Closer Ch. 02

"The new snobs he hangs around with probably finally brainwashed him into not talking to me," she stated lamely with a shrug of one shoulder.

'If only she knew the real reason,' John thought to himself.

"If that's the case then he's not worthy of being your friend. He'll just have to find out the hard way that by being a dick he's gonna lose the best friend he's ever had or ever will have," John exclaimed. Kim turned her head and made eye contact with John.

"That makes me feel a little better, I guess." John clapped his hands together loudly.

"So I guess I should reveal my true intention for coming over here and sitting next to you," John said.

"What?"

"I came here to ask you to prom. Do you wanna go with me? You'd be the sexy chick and I'll be the hip Asian in school," he said smiling. Kim giggled and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not going to prom," she replied.

"Why not? I mean every girl deserves to go to their prom," John said in a serious tone of voice. Kim nervously fiddled with her fingers and looked away from John to hide her embarrassment.

"I can't afford to buy a dress," she said. "My mom and I don't have a lot of money so I'm not gonna go," she continued with her head down in shame. She felt so humiliated having to explain that she was basically dirt poor to a complete stranger. She felt his fingers on the bottom of her chin and lift her face up to meet his gaze.

"Don't be embarrassed. I'm not judging you. We could always show up in jeans and a t-shirt. It'll be a prom fashion statement or whatever," John said.

"So I have a question for you," Kim said trying to change the subject. She didn't even wanna think about prom. It sucked so much that she couldn't afford to buy a nice dress.

"Ok shoot."

"Why were you at Mackenzie's party? You just said you're new here and Mackenzie hates new people, so why did she invite you?" Kim asked. She turned off her mp3 player completely and put it safely into the pocket of her jeans.

"Oh well I've only been here for about three weeks but from day one Mackenzie's been using me to do her math homework. The night of the party I wanted some collateral for all my hard work and she said I could come to her party," John replied. Kim turned to look at him and smiled just a bit.

"So you let Mackenzie push you around?" she said in an amused tone. He looked at her and faked a hurt look.

"No, not exactly. See Mackenzie has a lot of stereotypical views," John stated.

"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Kim added while rolling her eyes.

"Anyway she thinks I'm good with numbers because I'm Asian. Little does she know I really suck at math. So I fill in her homework with all these shitty answers and stuff. She doesn't even look at the work I do so it's pretty easy to get away with making her look even more stupid than she already is." John laughed and Kim joined in. She was happy to know that John wasn't just being manipulated by Mackenzie. Kim looked at Justin again and John watched her closely.

"So are you gonna go with me to prom?" he asked while tucking some of his shoulder length hair behind his ear. Kim looked towards the school building when she heard the first bell ring. She rose up to her feet and picked up her chemistry and math books.

"I'll let you know when I have a definite answer," she said with a smile before making her way towards the tall brick building. She doubted she would be able to scrap up enough money to buy a ticket and a dress, but she would try. If it didn't work out, she would just tell John. She was halfway across the yard when she heard John call out behind her.

"Hey wait! I should give you my number so you can text me or whatever when you decide," John exclaimed. He ran over towards her and gave her his cell phone.

"Put your number in here," he said. She grabbed his phone after reaching into her jean pocket with her free hand and taking out her own. He grabbed hers and entered his number while she did the same with his. When they were finished they began walking the rest of the way towards the building together in silence.

"I'll talk to ya later," he said while branching off into another direction.

"Bye," Kim answered back softly.

Later that day Kim had arrived back at her apartment complex. She had about three hours to kill before she had to go work at the store and figured she'd just watch TV or something else that wasn't very productive. She walked up to her door and was about to open it when she heard the door across the hall open. She turned to see her neighbor, Mrs. Marshall, with her small cat, Monty.

"Hi Kimberly. Your mom came by earlier and she wanted me to tell you that she's gonna be gone a couple of days maybe weeks. She also said not to worry about the rent because she talked to Mr. Morrison and she paid ahead," the old woman exclaimed while cradling her small cat. Kim looked at the woman in confusion. She knew she should be used to her mom's shenanigans that could make her disappear for days, but somehow she never did. She also knew what her mother's 'payment' to Mr. Morrison was.

