AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Groaning as she blindly reached for her bedside table, she grabbed her phone and brought it back under the covers with her.
Rachel: I’m outside, let me in!
Rachel: I’m not going until I see that you’re alive.
Rachel: I’m serious!
Great.
You had to go and make a friend, didn’t you? Goddamnit.
Chucking the covers back, she pushed herself out of bed and stomped down the stairs.
Fuck my fucking life.
She remembered she was full on gutter rat when the door opened and her petite friend audibly gasped. Guess the whole pizza-stained pajamas and knotty hair vibe wasn’t really working for her.
“Oh, sugar!” Rachel wrapped herself around her and held on tight. “I knew something was up. I could just feel it when you weren’t replying. What happened? Talk to me.”
Not wanting to give her neighbors a show, she walked them both into the house with Rachel still clinging to her, and shut the door.
As soon as her friend pulled back, she let out a sigh. “Zach and I broke up. Well, I think we did. We weren’t technically in a relationship so I’m not really sure what to call it.”
“Sugar.” Rachel breathed. “Why didn’t you call me? What happened?”
Libby walked them through to the kitchen, mumbling the word “coffee” to get her friend to follow. Neither of them said anything as Libby brought down two mugs and poured.
Once they’d taken a seat at the table, Rachel pulled out a box from her bag and placed it in front of Libby.
“Lemon biscuit cupcakes. I had a hunch you might need some.”
The truth was, there wasn’t enough lemon biscuit cupcakes in the world to fill the hole that Zach had left gaping inside of her. But it couldn’t hurt to try, so she thanked her friend anyway.
“So,” Rachel began, “you wanna tell me what happened?”
She was already reliving what happened over and over again in her head, so she decided she might as well share in her misery. Reaching into the pink box, she picked out a cupcake and brought it to her lips. One bite later, she had enough sugar in her system to speak.
Libby told her friend everything. Reciting Zach’s speech word for word and detailing the heartbreaking kiss he’d bestowed upon her before walking out the door. Like when she’d told Cat, saying it out loud was hard. It made it feel more real. Good thing there was more cake.
When she was done, Rachel sighed in such a way that Libby was already bracing for what her friend was about to say. “I love you, you know I do.”
I didn’t know that actually.
“Okay, that shocked look right there, we’re gonna talk about that later. Although, that’s probably part of the problem. You don’t know what it’s like to be loved.”
“My mom loved me,” she countered, feeling extra defensive. “I know that. Despite everything. I know she loved me.”
“I’m not saying she didn’t. But there’s nothing wrong with letting somebody else in. To love and be loved.”
Taking another cupcake, Libby shoved a huge piece of it into her mouth. If she was going to sit there and be enlightened, she’d need more sugar.
“Look,” Rachel continued, “I know the relationship thing scares the shit out of you. But for all intents and purposes, you and Zach were in a relationship. And all he was asking was for you to just acknowledge it. He wasn’t asking you to declare your love for him. Or move in. Or get married. He just wanted to be able to call you his girlfriend.”
“We agreed,” Libby lamely replied.
“Yeah. You did. But things changed. I saw y’all together, holding each other’s hands, kissing in public. I mean, that night at the Tipsy Cow, you were actually sitting on his lap! Come on, sugar, nothing about you two was ever casual. And you know it. I get that the I love you thing freaked you out, but you couldn’t just admit that things between you were more than just sex?”
This was why being alone was better. Less nagging. And sarcasm. “If I say it, it’s real. I could get hurt.”
