Sounds Fake, but Okay | ✓

t h i r t e e n

    They all sat in silence for what seemed like hours when in reality it was but a few minutes. The cafeteria had slowly been emptied and there weren't many people fussing about, that meant the silence between the group amplified in intensity. "Well?" Andrea blinked, frown colouring her face as she crossed her arms over her chest.

    Jae frowned. "There are a lot of things that I want to ask, really. But I guess you guys can just tell me everything from the start."

    "From the start?" Daniel raised an eyebrow, leaning on the table, "You sure, buddy? You're gonna be here for a while if that's the case."

    Jae nodded and pushed his hair back. "I just need a clear picture of the situation. You guys can skip over meaningless things, the important info is what I need to make a proper decision."

    "Well," Madeline looked down at her nails, "just saying that we're gonna be a bit biased with our story. We'll try to not exaggerate the truth, as best we can."

    "So, I guess we can start," Andrea sighed, closing her book as she had been studying. She pushed her notes aside and took a deep breath, ready to spill all the tea that she'd been boiling for weeks now. "Philip and Cat met about two years and a half ago?" She looked over at Madeline and after earning a nod from her, she shrugged. "Something like that. They were in the same class and got along so they began dating after a few months. Everything was roses and butterflies at first, you know? As it would be in any relationship."

    "Drea and I never liked him from the start...he never really sat well with us for some reason," Daniel added, lips pursed together in a straight, unamused line. "But he seemed to be an okay boyfriend."

    "He had me fooled," Madeline admitted, "I thought he was the perfect boyfriend. He was always so kind and thoughtful. Cat was very happy with him, she was always smiling."

    "But then," Andrea spoke again, "she slowly stopped hanging out with us more and more. At first we didn't think much of it, but it started getting strange. She'd barely see us and she always had to be spending time with him or he'd become possessive. They'd fight constantly if she hung out with us for more than a day a week and it was ridiculous!"

    "What?" Jae blinked, nearly having choked, "He was manipulating her like that?"

    Madeline tapped the table to get their attention. "A year into them dating, I remember once that he just up and called her names, saying she didn't care about him after all he'd done. I was surprised that she was still with him, I mean, if a boy talked to me like that he would be in for a good beating or two."

    Daniel added, "He was very flirty with other girls, but I don't think he went as far as to cheat on her. But, every time Cat so much as talked to a boy, he'd get crazy mad. She'd become so miserable and it was crazy, I couldn't bare seeing her all depressed like that."

    Jae took a deep breath, his features hardening, his jaw clenched at the thought of a miserable Catalina. Her smile was much too bright to extinguish the way Philip had done. Oh god, if Jae had just been there—if he'd just seen this—Philip wouldn't be anywhere near a fifty mile radius of her. "Why didn't she just break up with him if he was such a jerk?"

    Madeline sighed. "Because he threatened her. Look, I know this sounds too dramatic, or far fetched, but it's true. He said he'd kill himself if she broke up with him and it actually happens to a lot of girls out there. I know two others whose boyfriends threatened them with suicide."

   Jae gulped, thinking back to friend he'd had back in Korea whose ex-girlfriend did the same. "If he was so...possessive, did he ever—"

    "Land a hand on her?" Daniel interrupted. "As far as we know? No, but if he did, let me tell you, we'd straight up murder him in cold blood and make it look like an accident."