She was as crisp as the air in May and he was as stifling as an early August afternoon. The names Whitley Mae Gilbert and August Alsina seemed to be ordained to them by God. Complete polar oppositions defined by their nature, way on the farthest en...
TRIGGER WARNING: Physical Abuse (I'll warn you again when that part of the story begins)
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Whitley stared out of the window of the quaint coffee shop in deep thought. It was a bright and sunny day, yet the vibe felt particularly gloomy as if a storm was beginning to brew. Whitley herself felt quite somber, as well. She chewed on her bottom lip as she worried about Corinne. Corinne ghosted everyone yet again, but this time seemingly without reason. However, Corinne wasn't the only person Whitley felt concern for. She also hadn't seen August in a week, and hadn't spoken to him outside of class in a month. She wondered what was up, so she checked his social media periodically but he hadn't been active in months. Ultimately, she came to the conclusion that she had somehow scared him away.
"I will never understand why it takes them so long to make coffee. We should've just went to Starbucks," Jayda said placing her things down and taking a seat across from Whitley.
"You ok, Whit?" Jayda asked taking a bite out of her cream cheese bagel, interrupting Whitley from her thoughts.
"Oh, yeah I'm fine. Just a little tired," Whitley lied.
"You didn't get much sleep last night either, huh? I don't know what did it more: the smoke alarm or me worrying about Corinne. You know how she's doing?"
Whitley shook her head.
"I haven't heard from her in a few weeks," Whitley replied, flipping her curls over her shoulder.
"Oh wow," Jayda said in shock, "it's not like her to go ghost, but it's really unlike her to not even reach out to you."
Jayda was right. Despite Corinne knowing Shalice for the longest, and Whitley knowing Jayda for the longest, Corinne and Whitley were instantly like soulmates when they met. Their personalities complemented each other so well, and they always had the eerie ability to finish each other's sentences or say the same unexpected thing at the same time. People would even ask if they were sisters despite them bearing no resemblance to each other at all, so it was unusual for them to have gone this long without speaking without it stemming from an argument. Whitley simply nodded and refrained from adding a comment to keep from being overwhelmed with anxiety and concern over her friend. She hoped it would prompt Jayda to change the topic.
"So, how's August doing?" Jayda grinned, wiggling her eyebrows at Whitley.
Although Whitley had never admitted to liking August, Jayda knew she did even before Whitley knew it herself. Being that Jayda and Whitley shared an apartment, Jayda figured those nights she wasn't home were spent with August. Given her observations, she assumed Whitley and August were getting much closer; "Closer" as in romantic. Even if that wasn't the case, Jayda was hopeful that it would be. She loved the idea of August and Whitley potentially being a couple. In fact, Jayda thought August was the perfect man for her friend. So much so, that if August and Whitley's friendship never advanced, she herself might be the one to be heartbroken.
