When We Met

five

|Donovan|

"So, did you guys have a nice, long and romantic night?" Madeline eyes me through the rim of her champagne glass with a spark.

"A nice, long and romantic night? Yeah, sure." I say, laughing without any humour.

"Hey, I have no room for your pathetic sarcasm, okay? Tell me. Is he a good kisser?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know that?"

"You both looked like a fucking couple on the dance floor last night. I pretty much assumed that he whisked you away to one of the bedrooms eventually."

"Well, I'm so sorry to disappoint you. But, your assumptions are totally wrong, sweetheart."

"Ah, you're quoting him! I knew it! I knew you love him!" She does that crazy penguin dance with her arms and I roll my eyes at her.

"Seriously, Mads. Just grow up a little. Just a little."

"You should ask him out on a date."

"Because I'm so forward with guys and I didn't get ditched by my long term boyfriend."

"He was a jerk. Let him fade away, Cher. He's not worth it."

"I know he isn't, Mads. But it hurts, okay?. It hurts because even after giving him everything I had, he didn't find me to be important to him. It's a major stab to my self respect; to my ego. But above all, to my emotions."

"You have to move on, babe. You have to look at the bright side. Jake was nothing more than a fucking butthole. It's a good thing that he's off for ever. Take this as an opportunity to meet a guy who actually​ respects you. Come here, bitch." She pulls me in for a hug.

I wrap my arms around her, shutting my eyes close. Sometimes I wonder if it hadn't been for Madeline, I would've jumped off the roof of my apartment a long time ago.

"I miss Leanne." I whisper, thinking about that crazy little roommate I once had.

"I miss her too, Cher. Did you try to call her?"

"I did. Apparently, the number does not exist anymore."

"Why would she do that?"

"She wanted to move on and get out of this place. The ghosts of her past were haunting her."

"You definitely were not stopping her from moving on. What she did is a total bitch move on her part. She shouldn't have shut the door on your face with a bloody letter."

Madeline didn't like it how Leanne left without any clue or information of where she's going. She was so furious that I had to take her out for a break.

"I think there's something more to this story, Maddie."

"You think? Like what?"

"I don't know. But she wouldn't just run away from her problems like this. I knew her as a fighter."

"We knew her as a fighter, Cheryl. But believe it or not, we were wrong. It's high time you get over her and move on with your life. She wanted the same, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Then? I know you're better off without her ghost haunting your present."

"You really hate her now, don't you?" I smile sadly at her.

"Hate is a very strong word, Cheryl Donovan. You don't just use it without thinking. And no, I don't hate her. I just didn't like the little stunt she pulled."

"I get it." I wipe my tears with the back of my hand and sigh.

"And I think I should leave now. I have to visit my mom before the weekend gets over. I'll be back tomorrow evening."