Diary of An Unrequited Love

By: Richey

Chapter Ten

I sat there for a few minutes just starting at the house. Tears were streaming down my eyes. The collar of my shirt was soaked from tears.

What did I ever do to deserve this?

I was nice to everyone, treated everyone the way that I wanted them to treat me. The past few months have absolutely sucked for me right when I think things are getting better and I'm finally happy again it all falls down.

I was hoping that Kevin would come running out of the house and get inside of my car with me. I could hear him and his mom yelling at each other.

I finally gave up after about thirty minutes of sitting in my car balling my eyes out.

I started up my car and pulled out of the drive way.

I glanced next door at Haleigh's house as I backed out of the driveway. She wasn't home. I had no idea where she went after she left. She was probably at Mike's house.

I didn't want to talk to anyone at that moment. All I wanted to do was drop off the face of the earth and never be seen again.

I drove around for hours.

I drove by my old house. I thought about going in there, but the idea of stepping foot in that place again just sent shivers down my spine. I hadn't been back in there since everything happened.

I got tired of driving around. There are only so many places that you can drive to in a small town and I had run out of places.

I thought about driving back to Kevin's to try to talk to him. I just knew that we could put our money together and get our own place. Kevin was my life. It meant nothing without him.

I finally ended up at the city park. I pulled my car into an empty spot and sat there staring up at the darkened sky.

"Why!" I shouted as loud as I could.

I grabbed my hair and pulled it as hard as I could. A big chunk of my dark brown hair came out in my hand. I was numb to the pain. I was already in so much pain that a little more did absolutely nothing to me.

I tossed my hair into the floor on the passenger side of my car.

I hurt so badly. It felt like my heart had been ripped out, thrown on the pavement and run over by a steam roller.

I started sobbing loudly.

I picked up my phone and sent Kevin a text.

I love you no matter what. We can make this work.

I sat my phone down in the passenger seat.

I tried to think of what I could do so that Kevin didn't have to go live with his mom's.

I did the math in my head Kevin usually made around two hundred and fifty dollars every two weeks. I usually brought home around four hundred.

We could make it work. I could get rid of my car so I didn't have a car payment and we could share Kevin's truck. We could find a cheap one bedroom apartment. We would barely make it, but at least we would have each other.

I picked up my phone and looked at the time. It was nine o'clock. Fifteen minutes had gone by since I text Kevin.

"Please Kevin reply back." I banged my head on the steering wheel of my car. "I need to talk to you."

I closed my eyes and squeezed more tears out.

My phone beeped, letting me know that I had a text. I wiped my eyes so I would at least be able to see what the text said. I nervously picked my phone up and opened the text.

Dan: Where U At

I sat my phone back down in my seat.

It wasn't who I wanted to talk to.

I wanted Kevin.

"Maybe this is all just a bad dream." I told myself. "If I go to sleep when I wake up it will all be over."

I reclined the driver's seat and lied back in it.

I had nowhere to go. The park would be my new home.

Maybe Kevin would come and find me. He would tell me that everything was going to be okay and nothing would keep us away from each other.

I closed my eyes and cried myself to sleep.

***

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The loud noise startled me. I woke up and looked around my car. I was alone didn't see anyone in there with me.

"Ryan."

Thump.

Someone was tapping on my car window.

I smiled.

It was Kevin. I just knew that it was him.

I closed my eyes as a bright flashlight was turned on and illuminated the inside of my compact car.

"Ryan, open up."

I opened my eyes and looked out the driver's side window of my car. Dan was standing there with his flashlight in one hand and getting ready to tap on my window again with the other.

I grabbed the handle and rolled my window down.

I always wished I had automatic windows. I guess it's my own fault for getting the cheapest car I could find.

"Dan?"

He turned his flashlight off and I watched as he walked around the passenger side of my car and grabbed the door handle. I reached over and unlocked it. Dan got inside the car and sat down in the passenger seat.

He looked over at me.

