Free Pop Singer: A Dark BWAM / AMBW Romance by Asia Olanna Page B

tighter and tighter. I needed her to stay together and be strong. Because it would be hard to go to Korea and not pretend that I had family who cared about me back home.
     
    A sister, a friend.
     
    “I promise I’ll come back in one year,” I said. “It’ll be a whole year. But I promise it’ll just be for little bit. Can’t you see that? Stick with me here. Look at me.”
     
    Latasha turned up her head. Her makeup ran down her face. Not waterproof, I guess.
     
    I got another tissue out of the glove compartment. Then I made sure that she took my money. “I’m sorry I’m acting like this,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going on with me. My hormones? I don’t know, man. I’ve just been really torn over this. It’s the truth.”
     
    “You’ve got to remember that you and I go way back. And just because I’m going far away, doesn’t remove everything that we’ve built up together.”
     
    “No, it doesn’t. But that doesn’t make the pain go away.”
     
    She leaned on me again, crying her eyes out. Rubbing her cheeks. I felt down for the small of her back, holding her around her waist, as previous boyfriends had done for her. I know it sounds kind of strange, maybe even lesbian, but I needed to be there for my friend.
     
    “You won’t be stuck here alone,” I said. “I promise I’ll be here with you… I’ll be here with you in spirit!”
     
    That sounded much lamer than I thought it would. Flat, even. Oh, well. What could I do? I had said my piece. Latasha had to deal with it. It sounded harsh, but I wasn’t going to not go to Korea just because she was crying in the car.
     
    “It’s not the same,” she said. “Who’s going to fight me every single day over my opinions? Who’s going to tell me that I’m wrong?”
     
    It never occurred to me that she valued fighting me. That she valued me checking her opinions, our push-pull relationship.
     
    “We can Skype. This Facebook for reason. They invented that kind of technology because people got lonely when their friends and family move away. We’ll be together in spirit, I promise.”
     
    She held onto me for what seemed ages. But eventually, the tears stopped. She could not be a waterfall forever. She had to come back down to earth.
     
    “I can’t believe what a mess I am,” she said. “I’m just sorry.”
     
    I hoped that her mental state would hold up while I was abroad. I didn’t want to come back to Latasha totally kooky.
     
    “Shadows over an empty valley // The wind in my face, the sun in your eyes // Being with you is a challenge // Because of all of your lies…”
     
    Latasha looked at me like I was crazy. “Okay. That sounds really familiar.” She snapped her fingers. “You like that song? I should’ve known. It’s Korean, isn’t it? It’s Korean! It’s that Jong-soo guy you’ve been telling me about. I saw him once on MTV while flipping through the channels. ” She laughed. “That’s one of the few Korean songs that I will admit to liking.”
     
    “Oh, yeah, girl. ‘While flipping through the channels.’ Pssh, I know you love it. They translated it into, like, fifty different languages. You see the power of Korean pop music now?” I raised an eyebrow. “Come on, I’ve got to get back home and into bed. You too.”
     
    The late afternoon sun hung in the sky, plum-colored clouds drooping overhead. I stuck my arm out as Latasha pulled from the parking lot and into the road.
     
    I turned on some music, those old R&B hits.
     
    With my head bobbing up and down, I pretended me and her were in the music video. Latasha raised her hands too, when she could, near quiet streets, or at the end of a corner. “I’m going to miss you so much,” she said, “but I know this is a new beginning for you. And I have to be happy now! You go, Henrietta.”
     
    I laughed.
     
    My hands stretched higher up into the sky, all the way, until I couldn’t go anymore. The wind ruffled around my natural curls.