These Four Words

"Leighton!" The guy yelled, making Leighton more alert than eve.

"Get the hell out of here, asshole." Her voice was flat as she raised an eyebrow and waited for him to leave the keys on the counter and slowly back away.

Way to ruin a perfect night.

The guy scoffed and slammed the door behind him. He wasn't an ex and he was never a friend, but instead, the baby daddy of her ex-best friend. She rolled her eyes as she cautiously walked towards him. "Leave." She said through her teeth.

"Carmen's at the hospital, in labor, and all she wants is you there, but you're too stupid to answer your phone!" He screamed even though he knew it was past eleven o'clock on a Thursday and it was going to wake the neighbors.

"I don't care." She shrugged. "Maybe she should've thought about her decisions when it came to you more carefully and maybe then I would be there holding her hand because she must not want you." Carmen and Leighton had been friends for over a decade, that is, until she stopped taking to her friends to runaway with this manipulative piece of shit. He wasn't as tough as he thought he was or manly in any which way. Actually, the dude was quite goofy looking, enough for everyone to question Carmen's so-called "love" for the bastard that's known as Tyler. Once she tried to get on Leighton's good side again, she'd run right back to Tyler and the song and dance continued until the once good girl got pregnant and Carmen had enough of it. It wasn't that she was becoming a mother at 19 that bothered Leighton, it was that Carmen needed someone to love her so bad that she purposely got pregnant when Tyler asked her to that drove Leighton up the wall with anger and spite.

The man's fingers turned into balls, making his knuckles turn white. "You're a real cunt sometimes, you know that?"

The girl rolled her eyes at him. "So you've told me a thousand times before." Leighton laughed in his face, but from behind her, she could hear John shuffle over. "You hate me, I hate you, so just leave." She was tired of this, especially him having the audacity to steal Carmen's key -- that she said she didn't have -- to barge in and demand her to go see her ex best friend because she was in labor.

Before they knew it, John was next to her with his arm sound her, gripping her shoulder gently. "You did not just call her that." He seethed through his teeth. Leighton took a deep breath, hoping that Tyler wouldn't pounce on John for getting in the middle of things. Once Tyler went off, he had enough juice in him to kill someone.

"How the hell is this?" Tyler asked, inching closer towards the two of them. "Still whoring around, Leight?" He chuckled and scratched at the back of his head.

"You know me, I am the town run around girl." She said sarcastically. Tyler would accuse her of anything and he believed all of the little things that he made up in his head, even though Leighton hadn't even touched a guy in over a year. Surprisingly, it didn't bother her as much as it used to. Before it would ignite a fire in her veins, making her want to go postal on everyone that exists in this stupid goodbye town.

John placed a hand on the small of her back, making her feel more protected by just a simple, ordinary touch. "You should just listen to the girl and leave, man." John's voice was gravelly and the expression he made was one you wouldn't expect on a guy like him, so piercing and pissed off.

"John." Leighton whispered with a sigh.

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do?" Tyler yelled again, causing the next door neighbors to pound on the wall.

"Tyler." She said growled her teeth. "Leave and we won't have a problem, okay? Carmen and I will talk this through sometime, but that's not gonna be in the near future." Leighton calmed down before walking over to him and ripping the key out of his hand. "Now leave!" She pointed towards the door and Tyler stared at her, trying to think of something cruel to say, but instead he gave up and listened to her demand and slammed the door behind him. As Leighton went to lock the door again, they could hear Tyler stomping down the hall like a kid that didn't get their way. For all he knew, Carmen could've been given birth at that very moment, but instead he chose to rile up the person he hated most in this world.

"That was interesting." John stated, but Leighton had no response as she stood there with one arm across her stomach and the other hand placed across her forehead. "You okay?" He asked after a few moments because she wasn't moving. She was either ready to a.) punch something, b.) break down and cry, or c.) shut down completely.

"Yeah." She snapped out of it and bit her bottom lip. "I despise that dude, that's all."

John frowned and did what his instinct told him to do and he wrapped his arms around her, fully pulling her body into his as he rested his head on top of hers. She smelt like peaches and he smelt like a luxurious cologne that Leighton instantly fell in love with. He kissed the top of her head and started humming once she finally started to hug him back and he heard her breathing get shaky. She had gone with choice B.

"If my woman was a fire, she'd burn out before I wake and be replaced by pints of whiskey, cigarettes, and outer space. Then somebody moves and everything you thought you had has gone to shit. Well, we've got a lot. Don't ever forget that. And I wrote this on airplane where the people looked like ants and when a woman that you loved was gone, she was bombing East Japan. Don't fucking move, cause everything you thought you had will go to shit. We've got a lot. Don't you dare forget that. And I'm wasted, you can taste it. Don't look at me that way, cause I'll be hanging from a rope. I will haunt you like a ghost."

Leighton lifted her head up, bumping John's, as she looked him through red, tearless eyes. "I could almost get lost in your voice." She showed the smallest hint of a smile, letting John know that he had done well.

"It's not that great." He winked down at her, his smile growing more by the second and he cupped her cheek in his hand. The warmth that radiated off of him made Leighton's heart race in a way that she had never felt and didn't know how to control. It's like she had been waiting her entire life for a boy like John to come along and steal her heart away. She left her heart on his sleeve at that very moment, even though it immediately felt like she was going to regret it.

"You're full of lies." Leighton reached up to stroke his cheek, feeling the slightest bit of stubble under her fingertips. "And you look exhausted." She didn't have to take her eyes off of her hand to tell how tired he truly was.

"I haven't gotten a lot of sleep in the past few months." He admitted with a childlike tone.

"Wanna go to bed then?"

John nodded, almost confused, thinking that she would put him out on the couch for his visit, but instead she pulled him by the hand and took him into her room. "Which side?" John asked, genuinely concerned that he would accidentally pick the side of the bed that she favored.

"Right." She chuckled. "I'll be right back." She grabbed sweat pants and a tank top and ran into the bathroom across the hall. She got too lazy to take off her makeup and instead pulled her hair back into a ponytail and looked at the clock, realizing that it was past three in the morning.

When she got back, John was already laying beneath the covers, checking his phone and waiting for her. "Come on." John smiled and patted the left side of the bed. She climbed in and cuddled close to him, knowing that this was moving oddly fast, but they were both okay with it.

She wrinkled her nose and breathed in his scent once again, making Leighton happier than ever. "I think I could get used to this." She admitted and could hear the corner of John's lips turn up before he leaned his head down and nuzzled his face in her hair, leaving a soft kiss on top of her head.

"So could I, little lady." He whispered.