Lovesick

Chapter IV

When I told Emma that Lucas wanted the three of us to hang out together, I was internally begging on my knees for her to say no. She didn't, of course. She even seemed enthusiastic about the idea, for some reason. I was clearly the only one who had any reservations. Emma suggested we go to a local café that she liked just to have a drink and chat, and Lucas was more than okay with it. Apparently, the two of them had one thing in common: a sweet tooth. I was pretty sure the similarities would end there, though.

It wasn't my thing, but I didn't mind doing whatever they wanted. I was used to that and the most important thing to me was that they both made it through the afternoon without any trouble. I didn't even know what kind of 'trouble' I was anticipating, I just knew that Lucas was looking forward to it a little too much, and that was never a good sign.

From the moment we arrived at the café and sat at the table where Emma had been waiting for us, I could tell something was off. Lucas's entire behaviour shifted in an instant. I don't know if it's because they had never interacted for more than five minutes, but he was so much more insufferable with her than I expected. Even before that, it looked like he was doing everything in his power to delay our arrival and make us as late as possible, though I figured that could have just been proof of how little he cared rather than something he was doing on purpose.

I realise him being himself and him being an even bigger jerk than usual comes down to a subtle difference. I told myself, well, maybe I'm just on edge, maybe he's not acting that weird. But the longer the conversation went on, the more obvious it became that Lucas wanted to make a bad impression. He was taking every opportunity to make Emma uncomfortable. He asked her if she was a virgin, and didn't forget to mention that it was fine if she was, because I was, too. He asked her why she was dating me, even though I wasn't rich, since it's a well-known fact that girls are all after money. When she ordered cake, he made a face and told her it would make her fat and unattractive. I could go on. Everything that came out of his mouth had to be rude, crass, and frankly embarrassing. He was playing a caricature of himself.

Emma put up with it for about an hour, but when he started commenting on her outfit and how a shorter skirt would have been more flattering, her last drop of patience finally ran dry. She left some money on the table and got up from her seat, gathering her stuff in a hurry while ignoring Lucas completely. "Caleb, I think I'll head back home." After saying that, she stopped in her tracks to look at me.

"Okay," I just replied in acknowledgement. It took me a moment to realise it, but when she frowned in disbelief at my answer, I understood that she had expected me to go with her. Knowing that didn't change anything, though. I didn't move a muscle. After an awkward silence, she bit her lip and gave a quick nod before heading towards the exit without another word. She looked hurt. I felt bad that I didn't care even a little bit.

I watched her until the doors of the café closed behind her and she was out of my sight. I let out a sigh and turned towards Lucas. He leaned back in his chair with a self-satisfied smile, obviously pleased with my choice. "She hates me," he said. He almost sounded proud of that.

"No kidding!" I scoffed. "Did you see the way you were acting with her? What the hell got into you?"

"No clue what you're talking about," he shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

There was no point in insisting. If he wanted to pretend he had done nothing wrong, I wasn't going to get an explanation out of him. He seemed so unbothered by everything, by Emma's reaction, by the fact that I had hurt her feelings for him, by my disapproving glare. For the first time in my life, I think I was actually... upset with him. Just a little, but still, that was new.

"Do you expect me to take your side here?" I asked, incredulous.

His lips quirked in amusement. "Well, you didn't go after her. You stayed with me."