BONUS
Please enjoy a tease from another hot title,
by Melody Lewis
Everything was not alright, I realized as I arrived at the café where I was supposed to meet Todd and AJ, panting. Along the way, I had run into a woman who was about to give birth and since there was no one with her, I accompanied her to the nearest hospital. It seemed like a good decision at the time, and the woman even told me she would name her daughter ‘Cassandra’ after me in gratefulness. Unfortunately, as usual, time passed by quickly without me knowing, and now I was late. Sixteen minutes late to be exact, I saw as I glanced at my watch.
Not wanting to waste another second, I entered the café and looked around, but to my surprise, neither Todd nor AJ was there. Worriedly, I took out my phone. No messages.
Now, something was really off.
I tried to call Todd and when he didn’t answer, I sent him a message. While waiting for a reply, I asked a waitress if she had seen them, but she shook her head. Apparently, neither Todd nor AJ had set foot in the café, which meant that they had left – though why they would leave without me, I had no clue – or that they were both running late, which was also strange, since Todd was the most punctual person I knew.
I glanced at my phone again. Still no reply from Todd.
I thought about taking a seat, but decided to use the ladies room first to freshen up, since I was certain my hair was a mess after what I’d been through. On my way there, however, I caught a glimpse of what I was sure was Todd’s car in the parking lot, and so I decided to go over and check if he was still in it.
I shouldn’t have.
A few feet from the car, I stopped, the blood draining from my face. Todd was in it alright, but what surprised me was that he was with AJ.
He was kissing AJ.
Quickly, I turned around and ran.
“Cassie, wait!” I heard Todd call after me, but I paid no attention, running away from the parking lot as fast as I could.
I didn’t know where I was headed or what I was going to do next, but I knew one thing for sure:
Things between Todd, AJ and me would never be the same again.
* * *
For the next few days, I ignored Todd’s countless calls and messages as well as AJ’s lone call. It was not that I didn’t want to speak with them. Rather, it was because I wasn’t sure what to say to them, not sure of how I felt myself.
At first, I simply felt numb, then I went to trying not to think about the whole incident because it made my mind confused and my heart feel heavy. As the days passed, though, I came to realize that I was not getting any less confused doing nothing and that I could not shy away from reality forever, nor did I want to, and so one evening, I sat down on the balcony of my apartment with a cup of hot cocoa and sorted out my feelings.
How exactly did I feel about seeing Todd and AJ kissing?
As I replayed the scene in my mind, I tried to name the emotions that coursed through me. To my surprise, I didn’t feel any disgust at watching my two best friends kiss. Instead, once the shock had faded, all that was left was pain, anger and sadness, but from what? Was it because I realized Todd didn’t really like me, after all, as much as I liked him?
If that was so… then why didn’t I feel jealous? I did feel jealous, I finally decided, but not in a romantic sense.
Rather, I was jealous because the two of them shared something I did not.
Yes, seeing the two of them together made me feel as if they no longer needed me, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that was also the reason why I was hurt, why I felt angry, why I felt lonely.
I had been left out.
The thought brought tears to my eyes, making me feel lonelier than I had ever been in my life. As lonely as I was, however, I could not bring myself to hate them. I still did not want to lose either of them.
I did not have to, I told myself. If I talked to them, then we could still stay friends. It seemed as if they were still both willing to continue being friends with me, after all. True, it would feel uncomfortable at first, painful even, but the pain would be less than losing them both at once, losing nearly nineteen years of friendship. Besides, if I’d chosen to date Todd, I would have wanted AJ to continue being my friend, to support me, and so I felt like I had should support them, too.
With my mind made up, I sent both Todd and AJ a message, asking to meet them so the three of us could talk. After a few seconds, they both replied and we all agreed to meet at my apartment at seven the next evening.
To be continued....