I could see his face by the moonlight. He seemed to be worried.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

I shrugged my shoulders.

"I went by your house several times and no one was there." He explained. "The lights were off the door was locked. I went home and got my key and went inside. There was a huge hole in Kevin's bedroom wall."

I shrugged my shoulders again.

"I don't have a home." I muttered under my breath.

"Do what?" He asked as he looked at me intensely.

"Nothing." I turned and looked away from Dan.

"Are you okay?" He asked me. "You sound like you have been crying."

I sniffled a little bit.

I could hear Dan moving around, then his flashlight shined in my face again.

I glanced in the rearview mirror. My eyes were all red and puffy. My right eye looked even worse because it was already swollen from being punched in it last night. Snot was running out of my nose and dripping off my chin. My yellow shirt was a darker shade of yellow now because it was drenched in my years.

I wiped my eyes and nose with my hand and looked over at Dan.

"Ryan what is wrong?" The utmost concern came from his voice. "Please tell me."

"It's Kevin." I muttered.

"Is he okay?" Dan asked.

"I don't know." I shook my head and gripped my steering wheel tightly.

"How can you not know?" He asked. "He is your boyfriend."

I closed my eyes. I was trying my hardest to not cry again.

"Kristen found out."

"How?"

"Eric told her."

He didn't reply for a brief second.

"Is that why she wanted us to all leave earlier?"

I nodded my head.

"She told me that I wasn't welcome there anymore. She said she was putting the house up for sale and Kevin was going to live with her and Steve." I started sobbing again. "I don't have anywhere to live anymore."

Right then is when it dawned on me that I was homeless. I wasn't welcome at Kevin's anymore. I couldn't go to my old house even if I wanted to. I was pretty sure it would be in foreclosure by now. My Aunt Faye was out of town and I didn't know exactly how to explain to her that I was gay and my boyfriend's mom had found out and forced me out of the house.

Dan grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

"Yes you do."

He dug around in his pants pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number and put it on speaker. It rang five times then went to voicemail.

"Hey this is Kevin, I can't come to the phone so leave me a message and I will call you back as soon as I can."

I closed my eyes and started sobbing loudly. Kevin's voice, the sound of it was the one thing that I needed. I need him to tell me that everything was going to be okay.

"Kevin, it's Dan, I need you to call me as soon as you get this. I'm sitting here with Ryan."

Dan ended the call and sat his phone down in my cup holder.

"He will come around." Dan tried to console me as best as he could.

"I hope."

Dan opened the passenger side of the car and got out. He walked over to the driver's side and opened the door.

"Scoot over." He requested.

I looked up at him.

I am sure I looked like more of a mess now than I had earlier.

I had used so much energy already. I had cried and cried and cried. I didn't have anything left in me.

I crawled across the middle console of my car and sat in the passenger seat.

Dan got in, sat down in the driver's seat and closed the door. He took his keys out of his pocket. I heard his truck alarm honk as he locked the doors.

He started up my car and looked over at me.

"You are going to stay with me."

I didn't argue. Didn't say a word. I was to spent to say anything.

I had met Dan's dad. He wasn't the nicest person either. I don't know how he would react to the idea of Dan's gay friend staying in his house.

"We will figure something out." He shifted my car into park and started backing out of the parking spot. "There is no way I am going to let one of my best friends sleep in his car. I know what you are thinking and well fuck whatever my dad says. You need me."

I closed my eyes. I was trying not to think of whatever it was that lied ahead.

***

"Are you hungry?" Dan asked.

I shook my head no.

He had brought me back to his house. His parent's were both sleeping so he didn't have to talk to them.

Dan's bedroom was pretty big. He had his bed in one corner of his room. On the other side of the room was a couch, a flat screen television, a mini refrigerator and a computer. It was like his own little apartment.

He walked over to the mini refrigerator and took out two bottles of water. He walked back over to his bed and sat down next to me.

"Drink this." He handed me one of the waters.

