If I'm Good For Anything, K.B.F. [new ebook reader .txt] 📗

problem that grew to be bigger than anyone could handle.
Something no one was quite aware of at the time of his arrival was Robby’s addiction to sex. I felt uncomfortable around him. I was so unsure of myself, as a matter of fact, I stopped wearing my pajamas in the house. I hated swimming when Robby was around, it always seemed as if he was burning my image into his brain, licking his disgusting teeth as he ogled me.
It were these small things I noticed immediately. However, time revealed that Robby’s habit entailed more than just a few inappropriate glances.
It was a Friday evening and I was exhausted. I had just finished up a busy night waiting tables. All I wanted was a hot shower and a movie night on the couch with Nolan. I grabbed a couple towels and some sweats and headed to the bathroom. I listened against the door on the other side of the restroom, hoping not to hear Robby home from whatever it was he did on the weekend. Ah, silence.
I could hear the phone ring from the shower. Probably Nolan. Wringing my hair out, I turned to open the glass door when I saw a shadow. My heart stopped. As a scene from Psycho flashed through my head I instinctively covered my chest.
I jumped. The door creaked shut, and I knew. Robby was on the other side.
I attempted many times to tell my parents of this incident. I tried to warn them weeks later that my underwear had gone missing. Days passed and the tension between Robby and I grew. He could feel my anger towards him, and he wasn’t going to let it go.
“Hey sis,” he confronted me one afternoon
I sat silent, my face hidden in a book.
“You know I was thinkin’”
“Rare.” I interrupted.
“Your birthday is comin’ up real soon.“ He ignored my comment.
“I was jus wonderin’ if there’s anythang you really been wantin’?” He halfway smiled.
“Privacy.” I stated, and quietly left the room.
It was soon after our little chat I knew I had to take action. It was a weekend morning, the house was quiet. My dad was most likely in the yard, my mom drinking her first cup of coffee downstairs, and my brother still in bed. Robby had not come in from the night before. I decided to take a chance.
I could smell his dirty clothes, and his pungent cologne lingering, before I even arrived at the end of the hall. I pushed the door open, it swung halfway and stopped with a bang. The room was jammed full of furniture. There was a dresser behind the door. I listened for a moment to make sure no one was coming, and crept inside. The ceiling was covered in posters. A collection put together in admiration of Chevrolets, John Deere, and Dale Earnheart. Among the empty, dusty whiskey bottles sat a picture of Robby’s parents, behind it a rebel flag. I smirked. Ironic considering his mother was Vietnamese. If I wanted dirt, I had to rummage. I opened one of the drawers to his nightstand. I wished I hadn’t. Shutting it quickly, I got on all fours and peeked under the bed. I pulled out a box. Jackpot. Amongst the grotesque covers of porn flicks was a case of rolling papers, and a bag of weed.
“He is so out of here,” I almost giggled. Attempting not to touch the tapes I pulled the case from the box. The bag fell between a set of brass knuckles and a ceramic angel. More irony, I chuckled. But when I pulled the angel out of the box, it didn’t seem all that funny after all. I caught a glimpse of my face. There, in the box, was a picture of me. Hands above my head, my fingers entangled in my hair. My eyes were closed, and I was topless. There was shampoo dripping down my forehead. I swallowed hard. A psycho had attacked after all, but his weapon of choice had been a camera.


Chapter 7
I have decided to move down the beach. I discover it to be a pleasant change. While there are still people, the beach is less crowded. Many wooden chairs sit empty and I take a seat. There are no drunken mothers here, and no screaming children. I smile. There is a young couple building what appears to be a sand castle. I glance at them a few times, then realize they aren‘t paying me a bit of attention. I begin to watch. What once looked to be a castle wall now appears to be some type of lettering. At another angle, it would have been obvious immediately. A large letter “O” sits in front of the young man. He dust his hands off on his shorts and grabs for another bucket of water. The young woman finishes the letter “U”. Some type of university. The guy looks up. I’m afraid I will be caught staring. I look away. In just the next moment the girls screeching involuntarily causes my eyes to glance back. I laugh. The girl is soaken wet. Her companion stands laughing, bucket in hand.

