Another Piece of My Heart

Noah noticed my changed expression as the guys were rambling on the radio. She waved her hand in front of my face, and I snapped out of it.

But I was beyond pissed.

“Tell me, how did this band start?” The DJ asked.

“Um, I met Alex in eighth grade.” Jack replied.

Yeah, that was him.

“He was into the whole rapping thing, and I made him listen to Blink 182. He really loved it.”

“So we started the band.” Alex added.

It was then that I zoned out again. I sipped on my coffee as my mind was sent into a whirl-wind of memories.

Jack, me, Alex, Rian, and Zack.... such a foreign concept now. I had known Jack since I was eight-years old. We were glued at the hip, and I was secretly in love with the damn kid basically my entire life.

Then he screwed everything up.

Four years ago, we got into it, and I picked up and left with Noah. She doesn't know about what had happened. She had already planned on moving here anyways, so I ditched the town. I've never looked back or felt bad about not saying goodbye. I swore that I would never here of Jack Barakat again, but here I am reliving my memories.

Noah waved her hand in my face again.

“ARIA!” Pronounced r-e-uh

My head shook, and I stared at her.

“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“Um...yeah. I just need to get dressed, and get some fresh air.”

“Good, because the mall is calling our names.” Noah smiled. I finished my coffee as the stories went on and on over the radio.

Alex's familiar chuckled made me smile. I missed that kid.

“No, his parties are the best. I remember a certain one, it was massive. Everyone was crazy, and shit faced.” Jack began to explain.

“Even him.”

Jack laughed.

“Yeah, even me.”

“Anyway, so I was having this awesome Graduation party at my parent's house. They were out of town, and it was after Graduation.

I groaned. That was the night everything changed for us.

“What happened there?”

“I woke up like in my yard......in a ditch.” Alex laughed. “I thought I had been rapped.”

“Who found you?”

“No one!” Alex replied. “None a single fucking one of them even thought of me, dammit, and it was my house.”

Jack started laughing.

“What were you doing, Jack?” The DJ asked.

Alex and Jack grew quiet.

“Um... I had actually passed out upstairs.”

“Ooh.” The DJ stated. “and what happened there?”

“The walk to shame.” Alex stated.

“So, you had hooked up with a girl, and your best friend was laying in a ditch outside of his house, nice.”

Jack sighed.

“Yeah,” Jack replied. “I actually hate that story,”

“Was it not great?” The DJ laughed.

“It was this huge drunken mistake.” He explained.

My heart hurt a million times more. I hated him for calling it a huge drunken mistake. I fought back tears as he continued to explain the story.

“The girl that um, I woke up beside was my best friend.” Jack started to explain. “I felt like the biggest ass in the entire world. She was just sleeping, and I didn't want to wake her up. I left her a note, and I bailed.”

“Isn't he quiet the gentleman.” Alex joked.

“What did the note say?”

“That I was sorry about everything and how it will never happen again. I told her that we should probably talk in person, because of the drunk mistake.”

“Wow.” The DJ stated. “She understood though, right?”

“I honestly don't know. I haven't talked to her in almost five years. It's hard to explain because I was 17, and now I'm 22, but it was 2006, but now it's 2010. Get it? Five years in age, but only four in years.” Jack replied. “Anyway, the last time I saw her was later that day, and I explained how sorry I was. She just nodded, and didn't say anything, so I don't know what was going through her brain.”

“I think it just freaked her the fuck out to tell you the truth,” Alex replied. “I mean, I would be if I was a girl, and I had just slept with Jack and he took my v-card with him when he bailed.”

“Ooh.” The DJ understood what they were saying. “So you felt guilty for taking a girl virginity.”

“I still feel bad. I mean, I've robbed her of giving something so precious to a guy that she loves, and she can never get that back.”

“And what made it worse was the fact that it was our best girl friend, and it was sort of like by that night, we all sort of lost her, ya know?” Alex asked. “I mean, she would always tell me what I was doing wrong with girls, and ended up fixing my relationship problems. She basically set up Rian and Kara, and then Zack was like her older brother.”

“What was she to you, Jack?” The DJ asked.

Jack sighed.

“She was my best friend. My mom use to swear that we were going to get married one day.” He laughed. “But I have never seen that one happening. We just kind of played it off. She use to tell me when I was being an asshole. She practically lived with me.”

I hated him.

I hated him for just about everything.

I hated him for being my best friend.

I hated him for making me fall in love with him.

I hated him for taking my virginity

But most of all, I hated him for never, ever running after me.

It was like I meant nothing to any of them.