"Did she say where she was going?" Kim asked jingling her keys in her hand. Mrs. Marshall looked up from her fidgeting cat at the young girl. She shook her head.

"No, but she said she was going with Reaper. What yo momma sees in that man I'll never know." Mrs. Marshall said shaking her head.

"Yeah well join the club," Kim replied sadly. Everyone knew Reaper in her neighborhood. His reputation as a ruthless killer and drug dealer grew over a span of twenty years and now at the age of forty-five most people feared him.

"Do you want somethin' to eat? You looking awfully skinny these days," Mrs. Marshall exclaimed while inspecting the girl's body.

"You trying to fatten me up," Kim joked. The older woman chuckled and nodded her head towards her apartment.

"Come on. Me and Monty could use the company. It's been a while since you've been here anyway," Mrs. Marshall said while ushering the girl into the apartment. Mrs. Marshall's house was equally as cramped as hers, but there was something about its ambiance that made her feel at ease. The living room was a pale pink color and the TV in the corner was littered with pictures. The one picture on the center of the television set really stood out to her. She picked it up and looked at it closely.

It was a picture of her and Mrs. Marshall's granddaughter, Adrienne. Adrienne was about eighteen in the picture and Kim was only sixteen. They were at the beach with their back towards the ocean and incoming water pooling around their feet. Adrienne was in a blue bikini top with matching bottoms while Kim was dressed in a black bikini top with jean shorts on that stopped just above her upper thigh. Kim had her arm draped around Adrienne's small shoulders while Adrienne's arms were wrapped tightly around Kim's curvy waist. Adrienne was smiling widely letting the dimples in her cheeks look deeper than they usually did and Kim was sporting a lopsided grin. The picture was so lovable and was taken six months before Adrienne disappeared.

"You know that was her favorite picture of you guys," Mrs. Marshall stated softly. Kimberly wiped away a tear that had begun to cascade down her face and then turned to look at the woman.

"It's my favorite too," she replied as she set the picture back down to its rightful place. Mrs. Marshall set down her cat and walked over to the kitchen and motioned for Kim to follow her. They sat at the small wooden table across from each other while Mrs. Marshall poured two cups of tea.

"It's so quiet without her here," Mrs. Marshall stated while looking around at the small apartment. She passed Kim a mug and watched as the girl took a small sip of the steaming liquid. Adrienne had lived with her grandmother after her mother had overdosed on drugs. She was only about fifteen when she had moved in with her grandmother and about a month later she had met Kim.

Adrienne was Kim's only female friend and the only other person besides Justin that she confided in on a regular basis. When Adrienne went missing, Kim felt part of her heart chip away and an even bigger part break when Adrienne's body was found two weeks later. She had been beaten, raped multiple times, and then strangled. That was one of the hardest deaths Kim had to go through. The other hardest was Justin's real father, Joseph. 'Don't think about Justin or anyone associated with him,' she told herself.

"I miss her so much," Kim said sadly. She lowered her head to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to upset the old woman whose heart was still mourning the loss of her only grandchild.

"It's alright child," Mrs. Marshall said soothingly. She reached over the table and grabbed Kim's small hand. Kim looked up at her with glassy eyes and smiled weakly. "She's in a better place and I know she's watching down on the both of us. I know she's up there and she's waiting for me to join her and her momma." She continued lifting her eyes up towards the ceiling. Kim nodded and wiped at her stubborn tears.

"I remember the last time I saw her," Kim croaked out. "It was the day after her prom and she took me out to eat. She just kept going on and on about how much fun everything was and how her date was such a gentleman. She was so happy."

Mrs. Marshall closed her eyes as the unshed tears that had been forming finally dropped down her eyelids. "She was wasn't she? I think I'll miss that the most about her. She had this certain energy about her and everyday I still feel part of that energy in this house. I think that's her way of telling me she's ok. That she's fine in the next life and she wants me to be ok too," the woman whispered almost painfully.

Kim rubbed the woman's hand softly. She ran her young hands across the older woman's smooth wrinkled ones as soothingly as she could. Mrs. Marshall looked at the young girl and said in a hoarse voice.