I wasn't thirsty or hungry so I sat the bottle down on my right side. Dan was sitting to my left.

"I'm really not that thirsty."

There was no emotion left in my voice. It was flat.

Dan took a deep breath.

"I gotta figure something out."

He picked his phone up from next to him on the bed.

"I am going to call him again."

I watched as he dialed Kevin's phone number again. I could hear it ringing over and over and finally went to his voicemail.

He sat his phone down on his bed, got up and walked over to his computer desk. I watched as he picked up a cordless phone and walked back over to the bed and sat down.

He pressed the talk button and then dialed Kevin's number.

It rang once then I could hear Kevin answer.

"What's going on?" Dan paused. "What do you mean? I picked Ryan up at the park. He looks like shit man." I tried to listen to see if I could hear what Kevin was saying but I couldn't make out his muffled voice. "Do you want to talk to him?" He paused again. "Why the hell would you say that dude? He loves you. You should see how broken up he is right now." I could hear Kevin shout something but couldn't make out what it was he was saying. "You don't mean that!" Dan shouted.

I looked at Dan trying to find some hint on his face of what was going on. I could tell he was getting mad.

"You are a fucking asshole!" Dan screamed. "Screw you and your mom!"

He pressed the talk button on the phone and threw it at his bedroom door. The phone bounced off the door and landed loudly on the floor.

I looked over at Dan, waiting for him to tell me what happened on the phone.

He grabbed me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry buddy."

I looked at him as he looked at me.

"What happened Dan?"

Dan released me from the hug and placed his hands on my shoulders. He looked me in my eyes.

"He is an asshole." Dan replied. "He says that you seduced him into being with you and that his feelings as being your best friend were distorted into something else. He says that he isn't gay."

I couldn't believe it. There was no way. Kevin loved me. He just told me so early that morning. He packed my lunch the day before and left me the little heart shaped note.

"I have to talk to him Dan." I could feel tears falling out of my eyes. "I have to make this okay. I can't live without him."

Dan hugged me again.

"How about you get some sleep and when you are rested up in the morning we can figure something out?"

"I don't think I can sleep Dan."

Dan stood up and turned back the covers on his bed.

"Lie down get some sleep."

Dan walked over to the other side of the bed and climbed in.

"You aren't scared to sleep with me?" I was to the point where I wasn't thinking straight. I was extremely paranoid. It felt like everyone was turning on me. "You don't think I might try something?"

Dan laughed.

"We have been friends since we were six Ryan. I know you well enough that you will respect the fact that I am straight and know that you think of me as just a friend and you love Kevin."

I nodded my head.

I took my shoes off and tossed them to the floor. I pulled my jeans off and threw them next to my shoes and climbed under the nice warm covers. I slowly drifted off to sleep.

It was the first day of school. I walked into my homeroom, there were tables that two chairs at each one of them. I saw that Dan was sitting at a table by himself so I walked over and sat down next to him.

There were no assigned seats yet. Hopefully there wouldn't be. We didn't have them in the fifth grade so hopefully we wouldn't have them in the sixth. We were now in middle school after all.

"I thought you were going to be late." Dan said as he turned and looked at me.

"We missed the bus." I sat my backpack down next to my chair. "Mom and dad had already left for work so we had to wait for Aunt Faye to give us a ride to cool."

"Cool." He stated. "So did you see Allison Rice? She looks really nice."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"No." I replied.

I had seen her, but I didn't think she was pretty and I didn't Dan to know that I didn't think so. He was my best friend and all but he would probably think that I was weird. All the guys were talking about her.

"I think she has Mr. Cannon for her homeroom. We go there next you should check her out." Dan grinned. "I'm thinking of asking her out."

I was confused. We were only eleven so how could either of us go out on a date with anyone. We couldn't drive.

"Ask her out where?"

Dan could see the confused look on my face. He laughed.

"Ask her to be my girlfriend silly."

"Oh."

I could feel my cheeks turning red from the embarrassment.

