Those Three Chapter 1

“Did you really get fired again?” Brice asked his son, Ronnie.

“Yeah, I did. Can we not talk about it?” Ronnie didn’t want to be bothered about him being fired.

“How the hell did you get fired this time?!” Brice asked furiously.

“I flipped off a costumer. Okay?” Ronnie turned the TV on and rest his legs on the coffee table.

“You’re unbelievable! This is the third job that you just got fired from!”

“Does it matter? Do I really need to work?” Ronnie asks. Brice sighs.

“Look, I know that it’s just you, Bryan, and Amy in the house with us since Robert moved out but you can still try to think about doing something for a living.”

“I already do.” Ronnie said and stares at the TV.

“Okay, what do you do for a living?” Brice asks.

“Hey, I don’t bug you for money and allowance like Bryan. I get money my own way. Now stop bothering me.”

“Ronnie…” Brice sighed again and left the living room. “I really don’t know what I am doing with him.” Brice left the house and was leaving to work.

It was been exactly two years. Two years have gone by. In those two years, Ronnie still felt the same towards love. He hated it. He didn’t want to fall in love no more. He felt it was best since Lacy had broken his heart. For the first few months when Robert and Lacy began to date Ronnie kept his sadness to himself but tried to hang out together with them. But over time things just drifted apart.

Ronnie is now 17-years-old. Robert is 18, and Lacy is 17. Robert had gotten a job and quit school. He also managed to get an apartment and live almost alone now. Lacy comes and stays with him a lot though. When Robert just turned 18, he decided to move out.

It is now in the month of October. School started not too long ago, as it began in August. Ronnie was still attending school but was getting into trouble a lot.

Bryan came down the steps and went into the living room. “Look at you, sitting on the couch like a bum after you got fired. Robert is coming here for dinner later, are you going to be leaving again? You act like you don’t want to be near him. You leave every time he decides to come over for dinner. I thought I should warn you.”

Bryan is now 13-years-old. He gotten a lot taller and is no longer short anymore. He also seemed to have gotten more mature over the course of a few years.

“You’re finally telling me now when that asshole is coming over?” Ronnie asks.

“You know, it’s odd. You two used to always be so close. And honestly, I want to know why you two kind of drifted apart. Is it because of Lacy?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Ronnie gets up and was walking toward the door to leave the living room.

“You know, just because Lacy likes Robert and is dating him doesn’t mean you won’t ever find someone.” Bryan said staring at his older brother. Ronnie just left the living room without saying a word to Bryan.

“He doesn’t know anything. Just because he’s dating Madison doesn’t mean he understands the pain and hell I went through.” Ronnie thought to himself and went straight to his bedroom. Ronnie just fell down on the bed. “I bet when Lacy becomes 18 she’s going to move in with Robert.”

Robert was getting ready to leave for work. He was at his apartment. The apartment that he was renting out was rather small. The living room and kitchen were together. The bedroom was separate but to get to the bathroom you must go through the bedroom. The apartment was alright. Robert didn’t mind the small space because he didn’t need a big place. He didn’t own a bunch of things as he was still slowly trying to buy things.

“Leaving already?” Lacy asked. She had woken up. The two of them had a nap after they had a wild morning together. Lacy was still naked. She had the blanket around her.

“Yeah, I got to go to work.” Robert responds. “You can stay here if you like, but in the evening I am having dinner at my dad’s house.”

“Oh, I forgot about that. It’s fine.”

“You don’t want to go?” Robert asks. Lacy looks down.

“I am not sure… Every time you go over there and invite me it seems like Ronnie is nowhere to be seen. You think he’s really angry with us? I mean…” Lacy seemed to be concerned about Ronnie. “I know he we all made up and was friends with him for a while. We hung out together but at times I wonder if it hurt him… Because he slowly started to stop hanging out with us and then this year I started not talking to him. Have you?”

“Lacy, I wouldn’t worry about things like that. Ronnie is fine.” Robert said. He was done getting ready for work. He walks over to Lacy. She stared at him. “Besides, if you start worrying so much about him, I will start to think that you love him more than me.”

“Robert, you know I don’t.” Lacy said. Robert bend down and kisses her. She kissed back. He quickly took his lips away from hers and went to the door.

“I will see you later.”

“Later.”

Robert had left. Something about Ronnie’s behavior made Lacy feel uneasy.

The evening seem to come by quickly. At dinner, Robert noticed that Ronnie wasn’t there. Ronnie had gone out.

“I got to wait for Robert to leave.” Ronnie thought to himself. He wasn’t too far from his home. He was sitting outside on a bench. All he was doing was smoking a cigarette and doing his best to avoid Robert. “I thought that I missed hanging with them but I ended up avoiding them again. I feel so stupid.” Ronnie wasn’t sure why but when he tried to hang together with Robert and Lacy it just wasn’t the same. He felt hurt.

Robert was eating some of his spaghetti. He wasn’t talking much as mind was in deep thought. “Lacy is right, Ronnie does seem to be nowhere in sight when I come over or Lacy, I should ask Bryan about it… But he probably doesn’t know… I am not sure. I do hope that Ronnie isn’t doing anything too crazy or bad. I know Lacy told me that Alana said that her brothers aren’t doing any drugs or anything that even if Ronnie was hanging together with them that Ronnie should be fine. But I still worry.” Robert thought to himself.

