getting up from the floor to head to the kitchen.

It didn't take us long to finish our food or the wine. Everything was gone within thirty minutes. Brenda and I were sprawled out on the floor laughing our asses off. She had tried to get up to use the bathroom but stumbled over her own feet and just ended up falling back down onto the floor. She was drunker than me.

"s**t how am I going to get home?" she asked, once her laughter stopped.

"We have a spare room," I said pointing to the door.

"You're the best," she said, throwing her arms around my neck.

"I know."

She playfully punched my arm. "Vince won't be mad?"

"I think he'd prefer if you stayed here."

"He's so nice," she mumbled. "You're so lucky..."