❝If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have money can't buy.❞

18 || i work only for money

time || night

"Are you okay?"

"I wish you'd stop asking me that," I say edgily.

If I don't look okay, chances are I'm not. I'm not sad that me and Justice aren't friends anymore. More disappointed than anything. Disappointed that I won't have anyone to hang out with at school on Monday. Disappointed that friendships don't always last forever...

If Justice gets released from the hospital tomorrow, how are things going to be for me on Monday? And that's another thing I've realized... that Brolin won't be by my side, either. He's been my only friend since today. And he'll be all the way in Maryland while I waste away at school, trying to grasp all these things happening in my life.

After today, I'll have no one to stand by me.

And that makes me sad.

I sit on a bench outside the hospital. My chest feeling tight and the lump in my throat getting bigger.

Brolin sits beside me.

I then bury my face in my hands, and I start to cry.

I really tried to hold-in my tears, but it gets too much sometimes. I'm angry and depressed—two strong emotions that don't mix well together when you're shit out of luck. I'm sad about many things, really. Not only with the loneliness I'll feel after all of this is over, but what will be left.

"C'mere," Brolin says, bringing me onto his lap.

My hands are still covering my face.

"Karen look at me," he says, goading me to move my hands away from my face and to look at him.

Hesitantly I oblige.

"Don't be sad," he says. The way his warm brown eyes crinkle at the sides tells me he really doesn't want me to be sad. He wants me to be happy.

For him, I try to raise the corners of my mouth up but they don't contest. They go back into the downward crescent moon they were.

I feel the tears coming on again until I feel something soft on my forehead.

Brolin's lips.

It's as if he has me in some sort of trance.

He kisses both sides of my cheeks... My nose... My forehead... Then my chin. While he's doing this, I'm sitting still, watching his every move.

I like how he's not forcing me to brighten up. Him trailing soft kisses along my face is better.

"Better?" he asks, once he's done. A smile gracing his lips. I'm just a little mad he didn't kiss me on the lips, but I do feel better. I'm not as scared for Monday as I was. I'll still miss Brolin and the fear of being alone continues to run rampant in my mind. Yet for now, I'll be okay.

"You're my only friend, and I like singing a little bit and reading."

He looks bewildered until he realizes what I'm doing. I'm answering the rest of the questions from our 20 questions session. "I'm your only friend?" he doesn't say this in a possessive way as if him knowing he's my only friend puts me in a vulnerable position. If all, the look he's giving me is one of surprise.

I don't answer his question. I only wrap my arms around him, pulling him into a hug.

:: :: ::

Brolin and I are walking down the quiet street, hand-in-hand.

The city is far behind us as we venture deeper into the working class area of Havendust. The streets are quiet and the houses and apartment buildings seem almost lively with the street lights and porch lights illuminating around us.

It's night right now and 3 more hours until midnight. Ah, how time flies. I have my head on Brolin's shoulder smelling his familiar scent. We've tried thinking of more things to do, it's just whenever we try to come up with something to do we decide against it as it seems being right here in the moment's just right.

"Whoo!"

The neighborhood that I thought to be quiet suddenly becomes boisterous as a crowd of people with picket signs and lighters in their hands are running towards the city.

Brolin and I stop and stand in the middle of the hurd as people run past us.

"What's going on?" I ask Brolin, confused.

Brolin who looks just as perplexed as me pulls me closer to his side. "I don't know," he says.

I move closer to his side.

I'll have to admit, this all seems a bit scary. What's going on?

A girl with long pink colored hair who's holding a picket sign stops and looks at us. "Aren't you guys coming?" She asks me and Brolin as if she knows something we don't.

Seeing the confusion written on both our faces, the girl's face twists into knowing.

"What's going on?" I ask her.

She points to the picket sign she's holding that says: All you wanna do is fuck with us and take our money

"The city is trying to fuck the companies over here. Which means no jobs for anyone."

Suddenly I know what she's getting at. I'm pretty sure part of this has to do with my dad's companies.

I look at Brolin. "I think this has to do with my dad." I tell him.

I need to follow these people. Sure I don't have much faith in protests, but I need to join one in this moment of my life if I want to be heard—just like these people want to be heard, too.

"Can I join?" I ask her.

The girl laughs. "Of course you and your boyfriend can."

When she says boyfriend I open my mouth about to correct her. However I don't know where me and Brolin stand on our relationship. All this time I've been referring to him as my "only friend".

Friends don't kiss each other, Karen. My conscience tells me and though I don't want to agree with what my conscience just pointed out to me. It's true. Friends don't kiss each other.

Swallowing my feelings and confusion, I grab Brolin's hand and we follow the crowd moving towards the city.

:: :: ::

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