Twisted Deal | A not-so cliche fake dating romance

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sebastian

The weeks were leading up to my best friend's wedding. I was getting excited for him because it has been in the works for more than a year now. Miles had proposed to Andrea early in their relationship, but it didn't matter. Not when they shared a kid and had gone through many things that only showed how they loved each other. It's in those moments that you know how strong your feelings are. Their love couldn't be measured in days, weeks, or years. It was just that.

They were in love and felt it was strong enough to settle down with each other.

They worked better together than apart, so I knew it to be true.

As their wedding approaches, the last month before leaving for the season does as well. So far in my break, I have broken diet palms, work out schedule, and haven't managed my time at all. But it was summer. It felt like the olden days of summer. Where I would just hang out with my friends, and that was the only thing that was on schedule.

The person I've spent the most time with this summer is someone I hadn't expected to at all. Instead of it being Miles (who, truthfully, I had gone over to his place almost every free night), it had been Jennifer. Jen was my partner in a lie, and along the way, we had been each other's go-to person to hang out with.

Jen texts me this morning to go to the beach with her. I ask her if she is going with her friends, but she tells me that they are all busy. She texts, and I quote, "They are boring people who choose their work over hanging out." It had made me laugh, but wasn't it the truth? Miles was still picking up shifts at his first ever job, trying to leave steady money with Andrea while he is gone. Andrea, on the other hand, was working in a firm located in the city, based on Jornalism. Her articles haven't made the headlines yet, but we were waiting on it. It would be a matter of time anyway. Caroline was free sometimes, but impromptu house showings always came abruptly. She wasn't reliable (Jen had said with a roll of her eyes).

It was just the two of us. Both of us were unemployed (at the moment) and had all the time on our hands.

When I get out of my room wearing an old t-shirt and shorts, I raid my fridge for food. I pack some fruits before I go to make some sandwiches for us.

Hannah approaches the counter tentatively and asks, "Are you going out today?"

Speaking with Hannah was an uncomfortable reminder of how bad it was between us. We used to be so close, and now I was trying to avoid her. It made my heart break even more to know that we weren't even friendly. I should try, and I know I could. But whenever I'm with her, I'm reminded of how much she had shit on our relationship. Relationship that I had thought went so much better. It wasn't fair of her to throw it in my face, and the only apology I had gotten was the one she had asked Jen to give me.

I was spiteful, I was. Couldn't blame me though. Going around with my heart on my sleeve didn't work out the first time, so why bother?

"Yeah," I answer, my eyes trained on the sandwich at hand. I was adding the slice of bread over it and cutting it diagonally now.

"Will you be gone the whole day?" Hannah asks softly.

"Yeah, Han, I will be," I answer as kindly as I can muster, but I cannot get myself to look at her. Looking at her hurt. Knowing she didn't care about me in the way I cared about her broke my heart.

Hannah lingers at the counter, and I see her fingers drumming against the edge. Flashbacks of many memories implode my mind, laughing, teasing, smiling, and kissing. All of it rushes back to my mind, and I'm left with holding the knife tighter in my hand. It wasn't a good reminder. It made everything twist in the wrong way now.