"You all I got left Kimberly; you and Monty. Promise me that when I go you'll take good care of him," the old woman said.

"I promise," Kim whispered back.

"Promise you'll go on to do great things and you won't end up like the rest of us."

"I promise."

The woman nodded her head and patted the young girl's hand.

"I know you'll keep that promise," she said regaining control of her voice. "Are you going to your prom?" she asked softly.

Kim shook her head 'no.'

"Why not? Didn't someone ask you?" Mrs. Marshall asked taking a sip of her tea and letting go of the girl's hand. Kim leaned back in her chair and smiled while wiping away the last of her tears.

"Umm yeah someone asked me, but I don't have a dress. The nice ones cost a fortune," she exclaimed with a shrug of her shoulders. Mrs. Marshall rose out of her seat and walked to the back of the apartment. Kim sat there for a moment drinking her tea until she heard Mrs. Marshall call out her name.

"Kim. Can you come back here for a moment?" the woman hollered. Kim immediately did as she was told and made her way down the hall towards the bedrooms in the back. She was making her way into the older woman's room when she heard the woman call out again, but the voice was coming from the room next door: Adrienne's room.

She walked into the room and was immediately bombarded with memories. Everything about the room was the same as it was the last time she was there. The posters of Usher, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, and Channing Tatum still littered the walls. The bedspread was still a light blue color with white and pink flowers on them and the carpet was still white as snow. Mrs. Marshall was standing near the closet and poked her head out to look at Kim.

"Have a seat," she said with a smile. Kim walked over to the bed and looked at the various posters on the wall. Mrs. Marshall came out a moment later with a dress. Not just any dress, it was Adrienne's old prom dress.

"I want you to have this," she stated while smiling.

"W-w-what? No. I could never," Kim said standing up. She was at a loss for words. There was no way she could wear Adrienne's dress. Not in a million years.

"Please Kim. I want you to go to your prom. You really deserve to go. Please take the dress. I have no use for it now," Mrs. Marshall pleaded.

"Mrs. Marshall…"

"Anita. Call me Anita," she interrupted.

"Anita, I can't take this dress. It's Adrienne's. I-I- I wouldn't look h-half as good in it as she did," Kim stammered.

"You'll look beautiful Kim. It would mean a lot to me if you'd accept this dress. Please," Anita said. Kim looked into the woman's eyes and could see the depth of emotion radiating in them. She couldn't say no, it would break Anita's heart. This obviously meant a lot to her.

"Ok," she said in defeat. The woman smiled madly and handed over the dress. She hugged Kim a moment later and kissed the top of her forehead. "Thank you," Kim said. Her gratitude was muffled by Anita's meaty shoulder.

"No thank you," she replied.

When Kim arrived home the first thing she did was go through the contacts in her phone until she found John's name. She called him and after three rings he answered.

"Hey. I was wondering when you'd call. Do you have an answer?" he asked. Kim smiled and looked at the dress lying on her small couch.

"Yeah. I do," she replied.

"So is it a yes or no?" he asked.

"Well that depends. Are you still interested in being the cool Asian at the prom?" she joked.

"Of course!" He replied happily.

"Then it's a definite yes." She was so happy. She was gonna go to her prom.

************

Justin had woke up early in the afternoon thinking about Kim. He had been thinking about Kim for the past two weeks non-stop. He felt like a dick for ignoring her in school and blocking her calls, but he had to get all of his feelings straightened out first. Besides, there was a possibility that she couldn't remember a damn thing that went on with them the night of the party because of her drunken state. If that was the case then he damn sure wasn't gonna risk it.

He knew he couldn't keep avoiding her. There was only a few more weeks of school left and soon after he'd be leaving for college in Illinois. So whatever feelings he had to sort out, he had to do it quickly. He turned on his TV and was about to look at what sports reruns were on when a picture of his father appeared on the news.