"Good morning class."

Mrs. Daniels walked into the classroom and strolled over to her desk in the front right corner of the classroom. She sat her purse and a large coffee cup that she was caring down on her desk.

"I'm Mrs. Daniel and I will be your homeroom and sixth grade English teacher." She announced.

Mrs. James, the secretary, walked into the classroom. A student walked in with her.

"Sorry to interrupt Mrs. Daniels." She apologized. "I have a new student for you. This is Kevin."

She led Kevin to the front of the room to Mrs. Daniel's desk.

"Hi Kevin." Mrs. Daniels smiled at Kevin as she greeted him.

"Hey." His voice cracked as he said it.

Mrs. James walked out of the classroom.

"Class we have a new student with us this year." Mrs. Daniels announced. "This is Kevin." She looked at Kevin. "Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself Kevin."

Kevin looked around the classroom at everyone.

I would have been extremely nervous up there. He however didn't show the least amount of being nervous.

He looked right at me.

There was something about him. He just seemed so nice and warm,

He was taller than most of us maybe four foot six or so. He had light brown hair that was cut short and spiked up. He wore a tiny pair of gold rimmed glasses that were covering up a pair of blue eyes.

"My name is Kevin and I'm eleven." He chuckled. "Kevin eleven that kinda rhymes. Anyhow I just moved here from Greenwood with my mom and older brother. My brother is going to be in the tenth grade and is mean. My mom works at Sears as an assistant manager." He looked sad then looked down at the floor. "My dad was killed when I was two. He was a state trooper and pulled someone over and got shot."

He looked at Mrs. Daniels.

She patted him on the back.

She picked up a piece of paper and looked at it.

"It looked like you are sitting next to Ryan Wilson." She looked at me. "Dan you are sitting up here in front by Greg."

Dan looked at me.

"So much for sitting together."

He picked up his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and walked to his assigned seat.

Kevin walked across the classroom and sat next to me. He looked over at me and held out his hand.

"Hey. I'm Kevin Sawyer."

I shook his hand.

"I'm Ryan. Ryan Wilson."

He smiled at me.

"Nice to meet you Ryan Wilson."

I looked over at Kevin and saw him slowly fading away from me.

"Kevin!" I shouted. "Kevin come back."

"Wake up!"

I could feel a hand on my shoulder shaking me.

"Ryan, you're having a bad dream."

I slowly opened my eyes and looked around. I was in Daniel's bedroom.

"Dan?"

"I'm here." He patted me on my back.

"I just had a dream about when Kevin and I first met." I looked over at him. "Do you remember it?"

"Yeah I do." Dan laughed. "I was so jealous because I thought he was going to steal my best friend away from me. You two got in trouble a lot for talking in class."

I looked at Dan's alarm clock sitting on his night table. It was 3:45 in the morning.

"I need him." The sadness could be heard in my voice.

Dan scooted close to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him. I could feel the warmth of his body against mine.

"It's going to be fine." He tried to console me. "I will talk to him in the morning. Give him time and see what happens."

"What if nothing good happens?" I asked.

"Kevin loves you." Dan said as he looked me in my eyes. "I can see it every time he looks at you. He is stupid if he lets his mom get in his way."

I nodded my head.

I just hoped he was right. I hoped and prayed that I would wake up in the morning and see that I had a text on my phone from Kevin telling me that he was sorry and loved me more than anything.

"Lets get some sleep now and see what tomorrow brings."

"I will try my best."

I laid my head down on Dan's shoulder and drifted back off to sleep.

***

I woke up to the bright rays of sun shining into the room. I blinked my eyes and looked around, realizing that I was in Dan's room. That is when it all came flooding back to me.

It was real. Kristen had separated us.

I looked at Dan's alarm clock. It was 9:30.

I closed my eyes and all I could think of was Kevin.

What was he doing? Was he thinking about me also? Did he miss me?

"You awake yet?"

I opened my eyes and saw Dan standing in the doorway.

