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Why Are We Still Friends?

By Rachel

Copyright 2013

 

Chapter 1


“Come on Nick. We need to get all this junk out of here by tonight. Anna’s going to be moving in tomorrow.” I pushed him off the bed and he fell with a thud.

“And to think that everyone thinks you’re so sweet and nice.” He rubbed his head as he sat up. “If they only knew the real Alexia.”

I hated when he called me Alexia. No one, but Nick and Anna called me that since I was a baby. He only did it to tick me off. Nick was my best friend. I had known him since he was thirteen and I was nine. He was a member of my brother’s singing group. He knew everything about me. I knew all his secrets and still loved him with all my heart.

“Well shouldn’t Brian be helping you? It’s his sister and all.”

“Nicky, stop trying to get yourself out of working. Brian doesn’t exactly know that Anna is coming back.”

“What’s up with that?” Nick started packing up my clothes into plastic storage bins.

“When she moved to Pittsburgh with the jerk, Brian stopped talking to her.”

Nick looked at me confused. “Why didn’t I know that?”

“Because I keep Brian abreast about what is going on in Anna’s life.”

“I love how you use the word abreast when talking to me.” He chuckled. “I love when you talk dirty.”

I blushed at Nick’s comment. He always teased me about being such a goody goody. Everyone expected me to be wild and crazy like my brother, Alex.  I was quiet, introverted, and dedicated to my job. The one thing I had in common with my big brother was our heart of gold. Both of us would help anyone in an instant.

“Nick, stop. Let’s get this room finished and then we can have a picnic on the beach.”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t we spend the evening on my boat?”

“That works. Now get to work.”

“You sure are pushy Alexia.”

 

 

We never made it to Nick’s boat that night. AJ called and wanted Nick to go out and do something manly with him. His wife, Bella was giving him a free night away from the kids.

I arrived at the airport just as Anna’s flight was touching down. I was excited to see my other best friend in the entire world. It had been ten years since I had seen her. Sure we talked on the phone, chatted on line and sent emails, but it wasn’t the same as actually being face to face.

I was shocked when I saw Anna. She had changed so much in ten years. Her long brown hair was now blonde and to her shoulders. It made her blue eyes pop out with color. Her breasts were bigger, but that was because of her implants. Her clothes were extremely trendy, and she looked like a supermodel. Anna was always pretty, but now she was gorgeous and sexy.

I on the other hand hadn’t changed much over the years. My dark hair was still long with highlights. I was a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. I guess fashion wasn’t my thing. I felt somewhat plain and ordinary compared to her.

“Lexi, it’s so good to see you.” Anna pulled me in for a hug.

“Anna it’s been too long.”

“I know. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to marry that prick and move to Pittsburgh. Oh, well at least I got new boobs and enough money to tide me over.”  She laughed. I smiled uncomfortably. I didn’t think it was funny at all.

One thing I took seriously was marriage. Sure, I wasn’t married yet, but when the time comes I will take my vows seriously. My brother had one of the strongest marriages going. I wanted to emulate him if I ever got married. I was shocked at Anna’s attitude about her marriage.

“Are you excited to be back in Florida?” I changed the subject.

“Of course. My bikini is in my carry-on. I wasn’t going to wait to go to the beach until my stuff got down here.” She giggled. “I’m glad you live on the beach.”

“Me, too.”

“So fill me in on the gossip. I want to know what’s going on with everyone.”

“Nothing has changed since the last time we talked.” I commented as we walked to the parking lot.

“How do you think Brian’s going to react when he finds out I came back. I haven’t talked to him for years.” I couldn’t tell if Anna was upset about her relationship with her brother.

Brian had a hard time with Anna’s choices in the past. He wasn’t thrilled that she got married at nineteen to a man she had only known for two weeks. Sure, Grady Miller was an upstanding man. At the time he was a med student, and now he was a doctor. Brian was wary of the relationship and begged her to give it more time.  Anna was so in love that she moved to Pittsburgh with Grady the next week.

“I think Brian is going to be shocked to see you. You’ve changed a lot. Deep down I think he will be glad you are back. He’s missed you a lot.”  I explained as we found the car. We quickly placed the luggage in my car and were on our way.

“Why would you say that? I mean he hasn’t tried once in ten years to contact me. When he came to Pittsburgh, he didn’t even make an attempt to look me up.” She was getting angry.

“He asks me about you all the time. Just because he’s not thrilled with the choices you’ve made, does not mean he doesn’t love you.”

“Yeah, well so much for trying. I did everything I could to work things out with Brian. Do you know how many emails and letters I sent? He didn’t respond to any of them.”

I didn’t know if Anna was telling the truth. She was my best friend, but she had a flair for dramatics. Brian had never mentioned getting anything from her. He was always asking me what was going on in her life. Things were not going to be pretty when Brian found out she was back.

“That doesn’t sound like Brian to me.” I responded carefully. She would be annoyed that I didn’t side with her. I wasn’t on anyone’s side. I wanted them to be close like me and AJ.

“I forgot he’s charmed you into believing that he is the nicest guy around.” She remarked rudely. Anna was mad because I wouldn’t take her side on this situation. This was typical of her.

“Anna, you’re my best friend, but Brian is my friend, too. He misses you even though he doesn’t show it. I hope that the two you can work it out.”

“Lexi, I’m not going to hold my breath about making up with Brian. He made his choice a long time ago. I won’t push him to be in my life.” She looked out the window for a moment. I knew she was hiding the sadness she felt about her relationship with her brother. “So, are you up for going out tonight?”

Well, that was an abrupt change in topic. This was another thing Anna was good at; changing the topic when if didn’t fit her mood.

“I’d love to, but I offered to watch Alisa and Ian. AJ wants to spend some quality time with Bella. But, I’m sure Nick will go out with you.”

“So AJ wants to have sex with the wifey.” She laughed. “I think it’s sweet that you want to babysit your niece and nephew. Alexia, that’s why you haven’t had a serious relationship all these years, you’re always helping someone else instead of living your own life.”

“Thanks for the insight, Annalise.  I’m perfectly happy with my life.” The reason I was single was because I was in love with a man that only saw me as a friend. It was a secret I kept to myself. Anna wouldn’t understand. She could get any guy she wanted. On the other hand guys only wanted me as a friend. We were so different, but somehow we managed to be best friends.