As the end of senior year approached, Nolan and I became a couple. Together we started to explore the ins and outs of a new kind of love. We discovered what it was like to compromise, to fight and make up, to go down together, and to help each other up. It proved to be a difficult year for the both of us. I lost my great uncle, my mentor, two weeks before graduation. My mother was diagnosed with cancer. Nolan continued to battle with depression, and watched his family fall apart with the economy. With every heartbreak, and disaster our devotion only grew stronger. I learned when to listen to him. Nolan learned when to ignore my temper. We stopped dreaming about the future, and began planning it. Life never seemed more grand.
However, our growing relationship did not come without complication. A lot of people looked at us in disapproval. Nolan had been Clay’s best friend, I had been his girlfriend. Emily, Nolan’s childhood friend, began to make this point frequently.
Emily was a very pretty girl. I would like to say that was her best and only quality. However, that was not the case. Standing at a perfect 5’6, she was muscular, in a feminine way. Her build and coordination won her a spot on most of the sports teams at Northgate high school. This, along with her humor, made Emily one of the most popular girls in our town. She was nice. The kind of nice that made girls like me want to gag, and want to be even more terrible to her. Instead, I smiled and played nice when she was around. Though, It did not take long for my true feelings to emerge.
I started to become annoyed, and suspicious of her, and her intentions. I was protective, and jealous when it came to Nolan. I didn’t feel as if she had the right to hang around anymore. One day in the middle of English Emily passed me a note, and asked if I could give it to Nolan after class. I mustard up a smile and agreed. Curiosity, and bitchiness, got the better of me. I couldn’t lock myself in the bathroom stall fast enough. I tore open the note and read voraciously.
Nolan,
I can’t help but notice that you’ve grown pretty close to someone else these past few months. We didn’t really speak at all over the summer and I regret that. You have been such a good friend I can’t imagine life without you. That is sort of what this letter is about. College is coming up soon, and I’m scared we will lose touch. That’s why I need to tell you this now. Before you go. Remember that time in the third grade when we kissed? Well I do. I even remember that we said one day we would get married and everyone laughed. I know we were just kids but Nolan I still love you. I know we agreed to always be friends, but I want you to realize that there can be someone who truly cares for you. You are a nice boy who deserves a kind hearted, and caring girl. Just Something to think about.
-love, Emily
She had given this to me intentionally. Had known I would read it all along. What had once been a thorn in my side, became a huge pain in my ass. She had messed with the wrong girl. I decided that day to make it a personal aspiration to ruin her life. Destroy her for trying to destroy me. That night I encouraged Nolan to send in his college application. We dropped our envelopes in the box together, and I smiled.
“You should tell Emily the good news.” I mentioned.
“I thought you hated her.” He stared perplexed.
“Oh please,” I rolled my eyes “I’m so over that.”
I felt satisfied, even proud, of my wickedness. Oddly enough, I thought, was the fact that I felt a tinge of sadness for the girl. I believed in that moment that she never really stood a chance.
Our letters came in the mail the same day. I rushed home when my mom called and said it was there. We decided to wait on each other. We wanted to open them at the same time. When Nolan arrived with his, I could tell something was amiss. He had a crooked smile, his letter was ripped open.
“You opened it?!” I screamed down the driveway.
“Yeah.”
“You didn’t get in did you?” I sighed.
A devious smile washed across his face.
“I got in!” He almost bounced over to me, and my letter.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t say that.”
“What?” He was confused.
“Because I wanted to say it first!” I laughed, and uncovered the ripped end of my envelope.
“Go wolves.” He said, and kissed me.
“Go wolves.” I giggled.
As graduation quickly approached Nolan and I announced to everyone our good news. We were going to college together. Together. We walked the hallways holding hands, and he drove me home every day. Every waking moment