He looked like he had already taken a shower. He had on a pair of khaki shorts and a blue and red plaid button up shirt.

"I am." I replied. "I just don't want to be."

I honestly wished that I could go to sleep and not wake up. I didn't feel like I had anything else to live for. My family was gone. My boyfriend was gone and his mom hated me.

I felt the bed sink in as Dan sat down next to me.

"I called in to work this morning." He told me. "You need a friend."

"You didn't have to do that."

"Hey don't expect me to turn my back on you." He laid his head on the pillow next to me. "You are one of my oldest friends. You remember the first time we ever talked?"

I half smiled.

It was funny the way we became friends, but I really didn't feel like smiling. I just wanted to lay there in bed all day.

"Yeah I do." I replied. "It was the second day of kindergarten and during art class you talked me into dipping my hands in paints and putting my handprints all over the wall. You made me loose recess for a whole week."

"Haha." He laughed. "I will never forget the look on Ms. Downs face."

I looked over at Dan.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Do you think I'm gross because I am gay?"

"Nope." He replied without giving it a second thought. "You are who you are and there is nothing you can do to change it. People just don't seem to realize it. My dad being one of them."

"I have to be at work at three." I stated. "I think I am going to call in."

Dan stood up off the bed.

"Nope you can't do that. I ain't going to let you lay in bed all day. It's not good for you."

I knew he was right. My therapist had told me the same thing during some of my sessions. He had said that if I laid around thinking about things that it would just make it worse. It would be best for me to keep busy.

"I know."

"So, how about you get up take a shower and get dressed." Dan suggested. "I have something planned for us."

I rolled myself out of bed and walked over to Dan's dresser where I had left my phone sitting at last night. I picked it up and saw that I had one new text.

I was nervous. I was hoping that it was Kevin. I opened the text and was disappointed at what I saw.

Misty: You going bowling with us tomorrow?

At this point I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. I just wanted to be with Kevin.

"Do you think he will call or text me?" I asked Dan as I sat my phone back down on the dresser.

"I dunno." Dan shrugged his shoulders. "If he loves you as much as I think he does then I bet he will."

I nodded my head.

"No go get dressed so we can get our day started." Dan instructed.

***

I watched as Dan put on his blinker and turned into the driveway of a place called Magnolia Apartments. He pulled into an empty parking spot and parked.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Dan.

He looked over at me and smiled.

"You know the other day when I was telling you guys that my dad was going to start charging me rent since I wasn't going to college?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there is no way I am going to pay my dad rent to live with him. I kinda saw it coming so I have been looking for a place of my own and the manager here called this morning and said that my application had been accepted. It was for a one bedroom, but I told her that I was thinking about changing my mind and getting a roomy. She said she could change it to a two bedroom." He looked over at me. "So what do you say? You want to share an apartment with me?"

Wow. That was all I thought. I didn't know what to say. It was an act of kindness that I hadn't expected from anyone.

I was hoping that I could stay with Dan until Aunt Faye got back and then stay with her until I saved up enough money to get a cheap efficiency apartment of my own.

"I don't have much money saved right now Dan." I told him.

"No worries. I've got nearly a thousand saved which will cover the deposit, first month's rent and deposit for electricity. I kinda planned own moving soon anyhow. Between my mom and dad arguing all the time and my dad wanting to charge me rent, I've had it there."

"I don't know what to say Dan."

"Just say yes." He suggested. "I'll make a deal with you also."

"What's that?"

"You don't have to pay me back anything if you promise me that you won't do anything to harm yourself."

"I'm not going to hurt myself." I replied. "Maybe be depressed for awhile but I seriously don't seen me hurting myself."

Dan held out his hand for me to shake.

"Deal."

I never realized that signing a lease for an apartment could be so much work. Four pages of just rules that had to be signed and another two was just the leasing agreement.

We signed it for six months with the total amount of rent being five hundred a month which meant that I would pay two fifty and Dan would pay two fifty. We would split the utilities in half.

