A Cruel Lovestory

Chapter 8

To say Kỳ visiting Kezia didn't bother Dante would have been a lie. It did not sit well with him at all that they were spending an entire night together, but he was comforted by the fact that nothing would happen. Kezia was straight, and as far as he knew, Kỳ didn't like him that much. Nothing would come from them being within the same vicinity for a long period of time.

Dante had left Kỳ's house shortly after he had gone to be picked up by Kezia further down the street.

If IDante were Kezia, he would have driven straight to Kỳ's front door and picked him up, not make him walk a considerable distance simply because it would inconvenience him. he would have prioritised Kỳ.

"What should we order?" Mariah sat next to Dante. "I'm thinking burgers?"

"Burgers are cool." He smiled at her.

Mariah and Dante had been friends since they could last remember. Mariah's mother and Dante's worked in the same business back in their teenage days. When they had their children, which coincidentally happened to be on the same day, the two were destined to become best friends.

"How do you know when you like someone?" Dante pulled on the skin of his fingers.

"You typically feel it in your heart when you like someone." Mariah took her friend's hand. "Who do you like?"

Dante closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't know how to put what he was feeling into words. It was like feeling everything.

"This guy I'm staying with," he turned to her. "I've known him for maybe eight months, and I think I've fallen for him."

"That's cute. How does he make you feel?" She shifted closer and put his head on her shoulder.

"I want him so badly, but I know I can never have him. I want to wake up to his face every day." Dante sighed. "He's so..." He felt my eyes sting.

Mariah's hand gently caressed his face, "You really like him, that's sweet." Dante sniffled again and gave a nod. "Let's talk about this with food." A gentle kiss was placed on his forehead.

Dante took a deep breath, wiping his eyes with his shirt sleeve. "Sorry about this. I don't know what's happening to me." He turned to Mariah and she was smiling.

"It's not something you need to apologise for." She kissed his hand. "I'm here for you, so relax."

Dante took out his phone and scrolled through several restaurant websites. Finding a burger place, he placed their order and put his cellphone back in his pocket. "Thanks for all this."

Dante did not know where he would have been if Mariah had not been part of his life from the start. She was his first friend, and in his heart, one of his only friends. She was the first girl he ever had a crush on, and the last one. She was the first person he had a sleepover with and the first person he kissed.

Mariah left Dante in her room to pick up the take-out. As she came back up the stairs, he noticed a message on her computer screen. It was only a quick flash, but it caught his attention.

+1 message: image attached

Dante glanced at the door, then back at the screen, before slowly creeping towards the computer. He was not snooping through Mariah's things, he was just having a look, like any friend could. Mariah would be okay with it if she saw him. He was just curious.

"Hey-" Dante felt her presence behind me. "What are you doing?"

"I saw a message on your computer, I just wanted to know what it was." He continued clicking random tabs on her computer to access the message.