Memories danced back and forth through Andrew's mind. Blissful memories of a long summer spent with his friends. Memories of the times that he had had it rough and they were there to bring him up. Andrew watched these memories burn as he pushed them into the deepest darkest places of his mind.
"So, you're just done with us then?" Anthony said shortly.
"Well… no. that's not-"
"At least be upfront with us…" Anthony interrupted.
Under a roof of colorless clouds, the group of friends sat at a wooden table in the middle of a small empty park. Andrew and Anthony on one side and Marcus, Thomas, and Mathew on the other. Andrew felt as though the sun was next to him with Anthony's rage flaring beside him.
"I'm- I'm sorry… with college coming up…I don't have the time I used to." Andrew said, sullenly looking to the side.
"Bullshit…" Anthony spoke, "I know what it is… it's that girl, isn't it?"
Andrew's heart sank.
"No… it has nothing to do with her." Andrew said.
"I doubt that… I'm sure you're not giving her the same treatment." Anthony said, the words piercing Andrew like a dagger.
Mathew stood up from the table.
"I gotta go. It's almost time for supper… See ya later!" Mathew said before turning his eyes toward Andrew, "Bye, Andrew…"
Mathew got on his bike and peddled away into the horizon. Soon the others left too. First Marcus, then Thomas and then finally Anthony. As Andrew sat all alone he looked all around him. The clouds didn't seem less dreary and the park was all the emptier.
The next day, Andrew and Holly were seated closer to each other than most students would dare to as they ate their lunch. Holly's leg was squished up against Andrew's and occasionally she would run her hand down his leg sensually, making Andrew pant like a dog.
"Hey… hey, Holly…" Andrew worked himself up to say, "I heard that there's gonna be a dance next Friday… would you mind if we…"
"Of course!" Holly said with a gentle smile before giving Andrew a soft kiss on the cheek.
Andrew felt proud of himself for asking. Soon, Holly got up to get to class. However, Andrew had an open period after lunch and so he stayed in the cafeteria to finish his meal. The cafeteria emptied out, save for the lunch ladies attending to the mountains of grime left behind on the students' trays. .
Now, we return to the present. Andrew was sweeping up at the local movie theater, a part time job he rather enjoyed. He still had Maria on his mind.
The entire day, he couldn't think straight. He had a simple task: sweep the floor. Of course, in Andrew's current state of mind even such a simple task was leagues more difficult than usual. He got out a bucket and mop from the cleaning closet and began to mop away. He spent much of his day mopping in theater G. It had only one showing that day, yet Andrew spent several hours mopping the floor between every row of seats. After the first go around, the ground had already begun to shine like a diamond. But Andrew continued. Over and over and over and over again. Andrew froze. His
hands shook as he struggled to hold the mop.
"Hey, Andrew… you alright?" A voice came hollering from the entrance of Theater G.
Andrew slowly turned his eyes toward the one who interrupted his cleaning. "Yeah…I'm alright…why?" Andrew said, staring blankly at the young man who was sent to check up on him.
"The bossman said you were acting kinda weird… Have you been scrubbing this room all day?" The theater worker asked.
"No… I… umm….yeah…" Andrew said dejectedly.
That marked the last day Andrew worked at that theater. His boss told him his work performance was subpar and then sent him on his way. Andrew could no longer make ends meet.
Over the course of a day, Andrew boxed up all his possessions. He then slumped down in front of his baron sheetless bed on the floor. The house was sterile and quiet. He opened his phone and shot Holly a text. He needed somewhere to stay and he needed it now. He tossed his phone back on the bed and let out a great sigh.
Luckily Andrew's text was met with a hardy "Yes!" and Holly made preparations for him to stay with her. A couple days went by and Andrew moved his several boxes of luggage into his new home. Holly's home.
"I'm surprised you didn't want to do this sooner!" Holly said as Andrew brought the last box inside and placed it on the floor.
"I was kinda thinking you'd move in with me." Andrew replied.
"I suppose that could've worked too, but it's too late for that now! So I hope you're happy here!" Holly said, "By the way… you might wanna head to the guest room or somethin'."
"Hm? Why?" Andrew replied.
"I've got someone coming over in a bit. He should be here any minute." Holly said.
"He?" Andrew asked.
There was a knock at the door. The moment Andrew heard it, he managed to put two and two together. Andrew hid under the dining room table, surrounded by wooden chairs. Holly walked to the front door. She undid the latch and opened it up.
"Hey, how are you tonight?" The strange man asked. He had short blonde hair and shades. He wore khakis and a light blue dress shirt made out of something that Andrew didn't recognize. All he knew was he would never be able to afford it. The man seemed like a giant as Andrew peered out through behind the chairs.
"I'm fine…" Holly said, giving the stranger a glance. Andrew's stomach turned. He recognized this glance. He knew it well. She had a habit of looking at him that way when she wanted him to play with her. The two began to embrace. The sound of wet sloppy kisses pierced the air and right through Andrew's ears. They toppled over each other onto the couch and the stranger began to undress Holly. What happened next was a blur. Andrew sat still, packed in between the legs of several chairs, listening in agony as the woman he loved was penetrated by another man. Each moan made Andrew's blood pressure rise. He wanted to do something. He wanted to come out from under the table and rip the stranger to pieces. But he knew he couldn't. He was powerless. His only solace was knowing that the young man, who seemed so much better than him, would soon meet a terrible end.
The man pulled his pants up. He and Holly were tired and panting like they had just run a marathon. Andrew had pressed his face into the floor and covered his ears. He felt it might be better for him to just stay under the table and rot. The stranger left and Holly pulled a chair out and looked under the table at Andrew. He was gazing blankly into the floor which had been splotched with tears. Holly grabbed Andrew and pulled him out from under the table. After a few moments, Andrew put his head in his hands and breathed heavily before running his hands up his face and through his hair as if to rub the stress off.
"You okay?" Holly asked.
Andrew sighed deeply, "I guess…"
"I hope you know the only reason I did that was because I needed to…" Holly said.
"Yeah…" Andrew said quietly.
" Hey, I know what might cheer you up… let's go to Big Miller's!" Holly said.
"That's where we went on our first date…" Andrew said, being filled with the warm glow of nostalgia.
"Yeah, it is… come on! Let's go!" Holly took Andrew by the hand and led him straight out the door.