Leap of Faith

Day Thrity-One

*~*~* Cate *~*~*

“No, I do not want to go dress shopping,” I tell Georgie in no uncertain terms. We’re stood in my bedroom fighting over Masquerade Ball dresses, and while Georgie is dying to head up to the city to hunt for a gown, I am all shopped out. “I’ve had enough of dress shopping these past few weeks to meet my lifetime quote.”

Georgie screams in frustration and throws herself dramatically onto my bed. “I thought you were my best friend, Cate.”

I know she’s just kidding, but that comment stings a little. I’ve always been and always will be Georgie’s best friend, but I don’t see how me being her best friend equates to me having to go with her shopping. I’ve always thought this, but it wasn’t until recently that I decided to put my foot down when it came to our friendship. For years I had gone along with anything and everything Georgie wanted me to do, just because she’s Georgie, but when was that ever fair on me?

I was done being the pushover that I’ve always been. Before New Year’s Eve- before Theo, before TJ, even- I would have given into Georgie. I would have said ‘yeah, sure, I’ll come dress shopping with you’ while biting down on my tongue. Hell, if she had demanded I disinvite Nathaniel to any family gathering in favor of her, I would have done so.

But that was the old Cate. Or rather, that was with the Cate that was hiding the real Cate. Does that make sense? Either way, I was done being that girl. I was going to be the real me from now on, and the real me cannot stand shopping. Period.

“Look, Georgie, I’m sorry,” I say to soften the blow. “I know you have your heart set on going dress shopping, but I can’t go with you. I have too much to do.”

“Well,” Georgie says in that argumentative tone. “You’ll need a dress too, so you’re going to have to go shopping at some point.”

“I’m not going to the Masquerade Ball,” I announce to a furious looking Georgie.

“What about Theo?” She argues. “You’re just going to let him stand in the middle of the dance floor like an idiot waiting for you, huh? You’re too much of a coward to go and tell him face to face that you’re choosing another boy over him? That’s low.”

“I’ll rephrase,” I say slowly, trying to conceal the anger that’s bubbling inside me. “I can’t go to the Masquerade Ball. My sister’s wedding is on Valentine’s Day and so is the Ball. Sorry if it makes me a crappy human being for choosing my sister over some guy.”

There wasn’t much Georgie could say to that, so she just sat there silently while I went to change in the bathroom.

I hated arguing with Georgie because we had been through too much together to fight, but sometimes I got the feeling that she didn’t understand me as well as I understood her. I had been there for her throughout all the hard times and supported her whenever she needed me, but it felt like when it came to her doing all that for me, she treated it like a chore.

When Adam broke up with me, she didn’t come over and cheer me up immediately. It was a week before she came to visit me and even then she hardly mentioned the break up or Adam. Instead she just told me to ‘get over it’ as if it were that easy, and pretended that everything was ok, even trying to get me to embrace high school. The only thing she ever did right was drag me to that New Year’s Eve party.