Chapter 25 - …Maybe… At first, I thought the noise I was hearing was my head pounding. You'd think I would've learned my lesson about drinking at the bar that night. Then it came again. Someone was knocking on the door. "Hang on, I'm coming." I said groggily. I got up, threw on some clothes, and went to the back door, carefully avoiding all of the people that were passed out on the floor. Apparently, the big Christmas party that Nathan and I had thrown had been a success. Personally, I didn't remember very much of it. The knocking persisted. I opened the door. Karen was standing on my front porch. She was crying, and looked like she had been for a while. We were silent for a few minutes. "What are you doing here?" I asked cooly. "P-Please Lily, I really need someone to t-talk to right, and I don't have anywhere else I c-can go. Please." She said through her tears. I sighed. "Alright." I had known Karen for a while, and I had never seen her cry, so I had a feeling that this was something pretty big. I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind me. I led Karen over to a chair and sat down across from her. "So…What's up?" "I-I'm sorry Lily, I know you hate me and you probably don't want me here, but I didn't have anyone else to turn to…" I sighed again. "I don't hate you Karen, I just… Why'd you do it?" "I dunno Lily… I guess Jesse's just one of those people that everyone's drawn to, and I fell for him, just like you did." "Yeah, But why'd you go for him? You must've known that you couldn't hide it forever, and that I would find out." Yeah, I knew… I just didn't care." "That's great Karen, thanks." "No, I mean… All I could think about Jesse, and how much he mattered to me, and how much I needed him, and how… How much I loved him." Tears began falling down her face once more, but she wiped them away and continued. "I didn't care about anything, I mean, I've lost all my friends, my grades have been falling, my parents kicked me out…And Jesse doesn't even give a fuck. His solution was to go find another girl to mess around with." "Shit…" I said quietly. "Yeah, and you'll never guess who the other girl is." She said bitterly. "Who?" "Mona." "Mona… Wait, the ugly bitch that I used to be friends with?" "Yep. Her and Jesse have been together for about two months… Of course, he never told me that. I found out last night when I walked in on them." "Ouch. I'm really sorry Karen." "It's ok… After what I did to you, I deserved it. Besides, he's an asshole." But I could see how hurt she really was by it all. I decided that I'd better change the subject. "So…If your parents kicked you out, then where are you staying?" She laughed slightly. "With Craig, if you can believe that." "Craig? The obsessive nerd?" "Shut up! He's really nice. And, he has his own place." "Well… He is better then Jesse, I'll give you that much." "Yeah, he is." It was silent for a little while as we watched the sun slowly rising. "Lily… I'm really sorry. I know seeing me with Jesse must've hurt you." I hugged her. "It's ok, Karen. It all worked out in the end." "So…You and that Nathan guy, huh?" "Oh yeah." I said with a smile. "Well… I'm glad you found him, he seems like a great guy." "He is, I love him." "That's great Lil, I'm really happy for you. So I'm guessing you guys…?" I smiled mysteriously. "Maybe." "Lily!" We laughed. "I missed ya, Kare." "I missed you too, Lil. Merry Christmas." I smiled. "You mean, Merry-the-day-after-Christmas." She laughed. "That too."