[West Side 04] • Lost on the Way

***They were friends—just friends. Now they’re something else entirely…

Jason *

I remember everything about the day I met her. I might have asked for her number, but I had bigger things to think about that day than trying to score a date.

I remember everything about the second time we crossed paths. By then, she had a boyfriend. Of course, she did. A girl like Maggie Gray Thompson wouldn’t stay single long.

It’s hard to believe freshman year passed ten years ago. Now Maggie’s my best friend, my family. A friendship like ours, it’s irreplaceable. When we buried Adam, I stood by her. When my cancer returned, she stood by me.

Then, in one night, I throw that friendship away.

I want her with everything I am, everything I have, but she can’t be mine. She deserves someone with better odds than the doctors gave me.

Now, if I can’t figure out how to go back to the way things were, I’ll lose the most important relationship I have. The only one that truly matters.

Maggie

Last night was the best—and worst—night of my life.

He made it clear he only wants a friendship. Then last night happened.

And now he knows how I feel.

Some part of me knows he’ll always see me as his best friend’s girl. He can’t look at me without seeing Adam.

Jason is my best friend. I love him with everything I have—mind, body, and soul.

The problem? His love for me isn’t that kind of love. And that’s okay. I can live with that.

I can’t lose him. If he wants to stay in the friend zone, I’ll need to somehow accept that and move on. Find someone else to love. I know it’s true.

But convincing my heart…well, that’s another story entirely.