AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That would cause all kinds of storybook drama.
And I’m not living in a fanfiction.
He’s being mature and letting our brief acquaintanceship die a merciful death.
Unfortunately, my brain doesn’t want to accept the mercy. My brain requires the pain of clarity. It longs for the stab and twist of a blade. The direct, unmistakable demise of a relationship—as served through a brutal conversation listing where I went wrong.
For that reason, I find myself drafting a thousand messages in my head with a can we talk vibe and not a we need to talk vibe while I drive home from work. Somewhere in the midst of debating either begging for information about what I did wrong or sending why do you hate me? memes, my phone buzzes in the center console.
I nearly run off the road.
Swerving into the Mountain Vale Public Library parking lot, I tell my heart to settle down and not get my hopes up that it’s him.
Alana mostly calls.
My parents never reach out first.
I turned off Wattpad notifications ever since my fanfiction started picking up speed and they became overwhelming.
It has to be a text.
A text from…
Unknown: Tomorrow is movie night.
The tension in my chest eases as disappointment engulfs me. I can’t believe I still haven’t added Willow to my contacts. I should do that. I really should.
Unknown: You’re still invited to movie night.
My heart sinks.
Willow must either not know that Doliver ghosted me, or she must still be trying to pressure him toward that romantic intervention, which inexplicably includes me.
Everyone wants something from someone.
I wish people didn’t live like this, day to day trying to get something from someone else. I’m no better, of course. It’s just comforting to imagine a world where everyone is a little less selfish, I suppose.
Chewing my cheek, I stare at Willow’s messages and try to figure out a response.
I shouldn’t show up and make things uncomfortable for Doliver just so I can beg for closure.
I don’t want Willow to assume I’m not interested in being her friend if she isn’t only interested in setting me up with him. As far as I know from the way people talk about her around town, she doesn’t have many friends either.
Do I politely decline the invitation to movie night, but propose a coffee date sometime? Then if she’s interested in actually being friends, she can offer her availability so we can make plans. If she’s not actually trying to be friends, she can accept without ever providing the details to move forward.
It’s an age-old tactic.
It’s annoying how politely people can be impolite.
Maybe I’m just in a mood today.
I didn’t expect Doliver to ghost me.
I hate not knowing what, exactly, I did wrong. If I did anything wrong. If I’m overreacting. If I’m being needy or jumping to conclusions. I worry over nothing all the time. Alana says it’s not good for me, but I have no idea how to stop.
I’m halfway through texting back when the sound of my car door handle being pulled jerks my attention toward the window. Frowning, Willow stands outside, holding her black cat over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
She smiles when our eyes meet, so I unlock my door.
