Fate

We Can't Be Friends Anymore

Vince

~Rose: I'm crying as I write this, but I don't think we can be friends anymore.~

Vince shot up to his feet, walking away from the stairs where he'd been sitting with his friends and Lorenzo after reading the text from Rose.

“Where you going?" Lorenzo asked. “You're up next.

“Take my turn for me," Vince said already texting Rose back.

~Vince: Why? What did I do?~

They'd been playing dice against the stairs of his apartment building. Normally, Vince would never let anyone take his turn when they were playing for money, least of all Lorenzo who sucked at it. Right now, he didn't give a s**t about anything except Rose's text.

For weeks, he'd been doing his best to stay out of trouble and in his parents' good graces. He wanted to prove to them that he'd changed and make up for the whole tagging incident. But mostly because once his uncle told his dad he'd get back to him about Vince going out to stay and working for him over the summer, Vince knew he had to be smart about this. He understood why they were apprehensive about him, but now he had a real good reason to behave. He wasn't about to give his uncle or parents any reason to not allow him to go.

Rose had grown on him. Even though their communication consisted of only texts and emails, there was something so sweet about her. Unlike his cousins, she hadn't judged him when he'd emailed her to explain about the tagging incident and some of the other trouble he'd been in during the past few years. He was sure she'd hear about it eventually, and he wanted her to get it straight from him—no one else.

Even though Rose had never been in trouble in her life, she'd had nothing but positive things to say. She even praised his efforts to straighten out. She was funny, had a good head on her shoulders, and was a good girl. Surprisingly, what made him try even harder to be good was that she was proud of him, damn it. He could hardly wait to spend time talking to her again in person, not just texting and emailing. Now that they were so close to summer, she was telling him this? He couldn't imagine what he'd done or what she'd heard that would have her crying about not being able to be his friend.

He took a deep breath when his phone dinged and her message appeared.

~Grace and Sal broke up, and she is so devastated it's killing me. I can't be reminding her of him by talking about you. I'm sorry.~

Even though it was a relief to know it had nothing to do with something he'd done, it still stung that Rose could so easily dismiss their friendship like that. To him what had been building between them for weeks was like no friendship he'd ever experienced with anyone, let alone a girl. He wasn't even sure if he should respond or if her sorry meant she was cutting him off just like that, but he had to.

~I'm sorry to hear about your sister, but I really wish you'd reconsider. Your friendship means a lot to me now. I don't think I can let it go as easily as you can.~

Again he held his breath and waited. Her response was immediate and an enormous relief.

~You think this is easy for me? It's not!~

Feeling a little guilty about the automatic smile that instantly spread on his lips, he took a moment to think about a proper response to that. She was already upset; he didn't want to say anything to make her feel worse. Before he could, she promptly followed up with another text.

~Taylor and I just got to his apartment. I haven't talked to her yet, but Taylor said she was so upset he had to give her a pill that would knock her out. I've never seen my sister as upset as he described her. I'm almost afraid to. And on top of that, the guilt is eating me up alive. How could I have secretly wished for this? I'm such a terrible person! I'll text you after I talk to her.~

In the past few weeks, Rose had mentioned Taylor and Joey, her sister's two best friends. At first, it burned him up the way Rose gushed about them until she explained they were gay and a couple.

Vince muttered, fisting his hand. It was times like this he wished to hell he could call her. He wanted to talk to her—console her, even if it meant listening to sweet Rosie cry. But it was bad enough his parents had to pay the fine for the tagging. His mother had warned him enough about using her precious minutes. He'd finally finished up all the community work the judge piled on. He wouldn't take a chance screwing up his hopes for summer, not even with this. He sent off his final text before leaving her to be there for her sister.

~You have nothing to feel guilty about, Rosie. Okay? NOTHING. Don't do this to yourself. Go be with her now. I'll be right here, waiting for your text.~

Blowing out a harsh breath, he started walking in the opposite direction of his friends. He needed to think.

“So you're out? Alfonso called after him.

Vince nodded without looking back and turned the corner of the building. He was just getting his thoughts together when he saw his neighbor Anita and her two little brothers walking toward him.

Smiling as they got closer, Vince put up his hands in a kung-fu stance as her little brother Pepe, the older of the two, gave him the usual stink eye and lifted his right fist shaking it at him. “You wanna go to the hospital?" Pepe wound up his other fist lifting it behind and over his head. “Or the cemetery? Your choice."

Vince laughed. “Easy, tough guy. I don't want any trouble."

“That's what I thought." Pepe said still holding the stink-eye stare.

Anita rolled her eyes. She was younger than Rose, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her. Like most of the girls in this neighborhood, she wore way too much makeup, but Vince knew it wasn't just that. Anita was truly a victim of the environment, and he didn't mean the neighborhood either. He meant her home life. Most of the kids in this area didn't have it easy, but Anita had it rougher than most. She lived with her two little brothers and her usually drunk-ass dad. Things weren't easy for her, and since she lived in the building right next to his, Vince had been witness to her family drama too many times.

“What are you up to?" she asked, placing her hand on her other brother Beto's head as he wrapped his arms around her leg.

Vince shook his head, thoughts of Rose's text coming back to him again.

“Something wrong?"

“Nah," he smiled. He hadn't told anyone, not even Lorenzo, about Rose and how often they texted. He wasn't about to start now. “I was just going for a walk. You guys coming from the playground?"

“Yeah." She looked down at Beto messing his hair. “But this guy is getting cranky; I think it's nap time."

Beto was only four, and since their mother died two years ago when he was only two, he'd been glued to Anita just like now. He grabbed his crotch and began to whine against her leg.

“Oh, and that, too. He's gotta go potty. So we're done with the playground for the day."

“Just let him go against the wall." Vince laughed. “It's what we all do. When you gotta go, you gotta go."

“I will not!" She laughed. “These boys are gonna have some manners if it kills me. C'mon." She tugged Pepe gently. “Your brother's gotta go bad." Looking up at Vince, she smiled again. “I gotta go."