Daydreamer

I was sprawled out on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
I managed to clean the living room from my last episode, but now it was useless.

Now, the whole house was a mess. I lost count of the things I threw around or the number of times I punched the mirrors and the walls. A countless amount of things were broken and my hands were trembling, covered in bruises and dried blood.

How could he?!
How could he fuckin’ do that to me?!

With Austin…! Of all the fuckin’ people!

I ran a hand through my hair.

The sound of Tyler screaming out Austin’s name played over and over again in my mind, and I couldn’t get it out, no matter how hard I tried.

I gripped at my hair and growled, feeling my anger boil again.

“Knock, knock!”

Shit.

I didn’t move when I saw AJ and Ty walk into the room, mortified by the scene in front of them.

“What the fuck happened in here?! Goddamn, Michael!”
“I really don’t need your fuckin’ commentary right now, Ty.”

AJ moved my leg so he could sit on the couch while Ty sat on the armrest.

“What sent you over the edge, Michael?” AJ spoke this time.
“I’d rather not talk about it right now…”

He nodded in understanding before the room fell silent.

“Alright. Michael, get your shoes on.”
“Why…?”

“We’re going out. Why the fuck else?”

I groaned and shut my eyes.

“Just leave me here…”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, Michael. It’s obvious that you need to get away.”

AJ tapped my leg in encouragement.

I groaned again and sat up.

“Fine…”

/ / /

The idea was pointless and matters were made worse.
It’s not the fact that Ty and AJ decided to take me to a bowling alley. I mean, it’s a simple and fun game.

It is the fact, however, that they invited Tyler as well.

I can’t really blame them. I didn’t tell them why I trashed the house.

“Yo, Earth to Tyler.”
Tyler looked up at Ty.

“You’re up, dude.”
He nodded slightly and stood up, grabbing his ball from the rack.

He looked at me and tried to give me a small smile. I glared at him in return before turning my head away, but not before seeing his smile falter and disappear.

He only knocked down five pins, earning a loud protest from AJ.

Tyler gave him a quiet apology before he returned to his seat.

“Alright, Michael. Your turn.”

I stood up and grabbed my ball from the rack before I went to stand in front of the lane.
I rolled it without restraint or hesitation, and smiled in satisfaction when all ten pins were knocked down.
Ty high-fived me as I walked back to my seat.

I glared at Tyler again, watching him shrink into his chair and trying to avoid eye contact with me, before I sat back down.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

It’s going to be a long night.

/ / /

“You two have been awfully quiet tonight…”
We were all sitting at a table, waiting for an order of pizza.

Tyler was biting on his lip, shrinking more into the chair and trying to avoid eye contact with me.
I tried not to look at him as well, but it was difficult, considering that we were sitting across from each other.

Ty gave me a knowing look, as if he figured out that Tyler was the problem in the first place.
Soon, that look turned into an apologetic one.

AJ tried to start a conversation among us, but it didn’t work.

The poor kid tried at least.

The pizza finally came and we all ate in silence.
I finished my third slice and stood up, placing a five dollar bill on the table.

“I’m gonna go. It’s getting late.”

“A’ight, man. See ya.” AJ spoke again.
Ty nodded at me.

Tyler didn’t say anything.

I took my leave without another word.

It was still light outside, but the sun was really close to setting.
After only walking for about a minute or two, I heard a small voice call my name.

I stopped and turned around.

Tyler.

I balled up my hands and shook my head in disbelief.

“Michael—”
“Don’t give me that ‘I can explain’ shit, Tyler. I saw what happened between you and Austin. It’s perfectly clear what happened.”

I turned away from him and started to walk off. However, a hand grabbed onto my arm.

“Michael, please! Just listen to me!”
“And why the fuck should I?”
My hands were trembling now.

“Because you’re my best friend, Michael!”
“Bullshit!”

He stared at me in shock, and to be honest, I was shocked as well.
That didn’t stop me from yanking my arm away from his grip and punching him in the face, causing him to stumble back and fall.

He looked up at me, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

“If you were my best friend, you would have told me what was bothering you from the start. You would have trusted me to be there for you. If you were my best friend, you wouldn’t have lied to me. If you were my best friend, you wouldn’t have slept with my fucking ex when you know goddamn well how I felt about you!”

My hands started to tremble.

“Frankly, you are no friend of mine, Tyler.”

It hurt to say that. It hurt to see the tears rolling down his face and it hurt to see the bruise forming on his cheek.
I pushed that feeling to the side as I turned on my heel and continued walking.

However, I couldn’t ignore the sobs that followed soon after.

I balled up my trembling hands and walked faster, feeling the guilt and anger build up with each step.
And soon, the tears began to fall.

Fuckin’ idiot.