"Today marks the six year anniversary of the Blooming Murders. Newlywed couple Ted and Shannon Blooming robbed several banks in three days. The couple killed four police officers including twelve year veteran Joseph Cook. The two were also responsible for the death of multiple pedestrians before finally being apprehended by officers," the female news anchor stated before Justin quickly turned off the TV. He shook his head violently from remembering the day his father was murdered. Finally he was able to get his thoughts away from Kim, but the subject wasn't much better. He decided that he would visit his father's grave. Maybe open up and talk about the things that were on his chest, mainly Kim. He knew his father wouldn't hear him or anything, but it still felt nice to just go there.

When he finished getting dressed he rushed downstairs and into the kitchen to get a quick snack before leaving. He saw his mother sitting in the kitchen idly tapping on the table. He knew she saw the news report. He could tell from the look in her distant eyes. She used to get the same look in her eyes when someone brought up his dad's name after he was killed.

"Hey mom, you okay?" he asked. He walked fully into the kitchen and over towards the cabinet where he knew the mini-doughnuts were.

"Oh y-yeah I'm fine. Just thinking about your dad and reminiscing of old times," she said.

"I take it you saw the report too," Justin said while taking a bite out of a chocolate doughnut.

"Yeah it brought back a lot of memories. A lot of painful ones," she said in a quiet voice.

"I know. I thought I'd go visit his gravesite today. That's why I'm out of bed and dressed so early." Justin exclaimed.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No it's ok. I'm not scared to go there by myself anymore. I'm a man now," he joked lightly with a small pound to his chest imitating King Kong.

"Alright. I promise we'll do something later," she said to his retreating back as he left the kitchen and walked towards the front door.

"Ok. It's a date," he said before closing the door behind him.

The drive to the cemetery seemed to take forever. He talked to himself like a crazy person for the first thirty-minutes before turning on the radio. When he got to the cemetery he roamed around for a few minutes before finally locating the area where his father's tombstone was located. He walked over to his father's gravesite and saw another person there. The closer he got the more of the person he saw. He realized the person was Kim. He stopped walking, but he could hear Kim talking. He walked a little bit closer to hear her better.

"It sucks that you're not here anymore. You were like a father to me. You used to give great advice and I could use some of it right now. Justin's mad at me and I don't know what to do. I wish you were here to help me. I'm so confused," she said softly.

Justin inadvertently began walking forward. He guessed she must have heard him coming because she suddenly stopped talking and turned her body to look at him. She quickly got off her knees and onto her feet. She turned to face him and shoved her hands in her jeans.

"I'll leave if you want me to," she said before starting to walk away. Justin reached out to grab her arm and she looked up at him with unsure eyes.

"No. Stay," he said simply. Maybe this was a sign that now was the time for them to talk. She looked at his father's gravesite and returned to her spot in front of it. "So you saw the report too?" he asked. She looked up at him and shook her head.

"What report? I come here every year on the anniversary of his death. I just come here to talk to him for a couple of hours or to clear my head," she said slowly.

Justin got on his knees beside her and looked at the tombstone. It was so quiet and the atmosphere of the cemetery was creepy. She came here every year? He'd only come here three times. The day his father was put in the ground, the year after that, and today.

"This is the first time I've been here without my mom. You know how these places used to give me the creeps," he said jokingly. The corners of her mouth turned just a little before she looked at him.

"So you're talking to me now?" she asked bluntly.

"I'm sorry I ignored you," he said. He brought his hand up to rub the small of her back. She scoffed before moving away from him until they were completely across from each other.

"Why were you ignoring me? I thought we were friends." She questioned.

"We are. I just…" he said. He couldn't finish the sentence. How was he supposed to explain this when he was surrounded by dead people?

"You just what? Blew me off for your new friends?" She said. Her face had magically transformed from peaceful to pissed off in the short span of two minutes all thanks to him.

"This isn't about them," he countered slowly.

"Yeah right. Then what is this about because I'm starting to get the idea that they're finally turning you against me," she retorted. She got off her knees and was about to go when Justin jumped up and grabbed her by the arm. She came to a complete stop and turned to face him with tears forming in her eyes. He felt like an asshole.

"I'm sorry, Kimmy. I really am. I just had to think about some things," he said softly. He wiped away a tear that was trailing down her face.

"What things? Why were you avoiding me?" she asked looking him in his eyes.