I Never Told You What I Did for a Living

"What are you going to do?"

Kevin had cornered me in the hallway after school.

"I don't know for sure. I'm definitely going to talk to him, but I don't know how far I should take it. I really care about Mikey. He's one of my best friends, but so is Angela. This little twist has made things way more complicated than necessary."

"You're telling me. Angela knows I said something, she just doesn't know what. She's grilling me for information. I don't know what to tell her."

"Don't tell her anything yet. I don't know what's going to happen."

"How can I not tell her anything? She lives in the same house as me, I can't escape."

"Well then just tell her what's absolutely necessary. Don't tell her I know Mikey, okay? She'll be mad if she thinks I'm meddling."

"But that's exactly what you're doing!"

"But she doesn't need to know that."

I grabbed my bag from my locker and darted down the hall, leaving him standing at the lockers alone. As usual, Dad was waiting in the parking lot. I'd hardly said a word to him since Gerard left, but he was always there. I felt a little bad, but I still couldn't forgive him for saying the things that he did.

"How was your day?" he asked as I closed the door.

"Interesting," I chewed my bottom lip as I considered my present situation. The rest of the ride was silent, and it gave me time to think. When we pulled up to the house, I hurried to my room and pulled out my cell phone.

"Hello?"

"How's your brother?"

"Why do you want to know about Mikey?"

I didn't have the guts to talk to Mikey right then, so I'd called the person who knew him best: Gerard.

"Because I've recently discovered some information about his past and I'd like to know more," I explained quickly.

"What information? Lily, what's going on?"

"He used to date my friend, and I just want to know what happened."

"What friend? What's her name?"

"Angela Hunter."

"I remember her. But you'll have to talk to Mikey to find out what happened. I was already gone when they broke up. They made a cute couple, though. You're friends with her?"

"She's my closest friend here," I sighed. "I guess I need to talk to Mikey then."

There was silence on the other end for a long moment.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mikey. Why did you and Angela Hunter break up?"

"Wow, so much for small talk. It was complicated."

"I don't believe that you cheated, and neither does her brother."

"Why does this matter?"

"Because I think she's still in love with you."

Silence.

"Mikey? You still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just needed to process that one. You're right, I never cheated on her. But she wasn't making any friends there because she was still hung up on me. I wanted to give her a fresh start. It's just what was best."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes."

"Do you still care about her?"

"I'll always care about her, but if you're really asking if I'm in love with her, then no. It took awhile, but I moved on. Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but she needs to, too."

"Yeah, but I think she needs a little closure."

"I gave her closure, Lily."

"Can't you just talk to her?"

"Maybe, but not now. That's something I'll need time to prepare for."

"I can give you time. She doesn't know that I know you, so you can have all the time you need. I'm not trying to get you two back together, I'm just trying to help her out."

He sighed. "Yeah, I know. You like to help people, and I like that about you. I guess I'm glad I'll talk to Angie again, but I don't want to lead her on."

"Just be honest, Mikey."

"I will, but I won't promise that the two of you will stay this close afterwards."

"What do you mean?"

"She's the type to take everything to heart. It doesn't seem like she does, but believe me, it's true. If you two aren't good friends afterwards, you can't blame me, okay?"

"Yeah, I know. I brought it on myself."

But deep down I couldn't believe that something like this would destroy a friendship. Angela wasn't the type to do that. I had faith.