By Your Side

“Hey, Anna!”

“What?!” I called back to Brianna, who had been inside of our little apartment doing God knows what. She was now my roommate after months of convincing her that it would benefit the both of us if she did so.

We had been inseparable since middle school (because she was the only one who would actually talk to me) and so I thought moving in together would be the best choice for both of us. Besides, living alone was so not my forte. After moving out of my father’s house, I knew living in a small California apartment alone and with only one job to pay all the bills was going to be difficult. So, having Brianna move in, to pay the rent and have a place to live, worked out perfectly.

“Do you know where I put that dress?!”

“Dress? You have a shit load of dresses! Which one!?”

“The black one!”

“What do you need it for?!”

“Ugh, never mind! I’ll go search for it again…” Her voice faded as she walked away to the back of the apartment.

I rolled my eyes, laughed, and then continued staring out on the edge of our balcony. It had to be my favorite place to be when I just needed time to myself.

I watched all of the people roaming around on the busy streets below me. It was quite entertaining to see them all scrambling around going from place to place. They reminded me of little ants. I was fascinated by all the different things everyone was doing. Some were talking on the phone, pushing past people to get to their destinations since they seemed to be late for something. Some were sitting and eating at the little cafes that lined the sidewalk while getting their daily fix on what was going on in the world by reading the newspaper. But, mostly, people were just strolling around looking inside every shop window they passed.

That’s when I noticed one person in particular… I couldn’t figure out if I knew him or what. From what I could see, he was a fairly tall guy with black cornrows that were covered by a bandana. I continued to stare at him; it was like he was in slow motion and everything around him sped up. He was the only person I could really focus on. It was pissing me off; I wanted to know why he caught my attention so easily.

Was it because of his huge ass, baggy clothes? It was obvious he wasn’t a fat guy. I mean, he actually looked like he was thin.

“What…what is that?” I asked myself and leaned over the balcony ledge trying to get a better look. Sure, I looked like a moron, but I didn’t care. I needed to find out what that shiny thing was coming from his face.

A lip ring?

Holy shit.

Tom.

I immediately thought of him when I saw the shimmer. He hadn’t been on my mind in, well, years. It’s not like I had forgotten him. I was just never really reminded of him until now. All of a sudden a ton of memories came flooding back. I didn’t even know if that guy was Tom but, seeing some of the similarities of this guy and the Tom I used to know… I couldn’t help but feel sad.

“Tom!” I shouted, without even thinking my actions through. My heart started beating like a fucking hummingbird’s wings when the man looked up with confusion.

I made a shrill noise of embarrassment as I ducked down out of his view. I was sure he saw me. I was more concerned that he looked up at the name I had shouted rather then him seeing me.

“I knew it was him,” I said to myself and ran back inside.

“Knew who ‘was him’?” Brianna asked, coming out of her room in a black dress.

“Tom… well, I knew that guy was Tom.”

“Who is..? You have to tell me later. I’m going to be late for my date. Bye, Anna!” She called and rushed out of the door before I could explain what had just happened.

“Another one? Ugh, she’s always going out with a new guy.”

I flopped on the couch and sat there, thinking. I had a million thoughts flooding my brain and I really needed to get things straightened out. Fast.