"Food is here!"
I heard Ally shout from the other room while I dried myself off. I still felt guilty about jerking myself off while thinking about what asshole, but food will make everything better.
I stepped into the living room, and the sweet smell of Kung pow chicken and fried rice hit my nostrils, and I heard my stomach growl. I was more hungry than I thought!
"Yum, can't wait to put this in my mouth," I looked at the food greedily.
"I know what else you can't wait to put in your mouth..." Ally smiled mischievously.
"Don't say it..."
"Ethan's giant..."
"ALLY!" I cried out and shoved an eggroll in her mouth. That should keep her mouth shut.
"I almost forgot, you have a package delivered," Ally said.
"Oh? But I didn't order anything," I raised my eyebrows.
"I'll go get it," Ally got up and left, then came back with a small box.
"Did you check for ticking sound inside? If the box explodes, my blood is in your hands," I remarked.
"It's fine, just open it," she said hurriedly.
I opened the small box and stared at the content in amazement.
"What is it?" Ally looked at me curiously.
I picked it up and held it in front of her. Tears started to stream down my cheeks before I could stop it.
Ally's eyes turned wide. "Dude, what's wrong? It's just an old watch," she asked.
"Y...you...you don't understand. This isn't just an old watch." I turned it around and grazed my finger over the engraved initials that said, A.P.
Ally came over and hugged me, still confused by my behavior. I let her hold me while reliving my memory. One of the shittiest memory I had with Ethan.
Senior year in high school...
Ethan had me crouched on the ground behind the school while Brian had his foot on my shoulder, holding me down.
"Look at him weep like a little bitch," Brian cackled.
"If he had learned how to behave, we wouldn't have to do this," Ethan said with gritted teeth.
"Agreed," Brian said and kicked me in the ribs. I groaned as pain shot through my body. I hugged myself tightly and tried to make it go away. I laid on my stomach and tried to crawl away, but Brian stepped on my arm, pinning me to the ground.
"Where are you going, freak? We aren't done with you yet," he hissed.
"I think he had enough, Brian. Let's just get outta here. I'm bored of him already," Ethan said.
"We'll go, but first, I wanna make sure he pays the toll," Brian leaned over and started to search my pocket. His face twisted into a frown as he realized I had no money.
"Bummer, he is a broke bitch" Brian said, then paused. He grabbed my arm and held it up. "What's this?" he asked and tugged at my watch.
"N...no...leave it alone," I pleaded.
Brian took the watch off and looked at it. "This look worthless. But I'm gonna take it anyway since you got nothing else to offer," Brian barked.
"Brian, please...anything but that. Here, you can beat me some more. Someone gave it to me and well...he died and... Please, Brian!" I cried.
"Oh, so this is priceless. More reason to take it," Brian chuckled.
Ethan coughed. "Um...dude...just give it back to him. You can't do anything with that shitty old thing anyway," he said.
"Nope, keeping it," Brian put it in his pocket then kicked me one last time before walking away with my watch.
Ethan looked at me, and that was the first time I saw him look sympathetic for a long time. He knew exactly what that watch meant to me.
Back to the present...
"Corey, honey, are you okay?" Ally asked me again.
"Yeah."
"Here, there's a note that came with it," Ally handed me a small envelope.
I opened it carefully like it was something fragile. I recognized Ethan's handwriting.
'I knew I would see you someday, so I held on to it. I hope this helps patch up some wounds I created. I'm sorry, Corey.
Love, Ethan'
The note said.
"Whose watch is it?" Ally asked while she rubbed my back.
"It belonged to my cousin Anthony. We were very close, and he was the first person I came out to. He died during our freshman year. Someone ran him over with a car and took off, leaving him bloody and unconscious. Someone took him to the hospital, but it was too late," I wiped my tears.
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry!" Ally gasped.
"It was a long time ago. Ethan and his friend took it from me after beating me up. I can't believe he held on to it this whole time. Why didn't he give it back? That jerk!" I cried. I felt anger surging through me.
"He must've had his own reasons. You should ask him," Ally suggested.
"Fuck him," I said bitterly. "I wish I could quit this job and never see his stupid face again."
The bell rang all of a sudden, and we both looked at the door. What now?
Ally opened the door. I balled up my fist into a ball when I saw Ethan walking in.
Ally laughed nervously. "Hi, I'm Ally," she said. "We never officially met."
"I know who you are. Ally Walker, right? We had bio together in 10th grade, remember?" Ethan smiled.
"You remember! Wow...Ethan Miller remembers me!" she cooed.
Really? Her too? Why is everyone mesmerized by Ethan's charm?
"What the fuck do you want?" I sneered.
"I see you got my package. I also came over to explain the Melissa situation," he said.
"I'm gonna go...somewhere else..." Ally said and hurried inside her room then slammed the door shut.
"I don't care. I don't care who you date. You can be married for all I care because after I had my fun, I wanted nothing to do with you anyway." I said. "I just need to know one thing."
"What's that?" Ethan asked.
"Why the fuck did you hold on to this?" I picked up the watch and waved it in front of his face.