***

I felt a chair scoot up to the table that I was sitting at. I had crossed my arms and laid my head down inside my arms to block the light out so I could take a quit nap or just drown myself in my sorrows on my break.

Someone touched my hand. I looked up to see who it was.

"You okay?"

It was Misty that had disturbed my self pity party.

"I'm fine." I replied. "I just have a lot going on right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Her voice was without a doubt filled with sincerity.

"I just really don't feel like talking to anyone right now."

I just wanted to be alone on my lunch. Was that too much to ask for? I didn't feel like dealing with any ungrateful customers when I got back from my lunch. I just wanted to be left alone.

The sound of a soda falling out of the vending machine made my throbbing head hurt even worse than it was already.

Chandler, the new cashier, walked over to the table and sat down next to Misty.

What did I have a big sign on my back that said party over here?

"Hey Chan." Misty greeted.

"Hey." He smiled at her.

His teeth were extremely white and perfectly straight. I closed my eyes to keep from crying. His teeth reminded me of Kevin's. He has perfectly straight and white teeth.

It's only been a day. I can't imagine going any longer without seeing him.

"You remember Ryan?"

"Yeah." He said as he unscrewed the cap off of his Pepsi and looked at me. "How's it going?"

"Okay."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

Still no messages.

I clicked on the Facebook app on my phone. Maybe I could send him a message on there and he would reply back to me.

I clicked on the search button at the top and typed in Kevin's name. Nothing came up. I scrolled through my friend list he wasn't there.

I could feel my bottom lip twitching as I was starting to be overcome by my emotions.

"Shit!" I exclaimed as I dropped my phone onto the table.

Misty and Chandler both gave me a funny look as did three other people that were sitting in the break room. I hardly ever cussed so that was pretty out of the ordinary for me.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Misty asked.

I nodded my head.

She glanced down at her watch then stood up from the table.

"Well, my break is over." She looked at me. "Are you going bowling with us tomorrow?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Dunno."

"Text me and let me know."

"Okay."

Misty turned around and headed out the break room door.

"Bowling ought to be pretty fun." Chandler stated as he took a sip of his soda.

"Maybe."

When I didn't feel like talking I had learned that one word replied worked the best. Whomever it was would get the picture and realize that I didn't want to talk.

Chandler stared at me for a bit too long.

I wiped my face.

"Do I have drool on my face or something?"

"Nah." He replied. "You look really familiar. Have we met before?"

"No."

"Guess you have one of those faces." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He looked at it. "I'll call him back later."

"Cool."

The one word trick didn't seem to be working on this guy. He was a little to cheery for me at the moment.

I glanced down as I saw my phone vibrating across the table. I nervously picked it up. My hand was shaking as I gripped it. I opened the message it was from Dan.

Meet me in front of the store when you get off tonight. I'll be in Haleigh's car.

I sent a quick reply.

OK

I frowned after I sent the text.

"I'm studying psychology in college. I'm in my junior year." Chandler watched me intently. "I am a pretty good listener too."

"I don't really want to talk about it."

"It's good to get it off your chest."

"You wouldn't understand." I snapped.

"Try me."

Shut up dude. I don't want to talk. I just want to be left alone for the rest of my lunch. I wanted to say that so badly but I held myself back.

"I lost someone. That's all I'm going to say."

"Sorry to hear that." He replied. "I'm not going to pry information out of you. If you want to talk about it you can. I'm a good listener. Hopefully you will go bowling with us tomorrow night. I'm inviting someone. You should to."

"We will see."

On a normal basis, I would have loved to sit there and talk to Chandler. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.

I was actually relieved when I looked at my phone and saw that it was time for me to clock back in from my lunch.

***

I got off work at ten and as soon as I walked out the door, I saw Haleigh's car there. Mike opened the passenger door, got out and raised the seat up. Once I got in the back seat next to Dan, Mike put the seat in its normal position and got back in the car.

