❝Maybe there's a whole bunch of impossible people waiting for me out there. Waiting to make me feel that same uncertainty again and again.❞
Allison Romero has never had any luck when it comes to finding love, or maintaining friends...or just about...
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43: CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
I'm standing at the door of Izzy's apartment with a bright grin pulling up at the corner of my lips. Izzy yanks me into a hug and mumbles into my shoulder, "Thanks, love. I feel so old."
"Oh, stop it. You turned twenty, not sixty." I wave my unoccupied hand around.
Izzy pulls me inside her apartment and shuts the door behind us. "So, guess who messaged me?" She fluffs up her dyed hair and throws a smile at me over her shoulder. I follow her into her cramped up kitchen and take a seat at a stool in front of the fridge.
"Your ex?" I place my bags on the counter.
"Yes? Could you believe it?" She begins to rummage through her almost empty fridge. "He was like to me 'happy birthday, I miss you' and I'm just like 'ew, blocked'. Men just don't ever get the hint."
She's right about that.
I play with my fingers. "What's his name?"
"Dylan," Izzy's voice is muffled as she bends down to look through her fridge.
My head snaps up and I feel my heart sink to my stomach. "Dylan who?"
"Dylan Manaskov." Izzy takes a seat in front of me and furrows her thin eyebrows together. "Pretty sure he has a sister that goes to your school."
"Dylan?" I squeak. I knew Izzy looked familiar from somewhere; I just couldn't quite put my finger on it! Now I know where I've seen her before; it was at the 50's dance. Back then her hair was blonde but now she's dyed it pink.
"That's what I just said, yes. You know him?" Her eyebrows rise slightly.
Yes, we're childhood friends and he confessed his feelings for me after saving me from being raped by Martin. "Oh, I'm friends with his sister, is all," I stammer and swallow the lump in my throat.
Izzy waves a hand around. "Well, let me not ruin his image for you," she drawls with an eye roll.
"Why'd you guys break up?" I chew on my fingers.
Izzy presses her lips together. "Nothing big, really. He told me he had feelings for another girl and didn't want to lead me on. I was hurt at first, but I'm a big girl now." She gives a toothy grin. "We didn't date for that long anyway."
This is going to get messy real fast. I decide to change the subject, "Listen, are you sure you don't want to do anything for your birthday? We could go out and eat some good food..." My head is still reeling from the information I've just received, but there's no way I'm telling Izzy the truth.
