Under My Body

chapter thirteen

          The restaurant's ambience was cosy, with low-hanging lights and the soft hum of chatter and clinking glasses filling the air. I sat across from Xavier, my best friend since we were teenagers, but it felt like we hadn't done this in forever. With work, life, and everything else in between, our hangouts had become less frequent—even though we were both staying at Penny's house, his mom's place, while I was on vacation. Somehow, we were like passing ships in the night.

Now, we were catching up over drinks and a plate of shared fries. I glanced up at him, his face relaxed as he sipped his beer. His short-cropped hair made him look more mature, though I could still see the teenage boy I grew up with in the curve of his lips when he smiled. The years had been kind to him.

"Feels like we haven't done this in ages," Xavier said, breaking the silence. He looked at me, his brown eyes soft but curious.

I nodded, feeling a pang of guilt. We lived together, yet somehow life had created a distance between us. Between Ratha and Oliver's wedding, my thoughts spiralling around Asher and work, I hadn't made time for him.

"Yeah, I guess life just caught up to us," I said, trying to keep it light. I reached for my wine glass but hesitated before taking a sip.

Handling drunk Malarvili is not for the weak.

"Living together but barely catching each other. It's like I only see you when you're leaving. A ghost," Xavier added, shaking his head as he picked at his fries.

I laughed softly, tossing a fry in my mouth. "Yeah, life's been a little hectic. Especially with Ratha's wedding. I barely have time to breathe sometimes."

He nodded, his eyes softening as he looked at me. "You are doing the best you can, though. You're one hell of a wedding planner. But... I don't know, you seem kinda off tonight."

I stiffened, forcing a smile. "Off? No, I'm good."

"Malarvili," he leaned in, his voice gentler now. "You're a terrible liar. And I've known you too long for you to pretend you're fine when you're clearly not."

I bit my lip, guilt prickling through me. He wasn't wrong. We used to share everything—our thoughts, our worries, our weird late-night cravings for cheesy fries—but things were different now. Especially with Asher in the picture. I couldn't bring myself to tell Xavier everything, mainly because Asher was his friend.

"I'm not hiding anything," I said, but my voice wavered, betraying me.

Xavier raised an eyebrow, his fork hovering in the air. "Oh, really? Come on, V. I'm not surprised, you know. Asher isn't exactly great at hiding his expressions either."

"What? Asher? Why would you say that?" I looked at him, caught off guard.

"Because you two are terrible at hiding how you feel. I mean, the staring is not subtle at all. Asher looks at you like he's trying to memorize your face, and you... you look like you're in some cheesy slow-motion music video."