So Hard to Face the Truth

“Hey, Kirk.” She greets, her eyes sparkling and her lips curving in the most beautiful smile.

I blink, staring at her for a moment before taking in a breath and greeting, "Uhh, hey June." I take a step to the side, letting her in before I shut the door behind her.

The emotions bubbling up inside my chest and stomach threaten to come out, but I push them back down enough to ask, “What’s up?”

"Oh, nothing. I just thought I'd come over and.." Her sentence gets cut off as Cameron decides to ask who it is from way in the den.

"It's June, you 'lil fuck!" I yell back, rolling my eyes and motioning for June to follow me to the den with the guys.

There it’ll be far more comfortable than with me being in a room alone with her.

After the polite greetings I settle back into my spot on the couch with June to my far left. The guys are still into their game.

Watching them gets boring after a while. Especially since there’s little to no conversation going on between June and I at all, let alone from them.

So I decide to mess with my adorable, bad ass brother.

Bouncing up from the cream colored cushions and I move to block the TV screen. This earns an immediate uproar from the three boys. They groan loudly, commanding me to move. Instead I begin to shimmy around like a dancer.

Within seconds Cam’s anger goes from three to ten, and he’s enraged a thousand times greater than Quinton or Trevor. A string of obscene words leave his mouth as he gets up from his seat and moves to drag me out the way.

I squeal, and jump over toward the far side away from him. And right into Trevor, who drops his controller in his attempt to save me from falling. His lean arms wrap around my hips and thighs, pulling from towards him.

“Uhhh, thanks, Trev.” I look down at him, heat flushing my face as I move away slowly, my eyes lingering on his.

“Kirkland.”

My head snaps over the couch where June is staring at me with her lips pursed into a straight line.

“I have to talk to you.” She states, bluntly, getting up quickly and heading off into the hallway.

I bite my lip, knowing that something is wrong and she’s going to tell me something I don’t know if I want to hear.

Once inside my room I plop down onto my bed and June sits close beside me. So close, I edge myself away from her before, I ask as coolly as possible, “So, what you gotta talk to me about?”

For a moment there's silence; during which, June just looks at me with her amazing hazel eyes staring into my soul.

I look away, my heart thrumming and my breath rapid. When I feel her hand on my cheek, I nearly jump straight out my skin. My eyes shift to gaze at her.

She smiles slightly, almost ruefully. Her fingers run along my skin briefly before she pulls away.

“I’m not going to do this anymore. I can’t. I love you, I do with all my heart. But this- this ‘lil charade, it’s too much. So, I’m going to have to let you go.”

I suck in a breath, my eyes widening in surprise and disbelief. “Let me go?” I mimic, wondering exactly what she means.

Somehow, I already know. But it’s much more real and a thousand times more painful when I hear the words, spoken the lips of an honest-to-God angel.

“I’m not going to be your friend anymore, Kirkland. I can’t. It hurts way too much. And I think it’ll be better...” She pauses to take a breath as her voice gets shaky. “For both of us.”

For the second time the world stops.

My mouth hangs open. I blink, tears coming to my ears and beginning to spill down my cheeks. Inside my chest my heart spasms painfully, making me gasp for breath.

What have I done...

June turns her head, getting up promptly and walking towards the shut door.

“Sorry.” She whispers, as if something is stuck in throat. Then she passes through the doorway and is gone.