2

It was Friday afternoon, so Angela, Carlos, Christina, and I were all hanging out at my place.

We were sitting around in my tiny living room watching Family Guy reruns on Netflix until Angela decided to do what she does best—make a scene.

"Okay, people!" Angela clapped her hands together as she stood up from my couch. "Our weekend will not consist of us being stuck inside the house. Let's go out and get trashed or something. It's Friday night!" She then looked solely at me. "I need a sweet release... You know what I'm saying, Sierra?"

Oh, I knew exactly what her nasty ass meant, but I shook my head instead, laughing at her. "I have no idea what you're talking about right now."

She playfully rolled her eyes. "Ok, seriously, we're not doing this boring shit all weekend, so somebody better come up with a plan within the next five minutes before I lose it."

I mentally debated about what I wanted to do.

Did I want to go out with my friends to have a fun night out on the town? Yes. However, I can't exactly afford to blow money on whatever it is we'd end up doing. I need every dollar that I have. I wanted to tell them that but... it's too embarrassing. They know how tight things are for me financially, but they don't know just how bad I really have it. Some things are better off kept to yourself.

"We could go clubbing? It's been a while since we did that," Carlos suggested.

Angela exclaimed, "That's perfect! I know this really cool spot called Lime Light that I can get us in for free. I got the hookup. What do you say, Sierra?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm down I guess."

Whenever the word free was thrown into the mix that was usually all it took to reel me in. I wasn't much of a drinker, so I wasn't worried about spending money on alcohol. I knew how to have a good time without being completely drunk.

"There's one problem," I said to Angela. "What about Chrissy?"

"I'm seventeen years old! I can take care of myself." Chrissy huffed when I put her on the spot. "Besides, you never get out of the house. You should go out and have fun. Don't worry about me."

I smiled at her, able to see right through her game.

"I love that you think all that, but don't assume I don't know about your little secret crush," I teased. "The second I leave you here alone, you won't hesitate to call over whatshisface."

She grumbled something under her breath and then stomped off to her room.

I know that she's one year away from being an adult and that I probably am being a bit overprotective, but I'm just trying to look out for her. I'm not taking any chances of being an aunt before I'm thirty. One rule we had was that there'd be no boys over while I'm not at home. I know she's a responsible girl, and I've left her alone before, but there has been more than one time when I'd come back to find someone sneaking out her window.

"Chrissy is right." Angela came over to sit next to me. "You never get out of the house, but now you have the entire weekend off! You should do something. Who knows when you'll get another break like this? I can call Sharon and have her come over to watch Chrissy. You know she won't mind."

Sharon is a sweetheart who's currently employed as a maid to Angela's parents, The Walters. Have I not mentioned they're extremely wealthy?

"Okay, fine." I caved in. "She's watched her before so it's cool with me, but only if she doesn't have anything scheduled. I don't want to be a pest."

"I'll go call her now." Angela wasted no time placing the phone call. She was barely on it for ten minutes before she yelled out to me, "She said no problem! Now, what do you have to eat around here? I'm starving."

"Absolutely nothing," I sighed, feeling so pitiful. "That fridge is emptier than when I first bought it."

Carlos chuckled, but I wasn't joking.

I could hear Angela open the door and I cringed as she gasped, "Oh God, Sierra, how long have you been living like this? There's barely anything in here."

"Please don't make a big deal out of this. I just haven't gone shopping yet." I lied. Money was extremely tight this month, so I couldn't splurge like I wanted to. To say the least, Chrissy and I had become great friends with Mr. Instant Noodles.

"Do you need... help or something? Money? You know I don't mind." Angela looked back over to me with a sincere expression.

This is what I hated the most—being pitied. This is why I never talked about my situation in-depth with them. This is also why I rarely had visitors over because I had nothing to treat them with. Things couldn't get more awkward than this.

And usually, when things get awkward, I get going.

"I don't need any help, Ang. I can do for myself just fine," I muttered before leaving for my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I've been independent since I was eighteen years old. Sure, I could use the help, but it's just... I don't know, my pride always gets in the way of me asking for it.

"Sierra, I didn't mean to trigger you. Please don't shut me out. I just want to help," Angela whispered as she cracked open my door, later entering my room.

"I know, I'm sorry." I sighed. "It's just... I'm embarrassed! I don't want you and Carlos looking at me and judging me like I'm some kid drowning in poverty." Even though I am. "I don't want to be pitied."

I stretched out on my bed and stared up at the ceiling as I contemplated too many things at once.

"Sierra, you know Carlos and I would never think that way towards you," Angela said. "We don't care about what you have or what you don't have, we love you regardless. But if you ever need anything, I'd like to think that your stubborn ass would ask us for it." She smiled, bumping shoulders with me after joining me on the bed. "I just want to help you and Chrissy. That's what friends do, right? They help each other. So take my damn help, bitch."

"Okay, thanks." I laughed.

"Do I need to come back there or is this strictly a girl's moment?" Carlos called out from the living room, later joking. "Is there skin to skin contact going on? If so, I'm joining."

Angela and I laughed.

"No, you pervert, so keep your ass in there," Angela replied. "You know what, maybe we should stay in tonight and do some family bonding," she told me. "We can go out tomorrow. I'll call Sharon back and tell her not to come out."

"Bonding?" I looked at her, confused. "Just what are we going to bond over?"

She shrugged and got up from the bed. "I don't know. We can just talk and tell each other things that we haven't told each other before."

Well, if that's the case... I had a bunch of things that I haven't told her or Carlos. One important thing being is the truth about how my parents died. They never really asked about them except for one time, and we were all still getting to know each other so I lied and told them that Christina and I were raised by an aunt and that we never knew our real parents. It was ridiculous, but I had just met them and I wasn't ready to tell such a depressing story to complete strangers.

But, I guess, tonight is a night for truths.

///

LATER

The three of us sat in the middle of my bed for hours as I told them everything that I could about myself. It actually felt good to let everything out. It was hard having to retell the story of how my parents had died, but it was necessary and it felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

"Wow. I had no idea you had it that bad," Carlos said. "You're such a strong girl, Sierra. Always smiling all the time. I would've never known."

"I just didn't want you guys looking at me differently because of all the shit I had to go through," I replied.

Angela didn't say much during our little 'bonding' session. She just sat there and cried the entire time. Did I mention that she was extremely sensitive? I thought it was sweet, though. She has a big heart.

Carlos told us about how his dad was a recovering alcoholic and how his mom had basically raised him and his two brothers on her own. I never would've guessed that about him because he's always so cheery and upbeat. So positive. A façade to keep people away from seeing who you really are inside.

I could relate.

"I hated living with my parents," Angela eventually spoke up. "I couldn't wait to move out and separate myself from them. All they did was drink and fight or argue about who the better parent was. Sometimes they'd even pull me in it and ask me to choose sides!" She paused, and I handed her another tissue. "I especially hated when they would have their stupid dinner parties and invite over a bunch of other rich pricks just to talk about how much money they had... it was all so pathetic. If I ever learned anything from them it was that money definitely can't buy you happiness. Trust me, I've tried."

I didn't know what the hell to say to that. For all I assumed, she lived a good life. At least from my perspective, anyone who had money lived a good life. I guess that's why you should never judge a book by its cover. People may smile on the outside like Carlos, Angela, and I, but on the inside, there's nothing but misery and pain.

In the end, we all were somewhat the same.

...