Losing Eight Lives

3 | Her Other Half

About a week after, Amanda approached me, so far keeping her promise.

"Oh my gosh, Phoebe!" she said excitedly.

I grinned as I watched her nearly skip over to me. It was rare to see her happy, so I was glad to see her smiling again.

"What's goin' on?" I asked. We were eating breakfast on a Wednesday morning in the cafeteria at school. Our friends sat with us, but few of us actually ate the school's breakfast. We all just stayed and chatted.

My friend Becka was French-braiding my hair, and Sadie sat nearby talking with someone when Amanda came over to us.

She looked around for teachers and showed me the screen of her iPhone without a word.

Carter: "Hey Amanda, I was wondering if u would consider going out with me?"

I gaped at the text, unsure of what to say. The last time I heard about Carter was when he shattered Becka's heart. I remembered him being a complete jerk about it too. And I didn't want the same thing to happen to Amanda.

A small gasp came from behind me, and it occurred to me that Becka was leaning over my shoulder to read the text. I quickly slammed my hand into the phone covering the screen from Becka's view. But, it was too late.

"Carter sent that to you?" Becka asked fiercely. She dropped my hair and her eyes looked furious.

Amanda studied her reaction and put her phone back in her pocket. "Becka, you guys dated like a year ago. You told me you were over him."

"I am!" Becka snapped.

"Then why did you freak out when you read the message?" Amanda pointed out.

Becka folded her arms and shifted her weight. "Because I don't know why he would do that to you."

Amanda ignored her and started talking to Sadie and I. "Guys what should I say?" She had a glow in her eyes that proved she already wanted to say yes.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to transform Amanda's happiness into more depression, but what if he shatters her heart too? I found myself trying to decide which would hurt less.

Sadie leaned toward Amanda. "Don't listen to Becka. I think you should do it. You deserve some happiness," she gave her a sweet smile.

Amanda impossibly seemed happier and turned to me, waiting for an answer. I opened my mouth again, but no words formed. I closed it, swallowed and tried again.

"Amanda," I started, "I think you should do what makes you happy." I left it at that. I honestly thought she should have said no, rather than risk a heartbreak, but who knows? Maybe Carter changed.

Amanda's smile faded away and she studied me carefully, realizing that I didn't give her a yes. I met her eyes in an attempt to plead for understanding, but I didn't know if it went across that way. If she saw my plead she certainly didn't show it.

Her grin quickly came back and she took her phone out again. "Well, then I'm going to say yes."

Becka let out a sigh and shook her head. "Have fun suffering from heart break," she muttered under her breath.

-=-=-=-

All day Amanda was bubbly and giggly. She rarely stopped smiling and she seemed like her old self again. She showed me the text messages that Carter was sending her--which usually contained him telling her how beautiful and amazing she was.

I internally shook my head a few times, remembering how I told her the exact same thing and she didn't believe me. I guess it's different when you hear those things from a guy instead of your best friend.

And while Amanda was enjoying her new boyfriend, I was suddenly in a relationship of my own.

His name was Jace, and I met him at a school dance. He asked me to dance, and automatically I realized why I rejected everyone else who requested to dance. Jace didn't need someone else to ask for him, he was brave enough to ask me in person. You could tell he was nervous and he didn't quite know what to say. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets and didn't look at me in the eye. I remembered smiling, while nodding a yes.

A few dances later and I realized why Amanda was so happy to be with Carter. There is something about the feeling that someone adores everything about you. Something about the fact that that one person is all yours, and you're all theirs. It just makes you want more.

Jace was about my height, if not a little taller. His smile was something that made your heart want to melt. His green eyes made you feel beautiful without him even having to say anything. And I'm just going to flat out say it: he was hot. And he was mine.

Jace and I sat on my front porch steps that afternoon after school. I leaned my head against the fence that outlined my porch. Our hands touched and I breathed in the cold autumn air, eyes closed and deep in my thoughts.

"Hey," Jace said. I opened my eyes to see Jace's looking at me with curiosity. "Whatcha thinking about?" he asked softly.

I paused before I answered, taking a breath. "Amanda just started going out with Carter today." I started.

He smiled, "There's got to be more to it than that."

I grinned at him. He already knew me too well. "Yeah. Carter is the jerk who broke up with Becka-"

"Which one?" he joked.

I shoved him playfully and laughed lightly. "She was devastated," I continued, "And I just don't want the same thing to happen to Amanda."

He squeezed my hand. "Well maybe he's changed. Maybe he realized he needed to grow up."

I sighed and looked out into my street. "I hope so."