Haleigh turned around and looked at me.

"I'm sorry about you and Kevin. Dan told me about what happened."

Dan looked over at me.

"I hope its okay dude."

"It's fine." I told Dan. "And thanks Haleigh."

Haleigh started up her car and pulled away.

"So why did all three of you come to pick me up?" I asked. "My car is here in the parking lot."

"Lets just say that Haleigh and Mike have been with me ever since they got out of school."

"Have either of you heard from Kevin?" I asked Mike and Haleigh.

"Sure hadn't dude." Mike replied.

"I haven't either." Haleigh said as she glanced up and looked at me in the rearview mirror. "No one has been back at the house since yesterday."

"Oh."

It was almost as if Kevin had dropped off the face of the earth in a matter of twenty four hours. I was actually getting pretty worried about him. What if his mom was so mad that she beat him to death or something.

Deep breath. I told myself as I took in a deep breath to try to calm myself.

I hadn't really been paying much attention, but I was surprised when after a few minutes Haleigh parked and turned her car off.

"Home sweet home." Dan announced.

I looked out the window. We were at the apartment complex where Dan and I had leased our apartment that morning.

Haleigh opened her door and got out. She raised up the seat so I could climb out the back. Mike did the same for Dan.

Dan led the way up the flight of stairs to our apartment. He reached into his pocket, took out his key and unlocked the door.

He turned around and looked at me.

"Like I said we have all three been busy all day."

He pushed open the front door and led the way into the apartment. He closed the door and flipped on the light.

There was a row of boxes stacked against the wall farthest away from the door. Dan's television from his bedroom was set up in front of the wall closest to the door. The couch that had been in his bedroom was sitting in the middle of the living room.

"Didn't do a whole lot with this room yet." He motioned his hand around the apartment. "We got plenty of time to unpack."

"Is this what you guys spent all your day doing?" I asked.

"Well Dan did a lot of it before we got out of school." Mike answered.

"Follow me." Dan walked over to the small hallway and opened the door to the right.

We had both decided on which bedrooms we wanted after we signed the lease. The way the apartment was set up, you walked into the front door and the kitchen and dining area was to the left and you were right in the living room when you first walked in. Straight ahead was a small hallway. The door to the left was Dan's bedroom, the door in the middle was the bathroom and the door to the right was my bedroom.

"I hope you like what we did to it for ya."

He flipped the light on and the four of us walked into my bedroom.

All of my bedroom furniture that I had at Kevin's was set up in my bedroom. My television, dresser, night table, and desk were all there. My clothes were hung all neatly in the closet.

"You can thank me later for making your bed." Haleigh laughed.

"Thank you guys." I walked over to my bed and sat down. "You didn't have to do this."

"Well remember what you asked me at the end of the first week of kindergarten?" Dan asked. "You asked if I would be your best friend forever. I'm still true to my word man."

The vibrating of my phone tickled my leg. I pulled it out and looked at it. It me more nervous, there were four people that I mainly talked to. Three of the four were here with me. I just hoped and prayed that maybe it was him.

I nervously opened the message.

I could feel Dan, Mike and Haleigh all watching me.

Kevin: Go bowling tomorrow night. I will be there.

A huge smile spread across my face. I could feel tears starting to stream down my cheek. He hadn't forgotten about me. I didn't think he could.

I hurriedly typed my reply.

Me: Of course I will. Are you okay?

I sat there staring at my phone waiting for him to reply back. I gave up after a few minutes and tossed my phone aside onto my bed.

"Kevin told me he will be bowling tomorrow night." I looked at Dan. "Are you going to go?"

Dan winced. "I have a date tomorrow night. I'm sorry bro."

"It's cool."

I went to bed feeling good that night. I had my own place with my best friend since kindergarten. I had heard from Kevin.

I barely slept that night because I was so nervous about talking to Kevin.

There was one thing that I was sure of and it was that Kevin loved me.

Hey thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to comments from you all please email me rwill161@att.net