Nothing in Between

33

The mid-November air was starting to chill Clyde's skin as she locked the doors to the coffee shop. It was only affecting her hands, though, as she could never seem to stop herself from wearing jackets and coats. It was just something Clyde got used to.

Her ears were filled with the city's noises, making it hard to tell if the lock had actually clicked into place. Clyde had to check it multiple times because of that, but she eventually pocketed her keys and turned around, staring at her two bored friends.

Their gazes practically bored into her soul, but Clyde couldn't tell if it was the growing guilt coming to finally kill her. They looked at her normally, but there was something beneath their casual actions—almost like the secrets hidden deep in her words.

Clyde could never stop lying to them.

She couldn't stop telling twisted versions of the truth, no matter how much it hurt. The lies that kept leaving her mouth continued to cut and burn, sending tiny shards of guilt directly where the urge to keep it a complete secret originated from; her heart.

"Are you okay? You've been zoning out more frequently."

The sound of Beatrice's voice dragged Clyde out of the deep spiral she was in, bringing her back to reality. Her gaze briefly directed itself onto the ground, desperately avoiding the concerned yet questioning gazes that searched for a truthful explanation.

"Sorry," Clyde said, "I've been thinking about something."

"Oh? Are you finally gonna tell us the truth?" Kate joked, chuckling.

And even though Kate's tone literally told Clyde that it was a complete joke, she flinched. Her face nearly got taken over by a look that could prove her nothing short of being utterly guilty, but she desperately fought back and managed to keep her face blank.

"Truth about what?" Clyde asked.

"About your secret girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend. I don't want one."

"Are you secretly married, then?"

Clyde's jaw literally dropped at Kate's unbelievable question. She almost wanted to slap herself to make sure that she had heard Kate's words correctly, but she decided against it. Instead, Clyde sighed and shook her head, walking away from her friends.

Something in Clyde's system knew that they had shot each other a brief look before even trying to catch up. But there was nothing that made Clyde want to mention it, knowing that it would most definitely just make it more difficult to keep the damned secret.

And so, Clyde continued walking. Her head remained tilted downward, and she didn't try correcting her posture. Clyde really liked it this way. She didn't want to make eye contact with some random stranger because people kept telling her to look straight ahead.

Plus, there was no need for her to look at anything. Sure, Clyde knew that she should probably glance around and search for any potential dangers, but she had walked this route many times before. She was completely used to it, and knew how to be safe.

When Kate and Beatrice had finally caught up to her, Clyde stopped by the crosswalk and turned around, looking at her friends. Clyde desperately tried to ignore the specific look and glimmer in their eyes, but the observant part of her mind was too strong.

"Alright, guys. I'll see y'all tomorrow," Clyde said.

Nothing left the mouths of her friends, but they waved at Clyde as they all went their separate ways. Something about their response made Clyde's stomach drop and her heart sink, but maybe her friends simply wanted to hang out at her apartment.