Umbrella

My sleep last night was unsurprisingly unpeaceful. I woke up the next morning with puffy fish eyes and Alicia`s boney elbow in my back. I forgot about her endless snoring problem but hey, at least I know she`s is alive.

Dehydrated and choking on air I roll back the comforter and walk towards my bookshelf just to realize I don`t have a bookshelf in my room. Where the hell am I?

"Alicia get up," I whisper shout in her direction.

"Uh," a disoriented groan comes from the lump of the comforter.

Taking her grunt as a sign of disobedience in this do-or-die situation I had no other choice than to jump on her back and manually wake her up. Within seconds she was wide awake and kicking my pelvis.

"What do you want you psychopath." She yells at me finally peeking her head out from under the covers.

"Look around idiot," She takes this time to fully scan the room and I can see the gears turning in her head then realization finally hitting her.

"Maybe the person who kidnaped us is a hot sugar daddy with a boat." She adds rubbing her hands together and smiling.

"I am," Booms a familiar male voice from across the room. I didn`t even notice that the door was open. If this was a real kidnapping we would both be dead but it wasn`t a killer just Brice standing at the door laughing his ass off.

Brice Mitchell is a super-rich, 6`2, muscular, white boy who just so happens to be a close friend of mine and the best friend of my Boy-... my Ex-Boyfriend. Brice is extremely toned even his abs have abs. How would I know exactly? Well because he never has a shirt on. Not even now and he has two female guests in front of him.

"I don't have time for this," I state folding my arms and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What your the one who passed out at my house and I graciously let you spend the night," He said a little confused as he moved his long aborn hair away from his brown eyes.

"I`m sorry by the way, about him," He said looking at the ground.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Brice and thank you for helping us out last night," I say swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Don`t thank me too much let's get to the real reason I let you to beautiful bitches stay the night." He says smirking.

"You want us to help you clean," I say signing

"I`m sorry I`m still stuck on how he called us bitches and you didn't defend us, Alex," Alicia says bewildered behind us.

"I`m sorry buttercup would you prefer hoes," gesturing to our outfits. I hadn't noticed before but we are wearing men`s shirts.

"Don`t worry I had my eyes closed, besides nothing I haven`t seen before." He says surprisingly sincere I didn't sense any kind of malicious intent from his words but that's just the type of person Brice is.

"Yeah, we know you, manwhore." Alicia snorts. And I really didn't want to but I had to laugh.

"Aahaha get to cleaning," He deadpans handing us our own trash bags and gloves.

Together we scour the whole house cleaning every surface and picking up thousands of cups. Wiping his family's wood mantle I noticed his family's portrait. Brice, he looks stiff. I heard from him once that his family is never home but the fact that I basically lived here during high school and have never met his parents is crazy. How busy with work could you be that you couldn't make time to see your own child.

Well, I guess it`s different for everyone my mom had no job and all the money she could want. She just lived off the gym my family owned yet she still left.

"Earth to Alex," Brice screams into my ear from behind me.

"What," I say slightly annoyed.

"Well while you were dozed off me and buttercup finished the rest of the house."

"Why buttercup," I asked out of sheer curiosity.

"Because she acts just like the green Powerpuff girl." I'm not even finna lie I cracked up at that. Real shit if Buttercup was black she would be Alicia no doubt.

"Soo... future plans," I say taking a seat on the couch across from a now fuming Alicia.

"I definitely plan to go to college I want to be a vet, a-

"No way so you're copying me now Briceson," Alicia comments astonished using his full government name.

"Really you just had to say Briceso-

"What is Keagen planning to do with his life? I ask cutting Brice off for a second time.

"I honestly don't know why do you ask."

"Because," I pause trying to put my thoughts into words.

"Part of me still believes that we're soulmates and that God will throw us together again."

The room goes completely still.

"How could he be with me for three-plus years and decide one day that he doesn't like me. He Fucking texted me who does that. I didn`t even get the chance to ask him why he blocked me on everything. Now all I have are our memories and those damn memories are killing me, every date, every I love you, every insult, every time he defended me." My voice cracks. I feel the lump in my throat begin to swell again. Alicia is instantly by my side coddling me in her arms but I keep going I need to say this out loud. The same feeling from last night washed over me and I couldn`t shake the aching in my heart.

"I feel like I`m drowning and the only person that can save me is on the shore laughing in my face," I say sobbing into Alicia`s shoulder.

"You know I`ll always be there to pull you out of the water," Alicia says now also sobbing into my shoulder.

"I feel so pathetic so unworthy of the time and effort,"

"Brice, did Keagan even love me?" I ask him interrupting his glaring competition with the wall. I have never cried in front of Brice not even after I broke my wrist in tenth-grade arm wrestling with Keagan so I could imagine his shock.

"I`m not Keagan I can- he stopped himself before he even finished his sentence and I could tell he was trying to reword things in his head but he settled on giving me a hug.

Oh, so he didn`t love me. My dad had always taught me to be strong and by crying right now I feel like I`m slathering our good name. I should have known from the beginning Keagan was amazing at literally everything, everyone wanted him but he chose me.

"I really should be thanking Keagan for the reality check," I stated I heard murmuring in the background but I didn`t really care I just laid against Brice and Alicia until the dark faded in.

Ambulance sirens and bright lights awoke me. As soon as I opened my eyes Alicia pounced on me.

"I thought you were a goner babe." She says a little too excited.

"Hello, Mrs. Williams how are you feeling?" The doctor says as he walks into the room.

"I feel ok."

"That's great now let`s get to the nitty-gritty." He looks me right in the eyes.

"What you just had was a fainting spell, a result of your recent overload of emotions, by your chart and your history I`m sure that you already know about your condition and the steps you need to take. Since you are 18 you can sign this and discharge yourself." He hands me a clipboard which I quickly sign and hand back to him. As he leaves the room I can finally feel the excess tension in the room.

"Alexandra what was he talking about," Alicia asked me. Her voice wavered as she was talking I could tell she was trying to keep an even tone.

"Do you remember when my mom left at the end of sophomore year?"

"Of course, I remember you were like a shell of yourself you wouldn't eat, you wouldn't sleep, and you were diagnosed with major depression or something." Alicia panted out. Brice who stood leaning against the frame of the hospital door nodded his head in recognition of these facts.

"Yes at first I was but the more I started to hang with you guys and Keagan it started to change. My diagnosis was changed to minor bipolar depression." They look at me with a shared expression that I`m guessing means dumb it down for us.

"In the neverending rainy season that is my life you guys are my umbrella. Even Keagan, actually I owe him the most. So if he says that he doesn`t want to see me anymore I`ll accept that and move on."

That was the last day I cried about Keagan. For the rest of the break, I was working out hitting the gym three times as hard, I also made time to have fun with Alicia and Brice, but for the most part, we were getting ready for college. In the fall Alicia and I would be starting at Columbia University. Almost seventeen hours away from Keagan.