*Last Part*
Cassia's eyes go wide when our gaze meets. It's like she's scared to look at me. To be fair, I said words I never thought I would say. And they were all said to her. To Cassia. "I need to apologize to you." I rephrase.
Max holds her waist, leaving us to talk without his input. Her body naturally is turned towards him until she rotates to stare at me directly. "Why?" She asks desperately.
I almost laugh at how naive she is. Did she not hear what I said to her that day? Was she not hurt? Did she not care? "I need to apologize for everything I said."
"But you were right!" She exasperates. "I took away your chance at that highschool romance you always wanted. And I've known how you felt about Max for years!"
Max winces at her. I, for one, can't help but be drawn to her words. They pierce me to the soul...
And make me realize just how wrong she is.
"Cassia." I say soothingly, trying to calm her down. "I had the right to be mad at you, you were my best friend and you were falling in love with my crush. But I'm not going to give up years of friendship because I unfairly expected my crush to like me back -and he clearly doesn't." I say nonchalantly.
"You said it yourself." She says softly. "I was your best friend. Not anymore, right?"
"I was mad." I confess. "I still am, just a little bit. But I regret a lot of what I said, I need you guys. You're my best friends."
She smiles at that. "Thank God." She sighs. "I was gonna be so lonely without you."
"Hey!" Max speaks for the first time in what seems like ages, playfully hitting her arm. "You'll always have me." He says to her.
My heart cracks seeing them flirt openly but at least it doesn't break. I think back to what Jake said to me on that day and how he repeated it today.
You need to do what's best for you.
I can't. I love you enough to let you go but that's the thing: I still love you. It's hard for me to watch you and I don't think I can even deal with friendship. I -I need to think about myself here.
He couldn't deal with the way his heart would crack every time he saw Cassia and Max together yet here I was, forcing myself to get through it. I was just like Jake in a way; I love Max so much that as long as he's happy, a part of me is happy too. But unlike Jake, I can deal with the heartbreak that comes with it. I need Max in my life. Even if it's as a friend, at least he's there. And that's enough for me. He's enough for me.
"Friends?" Cassia asks, resting her head against Max. He kisses the top of her forehead taking away all her emotional stress.
I feel my soul shatter looking at them, but I smile. "Friends."
