❝If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money.❞
— Simone Weil

10 || money doesn't buy friends, much less happiness, maybe kisses

"Who invited you, here?" Gwen asks. She's holding a red solo cup in her hand and the outfit she's wearing isn't covering much (if you know what I mean).

"It doesn't matter," I say coolly. Why did she have to know who invited me? It wasn't as if people didn't know me. I had "friends" maybe not close ones. But... I had friends.

Gwen smirks, and taking a huge gulp from her cup, she eyes me before saying, "Well, Justice isn't here. So sadly you won't have anyone to follow around like a lost puppy."

I ignore the jab. "Where's Justice?" I ask. "She hasn't been answering my calls."

Gwen laughs. "You mean, I haven't been answering YOUR calls." She pulls out what looks to be Justice's phone from the pocket of her shorts; an iPhone 6s adorned with a Starbucks latte case. The blood within me is rising. I can't get angry, cuz I won't give this bitch the satisfaction.

"What the hell are you doing with Justice's phone?" I seethe, ditching the cordiality I was going with. Now I just want to scratch this bitch's eyes out with my nails.

Gwen shrugs. "It doesn't matter." She mimics, making me roll my eyes. She then says something that catches me off guard. "She's in the hospital because of malnutrition, you idiot."

As I watch her take another sip from her red solo cup, I'm able to read between the lines of what she just said. Malnutrition?

Wait, this all has to do with her body issues, doesn't it?

"Is she okay?" I need to know if Justice is okay.

Gwen shrugs, again.

"Tell me Gwen, does this have to do with Justice's... body?"

She doesn't say anything, she just takes another sip of her drink.

"You know Karen, if you were a true friend of Justice's you wouldn't have to be asking me about her condition."

"Stop with the bullshit, Gwen," I say, finally having enough. "You're the one who's ignored my phone calls, cuz you have Justice's phone!"

"Shut up—"

"I'm not shutting up!" I'm up close to her face now. "You're not a true friend, you just think you can control things. You love ruining other people's friendships, don't you? I bet that's the only control you have in your life!"

"Go to hell, Karen!" Gwen is now glaring at me. "You don't think Justice doesn't tell me about your pathetic little life. How—how you wish for your Mom to come back to you and your dad, but she's not. Cuz she wanted to leave."

Truthfully that hits a nerve but I don't let it show.  My face emotionless, I decide to take a deep breath to calm myself down.

"You whore!" I blurt out.

By this time I see that the music's stopped playing and that we've created a scene. "You're such a whore you'd open your legs for any guy. You don't think Justice complains to me, that her blonde friend is a whore. Expressing concerns and doubts to me, that her 'slutty' friend will try to go for her boyfriend."

I guess what I said struck a nerve, cuz Gwen lunges at me dropping her cup in the process. I swiftly step aside, and she lands flat on the floor on her face.

"What the hell?"

Liam Yeats, appears.

I roll my eyes. I forgot he and Gwen were "shagging" each other. So it isn't a surprise when I see him go to Gwen's side, and help her up.

"Karen, you need to leave, you weren't even invited." Liam tells me.

This must be his house. He must be related to the asshole Brolin and Kyle are after.

I give him the bird, and turn around. I'm not leaving cuz he told me to. I'm leaving cuz I WANT to. I'll just wait in the car outside while Brolin and Kyle get finished with whatever they need to get finished with.

"Bitch," Liam throws my way. I'm about to turn back around and retort with something.

Brolin beats me to the punch. Literally.

"It's gonna be a fight!" a guy shouts. I don't even look to see who said that, because it doesn't look that way to me.

Liam's too busy cradling his eye, that I doubt he's going to try and fight back.

Heh, I didn't even know Brolin could throw a punch like that.

"C'mon," Brolin grabs my arm and we both leave the house.

:: :: ::

I don't mind walking.

In all actuality, I'm really hungry and I just want to stop somewhere to eat.

"I'm hungry," I say, breaking the silence for the first time.

I don't know if Brolin's embarrassed for what he did back there, but he has no reason to be. I never had anyone stand up for me, before. And now that I have, it feels nice. Great, even. I didn't even know he was there behind me that whole time.

Brolin chuckles. "Me, too."

We could go to the nearest McDonalds, but it being McDonalds makes my stomach feel queasy. Alongside the fact that I'm underneath this hot scorching sun.

Brolin doesn't say anything else.

Too perturbed by his silence, I stop in my steps. For a second Brolin keeps walking, which confirms to me that he has a lot on his mind.

He stops when he turns and sees that I've stopped walking.

"You okay?" he asks, coming back to me.

I nod.

But before he's even able to say anything else. I kiss him on the lips. The kiss is chaste and short and sweet, however it's enough to send a thousand flutters through my stomach.

I then avoid eye-contact with Brolin and start walking, again.

I kissed him as a thank you for his chivalry back there, as well as the fact that I've been wanting to do that since the moment I walked right out of that house with him.

"Karen—"

A huge house I stop in front of looks to have a wedding going on in the backyard.  There's many cars parked in the long driveway, and I can see a sign all the away from where I'm standing that says: Wedding Ceremony.

A wedding equals a lot of food...

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