We Were Us Read Free Page B

sponge and a bottle of bleach. Did bleach expire? I hoped not. I plugged the sink, filled it with water and bleach, and wiped down the bathroom the best I could. I figured I’d go over it again when I had better cleaning supplies.
    I thought about my grocery store encounter with Josh while I cleaned. Fifteen months had done nothing to make me forget him. We had been friends since about second grade. There wasn’t some monumental or clichéd reason we became friends, we just sort of gravitated toward each other. He was sympathetic about my mother and was my safe haven when I needed to get away from my house.
    Josh was the one who had actually taken me to the river for the first time. We were probably eleven or twelve, and he took me down there one day when my mom was on a drugged out tirade. We’d spent the day wading in the water trying to catch fish, skipping rocks and exploring up and down the banks. I’m pretty sure this was when I’d realized I was in love with him. I didn’t even know what love was at the time, but I knew there was something between us.
    When middle school happened, and girls and boys for some reason couldn’t be friends anymore, neither of us cared. Michelle and I found each other, but still Josh and I remained close. Then one day I wasn’t allowed at his house any more. I didn’t know it at the time, but Josh’s dad had slept with my mom. Even with our time together limited to school and when we could sneak out to the river, we still stayed close. He would call me in the middle of the night when he knew his mom would be asleep, and we’d still sneak off to the river any chance we could get.
    I sighed at all the memories flooding my system, and sat down on the toilet seat, tossing the old sponge into the bathtub. The sun was setting so I guessed I’d been cleaning for close to six hours. I was done for the day, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
    I left the bathroom and thought about lounging on the couch to read, but one glance at the dirty couch and I knew there was no way in hell I was sitting on it and there was no way it was staying in this house. I sighed again and propped the front door open. I pushed the full sized couch onto the porch and tipped it over down the stairs, then dragged it out to the curb. I hoped that trash day was soon. The living room was bare now. Only the television and stand remained.
    I vacuumed and then decided to quit for the day. I’d need to go to the store again tomorrow for more supplies and food. I didn’t scrub the fridge out yet, I wasn’t even sure I wanted to. I’d save that for another day. Or never. I could probably live off of peanut butter and jellies all summer. I remade the bed after pulling everything out of the dryer, grabbed a book, and tried to read. I was so emotionally and physically exhausted, I’d fallen asleep before I had finished the first page.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    I woke up the next morning drenched in sweat with the pages of my book stuck to my skin. I peeled the covers back and rolled out of bed. I’d left the windows open all night and the air conditioning did nothing to counter the heat from outside. I didn’t even think the temperature had dropped below eighty overnight. I quickly shut all the windows and cranked the thermostat. By the time I got out of the shower, the house had cooled down, but the cigarette smell still lingered. I would just have to deal with that.
    I slipped on a pair of denim capri pants and a purple tank top and head out the door to Miller’s Market again. This time I had a list so it shouldn’t take me long. In and out, no talking to anyone unnecessarily, and no bumping into people.
    Lauren was behind the counter again, but I hurried past her without saying a word and snagged a cart on my way to the soap aisle. Once I’d stocked myself up on everything from sponges and mops, to every kind of spray cleaner ever made, I rounded the corner to the next aisle to find more food and rammed my cart