It began to rain. Ronnie was getting soaked as he sat there. He had smashed his cigarette out on the ground. A young woman happened to walk by. She was holding an umbrella.

“Are you really trying to avoid him that you’ll sit out in the rain?” The young woman asked. Ronnie didn’t look at her. She walks right in front of him. “Ronnie… You shouldn’t stay hanged up on Lacy.”

“What?” Ronnie looked at her. The young woman had long dark black hair with blue eyes. She wore some of her hair in pigtails but a lot of her hair was down. She was wearing dark clothes. A dark purple jacket with black lace. Her skirt was black and somewhat puffy with lace. Underneath she wore dark purple stockings with black boots. “Who are you?”

“Ronnie, you really forgot me?” She asks. Ronnie wasn’t sure what to say as he stared at her. “I dated your older brother once. Have you forgotten?”

“Stephanie? I didn’t talk to you much in the past. I thought you moved?” Ronnie asks her.

“I did. My mother and I moved out of town. I thought that maybe I was wrong about what I saw and that moving out of town was my fate. But… That’s not true. Now why don’t you come to my place and get out of the rain?”

“I don’t have to listen to you!” Ronnie turned his head. Stephanie giggles a little.

“Are you trying to be stubborn? Come on, Ronnie. Come with me.” Stephanie said. Ronnie stared back at her. “You really want to be out here? You’re close by your house and Robert has to come this way if he’s leaving to go back home to his apartment you know.”

“Fine…” Ronnie stood up. Stephanie shares her umbrella with Ronnie as they walk together. “Where is your place anyways?”

“Close.” Stephanie replies.

Lacy had taken a shower and got dressed. She was still over Robert’s apartment. “I can’t believe the rain has been coming down kind of hard.” Lacy said as she looked out the window. She closes the curtains. “Robert probably forgot to check his mail. He usually does that.” Lacy thought and picked up a spare key. She walks to the door and opened it. While she was opening it. She was in for a surprise.

“R-Ronnie?” She thought to herself as she stared. She saw Ronnie going into an apartment across from Robert’s. He was with someone. A girl. A young woman. “W-Who is he with?” Lacy wondered. They didn’t seem to notice her and went inside the apartment. Closing the door and locking it. “Who was Ronnie with? Wait… It’s not any of my business…” Lacy knew she shouldn’t be too concerned what Ronnie was doing. She quickly went to check Robert’s mail and came back to Robert’s apartment.

“You’re going to need a change of clothes.” Stephanie tells Ronnie. He just stared at her. She sat her umbrella down in the umbrella rack she had by the door. “Hold on.” She left the living room to go to her bedroom.

“Change of clothes? How can she have a change of clothes for me?” Ronnie asks himself. Stephanie came back into the living room. She hands Ronnie some clothes. To his surprise they were clothes he would actually like along with his size.

“H-How?” He asks confused.

“I know things, remember? I knew that you would be coming over soon.” Stephanie smiles at him. “You can get changed in the bathroom.” Stephanie helped Ronnie find the bathroom, which he had to go through her bedroom to find it. He goes into the bathroom and shuts the door.

“I don’t understand what she meant. Robert said she didn’t make sense to him. Well, he said so in the past.” Ronnie thought to himself as he was getting changed. He finished getting changed and came out of the bathroom. Stephanie was right there.

“You can stay here if you like, until you know, Robert is gone.” Stephanie suggested.

“I guess I can stay…” Ronnie mumbles. Stephanie and him went into the living room and she allowed him to sit on her sofa.

“You and Robert used to be so close, you both just kind of drifted apart from each other haven’t you?” Stephanie asked. “I figured as much. Robert doesn’t hate you, you know.”

“I don’t care.” Ronnie looks down.

“Ronnie, have you been having it rough? For the past two years… It’s been hard on you. The first year was hard but you put up a brave smile in front of Robert and Lacy. But the crying continued while you were alone. You couldn’t handle it. And slowly you stopped hanging with them. Slowly by each day. It would be excuses you would make just to be alone. Be alone to cry. Wasn’t it?” Stephanie asked.

“S-Shut up! I am leaving!” Ronnie stood up and was about to leave. Stephanie stood up.

“Wait! Don’t go! I didn’t mean to sound like I was making fun of you or anything! I know it probably isn’t my business But I-“

“You’re right. It isn’t any of your business.” Ronnie went to the front door. Opening it and slamming it. Stephanie looks down. Lacy heard the slamming door. She went to peak out the front door and saw Ronnie in the hall.

“R-Ronnie?” She said. Ronnie was about to leave. Lacy quickly went out the door and grabs his arm. “Ronnie wait!”

“Get off me!” Ronnie snapped at her. He wanted to quickly leave.

“Ronnie! Please! Can we just talk?! I don’t understand it! You told me that you were going to be fine! You told me to date Robert! And things were okay for some months but after a while you kept wanting to not hang out with us. And to eventually you began to avoid us! Right after Robert moved out into his own apartment! We haven’t spoke to you really since then!”

“Shut up! Just leave me alone!” Ronnie says to her. Lacy wasn’t sure what was going on with Ronnie. She wanted to talk things out with him but Ronnie didn’t seem like he wanted to. “I don’t have nothing to say to you! There’s nothing!”

“Ronnie please…” Lacy started to feel upset. “You’re my best friend… I care about you!”

“Just let me go.” Ronnie was looking down.