You're Supposed to Hate Me

Chapter 11

Sal

I think 75% of the time I'm not at school, I'm at Larry's. Whether it be with the others, or just us two. 

Tonight, it was all of us, even Neil because Neil didn't have to work tomorrow, and he was taking a small break from college for their one-year anniversary. So, we were all a bit surprised when the two of them showed up, because we didn't know if they would. 

I was currently laying on Larry's bed, my head hanging off the side of the bed as I listen to a story that Neil was telling about something that happened at his college, which was pretty funny. 

I was trying to focus on the story, but my mind started to drift after I noticed how familiar Neil's eyes were to... Travis's. It was already too late and now I was thinking about the way that Travis always smelled, how much taller Travis was than me, his eyes, his hair, his skin... Then I remembered what Larry told me that one night.

"He wasn't like this until his mom died."

I stare at Larry, my eyes widened. I didn't know that his mom was dead, but then again, I don't talk to Travis like he's my best friend or anything. 

"His mom is dead?" 

"Yeah, she passed away years ago, way before you came here. She was nice, very pretty, too." Larry takes another inhale of the cigarette, before exhaling the smoke. "My mom was good friends with her."

"So... Does that mean..."

"Yeah. I was friends with Travis when I was younger."

I nod. This is all starting to make sense. "What was he like?"

Larry laughs, leaning his head back against the brick wall of the apartment complex. "He was like any other kid. Stupid, silly, fun to be around." 

"How did she die?"

"You don't want to know, Sally."

I swallow the lump that was slowly forming in my throat. I don't want what I think happened to her to be true. "Tell me."

Larry shakes his head, sighing. "She killed herself." He pauses, closing his eyes. "He found her." 

Trying to swallow that lump didn't matter, because it was definitely there now, and it wasn't going away, no matter what I did. I was going to ask more, but I could tell he was done with the conversation, so I didn't speak. I just stood there, my heart racing.

~~~

Larry snaps his fingers in front of my face, everyone staring at me. "Hello?? Sally, you in there somewhere??" Larry asks.

"Huh?"

Ash laughs as Larry moves his hand away, sitting back in the bean bag. "What were you thinking about, Sal?" She asks, raising a brow, everyone still staring at me.

I sit up, my head suddenly hurting from being upside down. "It doesn't matter, I'm gonna step outside for a second." I move off the bed, walking towards the corner where the stairs are that lead up to the cellar doors. 

I hear Larry stand up, following after me. I was hoping he would. I wanted to ask him more about Travis, because after remembering the conversation Larry and I had weeks ago, I suddenly had the urge to want to know more about Travis.

I'm already slumped against the wall when Larry steps out, the cellar doors shutting behind him. "You good, Sally?" Larry asks, his voice laced with concern. 

I nod. Here we go. "Larry, remember when I asked about Travis a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah? What's up?" 

I turn to look at him, his eyes already on me. "Did he actually find his mom?" My voice shakes, and I look away, watching the sway of the trees in the distance, the shadow of the treehouse visible from here in the darkness. 

"... Yeah. He did." Larry's voice was quiet, almost getting carried away in the wind.

"Then... Why are you mean to him if you know what he's been through?" 

"I tried to be there for him, Sal," Larry argues, "I really did. But he pushed me away. I even tried a few years later, about a year or two before you moved here. But want to know what I got in return?" Larry crosses his arms, his eyes shut before he opens them once more.

"What?" I ask, not sure if I want to continue this conversation any longer or not.

"I got a fist to the face, Sal. I've tried to be there for him, but how can I be there for someone when they constantly push me away?" Larry turns to look at me before looking away.

"I'm sorry. I should of just left it." 

Larry sighs, moving closer to me, his hand ruffling my hair. "It's alright, you were curious."