The following week was pretty relaxed. I didn't have any uni stuff to do because I had already submitted all my essays, so I decided to work a little overtime. I also spent a lot of time with my friends. One of my girlfriends from the same group told me Elias started hanging out with the boys more often. I wasn't too happy about that. He could have found his own friends instead of hanging with mine now, but whatever.
What bothered me the most was that he seemed to get along well with Max. I didn't like that at all. I even thought about texting Elias to talk to him and apologize for hurting him because I was a little sad to keep losing people I cared for.
I had always liked him a lot, but I figured it would be better to stay away to avoid making things worse for him. After all, he didn't want to distance himself from me if he was hanging out with MY friends. But whatever, I just tried not to think about it too much.
On the weekend, I went out with my girls to watch a movie and have cocktails. We didn't want to get drunk because we planned to go hiking the next day. We loved doing challenging hikes and treating ourselves to cake afterward. We called it Cake Sunday.
I slept in on Sunday until 9 a.m. and checked my phone. I found three missed calls from Billie and a voicemail, which I immediately listened to.
She sounded tipsy.
"I-I'm just calling, my love. I know you're probably asleep, but I don't know what time it is where you are. But it's dark here. I was trying to sleep after coming home from a friend's place. Don't worry, I didn't drive myself. Anyway, I wanted to go to bed, but then I couldn't stop thinking about you and how much I love you. And I miss you, I hope you know that. Shark, do you want to say something to Lisa?" *He let out a sigh as if annoyed by Billie*
That stupid voicemail made my heart flutter, and I listened to it two more times. I then texted Billie: "Cute voicemail, Bobby. I miss you too! Call me when you're awake to tell me about your day/night. Hope you don't have a headache. Love you."
---
Later that day, as my uni friends, who were currently on an exchange program in my city, and I were driving back home from the hike, Billie, whom I still had saved," as "Bobby Portugal" called me. Her name popped up on the display in my car's media system. My friends noticed and immediately asked me who it was.
"Just a friend from the surf camp in Portugal," I explained to them.
I liked the two girls, but we weren't close enough for me to share details about Billie and me.
"And why do you have a picture of Billie Eilish as her caller ID?" Akari, one of the girls, asked.
"Oh, just because she's obsessed with her. I found it funny, you know," I said, realizing that my lie didn't make any sense, but they seemed to buy it, so whatever.
"You can go ahead and answer the call, no problem."
"No, no. I'll call her back later. She's probably just calling to chat; I don't want to be rude. I'm spending time with you guys, and she can wait," I said.
"Oh, don't be like that," Akari said, pressing the accept button.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
"She's a big fan of Billie Eilish; that's why I put it as her caller ID," I said again super loud, hoping Billie would catch on. Of course, my dumbass girlfriend did not.
"What the fuck are you talking about, love?"
"I just explained to my friends in the car that I put Billie Eilish as your caller ID because you're a big fan of hers."
Then she stayed silent for a second.
"Yes, that's true. Love her. Big fan! You know what, Lisa? I'll call you back later. I just wanted to check in with you. Have a nice time with your friends," Billie said, ending the call.
I was relieved that she got it before my friends caught on.
Just when I had a little faith in her intelligence, she texted me, saying, "Fuck, did they notice?" which was not only displayed on the screen but also read aloud. DoubleFuck.
I decided to act like it didn't happen because there was no other lie for me to tell. There was no way they would believe I knew Billie Eilish anyway, so I just pretended like nothing happened. I put my phone on Do Not Disturb and turned up the radio's volume.
Once I got home, I called Billie back. She told me about going to a friend's place yesterday and how they all got a little tipsy together, which is why she drunk-called me.
"Also, baby, bad news. I'll have to stay two days longer than I thought because they scheduled a meeting on Monday, and I have to charter a plane to take Shark with me. There's no other way to do it. I'm not letting the poor guy fly in cargo. He's sensitive, and I don't know if he can handle it."
"Okay, no problem. But just so you know, I can't pick you up from the airport on Wednesday because one of my best friends is celebrating his birthday, and I already told him I'd be there. Also, I hope you'll CO2 compensate for the private jet 'cause it's very much giving Taylor Swift."
"Of course, I will compensate for it. I'd never take one if there were another option, but there isn't. Also, I wanted to ask if you think it'd be possible for you to take care of Shark when sometimes I'm gone for a few days or a week for business stuff, if you don't mind."
"Yes, I can do that. I grew up with a dog I'd love to actually."
---
Later that day, Claudia texted me:
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