Never Meant to Be by Yarro Rai Read Free Book Online

shoot at them?”
    “So that's why you brought me here. To scold me." He stared down at the floor, still clutching the balcony railing. "Okay, it's not like that. I'm not like that, alright?” He looked at me, his face red with anger, but suddenly the anger started to flicker like a candle flame. 
    “I'm sorry for what happened that day. I mean, I can’t even think of doing that to you...especially not to you. No matter what, you'll always be my best...my friend. But I'm afraid that I don't even know what friendship is anymore.”
    “It’s okay," I tried to sound forgiving, "I probably overreacted because I was overwhelmed by seeing you like that. And I was angry, angry that you shattered the innocent image I had of you.”
    “So the image is shattered now?”
    I sighed. “It depends.”
    We both looked around the room for a few moments, avoiding eye contact.  I broke the silence.
    “Come have breakfast with me.”
    Johnny seemed to think for a while before he turned around, entered the room, and sat down next to me. His right hand was exposed, and he quickly pulled down his sleeve and hid his hand behind his back like a child trying to hide something. The gesture told me many things.
    “I see you still have that watch I gave you. It’s unbelievable. Does it still work?”
    “Yeah. I had to change the battery a few times, but it's been working well.”
    He sipped the coffee and stared at the eggs and toast. I knew he was hungry by the way he hungrily eyed the plate, but he waited patiently. He quietly stared at me to see if I was watching him. I pretended I wasn't looking, and he slowly grabbed a few pieces of bread and quickly put them in his pocket.
    “So what happened to that dog we adopted?” Johnny tried to act normal and take my attention away from the breakfast plate.
    I hadn't forgotten about that dog. It was a stray we had found together on the streets, and I had begged my parents to let me take him to the veterinarian and keep him.
    “Oh...He died a few years later, sadly. We tried to save him but...Hey, do you want to see some pictures?” I hoped from the bed and searched in my drawer. In no time, the photos were out and I handed them to Johnny.
    “He looks great...Oh, he really grew big, didn't he?” I watched him look through the photos, and I saw the same innocent gleam return to his eyes. Then he flipped to the next picture and started to laugh. It was a photo of the two of us, and he was wearing a pair of stylish black sunglasses he had thought made him look cool.  The only problem was that one glass was still missing.
    I also glanced at it and starting laughing.
    “Look at me! I was a nut case!” He laughed.
    “Yeah, you definitely were.”
    “Hey, you don't look much better! Look at that crooked tooth trying to escape from your mouth. Remember how all the boys started calling you rat? I still wonder where that tooth is," he looked up at me. "Oh, so it finally succeeded in escaping.”
    I stretched my lips to show him my white teeth. “They're still here and healthy! See?”
    “I bet Mr. Brad chews your food for you, because those teeth are 100% fake, all right," he joked. "Your original teeth must be somewhere in the world celebrating their freedom.”
    Just as our conversation started to warm, a car honked outside.
    “Speak of the devil.” I glanced down from balcony, and sure enough, it was Mr. Brad and a bodyguard signaling to me that it was time to go to the office.
    “I'm sorry, but I have to go, Johnny. Listen, here are some antibiotics and some medicine. Don’t forget to take it, alright?” Johnny looked at me with disbelief. Then he lowered his gaze and paused for a minute.
    “Hey, I know you're real busy and all that, but would you like to meet up again?  You know, to catch up.”
    “Sure!" I couldn't hide my excitement. "I mean, sure, why not? How about this evening? I'll try to finish up at work early. We have a lot to catch up on. I'm glad you asked.”
    We both