When We Fall Silent

Chapter One

"Faye, if you don't get your ass out of bed and get ready, I'm personally going to kick your ass," Katerina snapped at me. She had laid out the little black dress I was to wear out on the bed and threw the matching heels at my head. I dodged them with a smirk.

"You know, Katerina. One of these days you're going to get so angry, that you're going to pop a blood vessel and when that happens, I'm going to laugh at you."

Katerina rolled her eyes, turning back to the mirror in my bedroom, inspecting her outfit. Her blue bodycon dress complimented her long, blonde hair, barrel curls cascading over her shoulder. Makeup done to perfection to highlight her green eyes and heels as tall as a skyscraper, she was stunning.

Then there was me. Still in my sweats and anime shirt, eating cookie dough. I did not want to go out.

"Faye, you promised me you would go out tonight," she whined, giving me her puppy dog eyes. "You said you would come to meet Alec and he's already bringing a friend for you so you don't feel like a third wheel."

At the sight of my distasteful expression, she launched herself at me on the bed, smiling like a child.

Poking my cheek, she said, "You never know. It might be fun. And if you don't like his friend, you can always ditch and find someone else."

I stared at her uneasily, mouth slanted down in a frown. She held onto her innocent expression. I sighed, closing my eyes knowing that there was no way out of this. I promised her and knowing Katerina, she would never leave me alone if I backed out.

"Fine, fine, fine," I grumbled, pushing her out of my way and grabbing the dress. "I'll come, but it better be fun or I'm leaving after 15 minutes."

I looked at myself in the mirror, grabbing onto my frizzy hair. "I don't care to meet some stupid guy anyway," I grumbled under my breath. "Hopefully, he doesn't annoy me."

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The club was loud and the colorful lights seeped over the surrounding area, making everyone and everything in it look like some weird acid trip. Katerina was pulling on my hand, politely pushing past all the random strangers in our path. My heels were clacking viciously on the dancefloor as we crossed over to the bar, Katerina waving her hand excitedly, most likely at seeing her boyfriend.

I smiled to myself, shaking my head slightly at her excitement. It was nice to see her happy again, to see a sparkle in her eyes. Those green pools used to be so dead and empty after her last boyfriend cheated on her and left her on their anniversary. They were together for four years when it happened. I couldn't get her out of bed for weeks. It broke my heart. I think somewhere around that time I remember thinking if that's what love is, what really loving someone does to you...I could do without it.

But looking at her now, tripping over herself with adoration on her face at the sight of her lover boy, I realized maybe there are more levels to love and she had to go through one painful level to get to the next.

God knows, I'll kill the next man who makes her cry like that again. Metaphorically, of course.

"Alec," Katerina grinned, placing a small kiss on his cheek in greeting. "This is my best friend, Faye. The one I've been telling you about this whole time." Her eyes shone brightly, glancing between the two of us, waiting to see where the interaction will take us.

Alec had a kind face and seemed like your average guy. Fit build, tan skin, brown eyes with similar hair to match, dressed fairly well in a button down and dark pants. His smile was gentle as he reached out his hand to me to shake.