Sounds Fake, but Okay | ✓

f i f t e e n

    "Darling, you can't possibly eat that all by yourself." Madeline stared at her, frowning.

    A huge plate of poutine sat in front of Catalina, taking a large portion of the small pub table. "I bet you ten dollars I can scarf this down in under ten minutes."

    "Oh, I believe you, I've seen it happen before." Madeline nodded. "It's just that you should share."

    "Hey, I'm not stopping you. Please, go on ahead." Catalina pushed the plate towards her and gave her the fork.

    Catalina ate mechanically, but her mind wandered to Philip. Memories of what happened between them lingered as vividly as they'd been the day they were made. The fights. The smiles. Everything.

    "So when are you gonna tell me what you and Philip talked about that day? The day you had lunch together."

    "I still can't believe Daniel told you guys. I made it clear to keep it secret." She slumped in her chair. "Honestly, no wonder Andrea is avoiding me like that plague. Can't she get over it? We just talked."

    Madeline stabbed a fry. "Yeah, what about? Why does Philip think it's alright to start talking to us again?" She waved the fork accusingly. "You know, the other day he came up to me and started talking as if he'd never called me a lying bitch."

    "He did what?" Catalina's eyes widened and she leaned forward. "When?"

    "Oh." She grimaced. "I forgot I kept that from you. That was such a long time ago. I think before you two broke up."

    "Why didn't you tell me he said that?"

    "I didn't want to stress you out. Plus, you were already about to strangle him around that time and I wasn't ready to see my best friend in jail for murder."

    Catalina crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back on the seat. The intense light of the morning sun blinded her. She squinted and then huffed. "Nice call, I think I really would've killed him."

    "You know." Madeline stabbed three more fries. "Drea was honestly ready to outright kill him. No joke, she was very serious about it. I wasn't exactly surprised, just shocked she'd actually go that far."

    "Actually?"

    Madeline hummed as she chewed. She covered her mouth as she spoke. "It was crazy."

    Catalina fidgeted with the case of her phone, pushing it off and back on. Why did her breath still get caught in her throat when she saw Philip? Why did her heart swell when he smiled at her? Why did her cheeks still burn when he winked at her? Why the fuck did she like him? After all he did to her, and she was now learning about him.

    "Fuck him," Catalina hissed and dropped her phone on the table. She rubbed her face and threw her head back. Ever since he showed up again, she'd gotten confused. If you'd asked her in the summer, she would've told you she was over him, that he meant nothing to her anymore. She'd tell you that the memories they shared were blurry; the sleepless nights, the endless fights, the times she'd leaned on his shoulder. She'd tell you that she had long forgotten the times he'd whisper in her ear. And yet....and yet here she was again, thinking all about that. Thinking about how he broke her heart but used to be the reason she smiled at some point.

    "Are you ever going to tell us what you guys talked about?" Madeline asked, her eyes fixed on the table. Sometimes, she felt afraid of confrontation, especially with Catalina. She was a ticking bomb after she'd met Philip.

    Catalina ran her tongue against her cheek. "He apologized."

    "Apologized?" Madeline scoffed. "What a colossal idiot."