After the Heartbreak

Chapter 4: The Triangle of Friendship

The day Claire and Gino became a couple was one of the hardest days of my high school life. I remember sitting in the courtyard after class, flipping through my notes, trying to focus on anything but the gnawing feeling in my chest. I had already heard the whispers, seen the way people were looking at me with sympathy. Everyone knew what had happened before I even did.

Claire rushed up to me, her face flushed with excitement.

“Megan! Oh my god, you won’t believe it!” she exclaimed, her words tumbling out in a breathless rush.

I looked up, pretending not to already know what she was about to say. “What’s going on?”

“He asked me out! Gino asked me out!” Her grin was so wide, her eyes sparkling with pure joy.

I felt my stomach twist, but I forced a smile. “That’s... amazing! I’m really happy for you.”

And I tried to be. I tried so hard to feel genuine happiness for her, because she was my best friend and she deserved to be happy. But the truth was, I wasn’t happy. Not at all. Inside, I felt like my heart was breaking, but I couldn’t let her see that. I couldn’t ruin her moment.

The next few months were a blur of pretending—pretending I was okay, pretending I didn’t care, pretending I was happy for them. Claire was over the moon, always talking about Gino, always sharing stories about their time together. It hurt to hear, but I never let it show.

Then, one day, it all fell apart. Claire showed up at my house, her face pale and her eyes red from crying.

“We broke up,” she said, her voice trembling. “I don’t even know why...”

I sat beside her on the couch, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m so sorry, Claire. What happened?”

“It was just a misunderstanding,” she sniffled. “But he’s so stubborn. He wouldn’t even listen to me. And now it’s over.”

I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to comfort her, to tell her everything would be okay. But another part of me felt an odd sense of relief. It was wrong, I knew, but I couldn’t help it. I still liked Gino, and now that they were over, that small, selfish part of me wondered if there was still a chance.

Claire handed me her phone, showing me their last conversation. I read the messages, feeling a mixture of sympathy and... something else I didn’t want to admit. Gino had been heartbroken, too. He didn’t want things to end, but he was hurt by the misunderstanding, and Claire, being as headstrong as she was, had made the decision to end it.

“If I could go back,” I thought, staring at their messages, “I would choose her every time.”

No matter how much I liked Gino, Claire had been my best friend. She had always been there for me, and I had let something as petty as a crush come between us. In the end, I had chosen Clifford over her, and I regretted it more than anything.