Tear Best Friends Apart

Smiling, I sat in the alcove hidden behind the school. I was waiting and anticipating the arrival of my brother’s best friend. I knew keeping this a secret was wrong. My brother would bitch me out, not to mention, kill Alex for messing around with his baby sister, but I couldn’t help it. I love him.

Alex met me at the specified time, the only time we could safely get away without Jack being suspicious. We had decided that we needed to find a hiding place, a place where we could get away, where we didn’t have to hide. Ironic, I know.

“Hey, Lee,” Alex greeted as he sat down on the cement beside me. He gently gave me a kiss on the cheek before pulling his lunch out of his backpack. He had made a habit of doing this.

Him and Jack weren’t ones to stick around the school when they felt they didn’t have to. So during lunch and study halls they would sneak off campus, usually ending up at one of the fast food chains down the street. They would probably sneak off more often, ditching classes, and school altogether, if Marla and didn’t make them stay. I know it’s their senior year, and they have no plans for college in the fall, but I’d still like to see them graduate.

Alex offered me some of his fries as he unwrapped a chicken sandwich, knowing I most likely didn’t eat much during lunch. Cafeteria food was disgusting. As Alex ate his lunch, I glanced at my phone. I had two missed calls, one from Marla and Jack each, and five missed texts, one from Jack, and the other four from Marla.

I opened Jack’s text first, E, why aren’t you in study hall? Where’d you go? I went to the next message, from Marla, Elena, Jack’s looking for you. He knows I know were you are. Please don’t make me tell him, go back to study hall. And the next, I repeat. Go back to study hall! The next two were very similar, the last one made me nervous, Sorry sorry sorry! I had to tell him, he dragged it out of me. He’s probably on his way there. Sorry ☹ :(

“Um. Alex,” I said nervously, looking around to see any sign of Jack.

“Yeah,” he mumbled around a mouth full of French fries.

“Jack’s coming.” My voice was calm even though I was not. I don’t think Alex believed me at first, just staring at me wide-eyed.

“What?” he asked when his throat was clear.

“Jack’s on his way here,” I elaborated. Alex shot up so fast his lunch that had been sitting in his lap flew around aimlessly.

“What? Why? Does he know?” his questions were jumbled and frantic.

“I don’t know, Marla just said that he was looking for me. She tried to warn me but I didn’t notice the text messages until now, he made her tell him where I was. I don’t even know if he knows you’re here,” I explained. “Okay, I lied. He knows you’re here,” I mumbled as I saw Jack round a corner, spotting Alex and I in the distance.

“Oh, shit!” Alex muttered his gaze switching from me to Jack and back. “Why are you so calm?”

“I don’t know.” And that’s true. I don’t know why I was freaking out, I was nervous as hell on the inside.

Jack approached silently, not saying a word as he glanced at the scene before him. Alex’s lunch splayed before his feet where he was standing in front of me, and me sitting on the cement slab, my hands in my lap. “What’s going on?” he asked, his eyes landing and staying on me.

“What are taking about?” I asked too sweetly, trying to appear innocent, and failing.

“Marla told me you two were back here. Why?”

I stole a glance at Alex who shook his head, begging me not to come clean. “Were just hanging out.” I lied.

Jack turned to Alex, obviously not believing me and looking for confirmation. “Yeah, Lee and I were just hanging out,” Alex affirmed.

“Okay, I know that’s crap, there’s more,” Jack stated. “Seriously, what’s going on? Elena?”

“I-” I looked at Alex, whom you could obviously tell was beyond nervous that Jack would find out. I mouthed ‘sorry’ to him before I confessed all to my big brother. “We have been uh- dating?” My supposed confession came out as more of a question to which Jack seemed taken aback. He looked from my worried blue eyes to Alex’s wide brown ones. Everything was out in the open. Now we just had to await the consequences.

“You’ve been- dating?” he asked skeptically, his eyes now trained on Alex who hesitantly nodded.

Just as I had suspected, as soon as Jack allowed the truth to set in he got a furious look in his eye. I was almost scared by it, and I could tell Alex definitely was scared of it. Jack took a step closer to Alex who spoke up for the first time. “It’s not what you think, Jack.”

But Jack wasn’t paying attention. He grabbed Alex’s shirt in his hand, as he stood not two inches away from him. “You’re dating my sister?” Alex nodded, choosing to stay silent. “I thought I could trust you,” he said, disappointment barely identifiable due to the anger disguising his voice.

I tried feebly to persuade my brother, to tear is attention away from Alex. Nothing worked. Jack first shoved Alex before tackling him to the ground. He didn’t fight back; just let Jack take out his frustrations on his body. I couldn’t stand to see the two best friends fighting. This was exactly why Alex wanted to keep it a secret. He knew they would fight, that their friendship wouldn’t compare to Jack and mine's relationship. Blood was thicker than water, after all.

“Jack. Stop. Please, Jack.” I was almost yelling at this point, begging my brother to stop hitting my boyfriend, his best friend. Slowly Jack, who was now sitting atop a still and hurt Alex, stopped throwing punches and looked at me wide-eyed. He leapt off the ground and to my side, whipping the tears from my face. I hadn’t even realized I was crying.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he cooed, trying to calm me down. I faintly saw Alex standing up with a bloody lip and a bruise forming on his cheek. Jack noticed my gaze locked on Alex, wishing I could go to him, but I was stuck in place. “How long?” he whispered, his eyes closing as he awaited my answer.

“A-a month.” I wasn’t even sure I had said it aloud, but Jack nodded before turning to Alex.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I wasn’t exactly looking forward to getting beat up,” Alex said with a slight laugh. And Jack smiled.

“You and my sister huh?” Jack asked rhetorically, most likely trying the idea on for size, attempting to grasp the notion.

Alex looked straight into my eyes as he answered the question that didn’t need an answer. “I love her.”