It's Me, Again

Ch. 9 (Dylan)

I don't know this Carter kid, but I don't like him. And no, it's not because I'm jealous that he's Kate's boyfriend. Okay, it's not the only reason I don't like him. Katie? She hates to be called Katie. Even as a little kid when teachers tried to call her by the nickname, she detested it. She'd rather be called Katherine than be called "Katie". Shouldn't he know this? Either he knows and doesn't care or Kate doesn't mind it anymore, which I highly doubt. And another thing - how could he tell her she looked awful? What a dick move. So yup. Don't like him.

When I get home, Josh is there with Mallory, his girlfriend, watching a movie.

"Hey," I say as I walk into the dimly lit apartment. I take a peek at the tv screen to see what they're watching. It's a James Bond movie and one with Daniel Craig, but from the 2 seconds that I look at the screen, I'm not sure which one.

"Hey, how was it tonight?" Josh asks without taking his eyes off the screen.

I grab a water from the fridge, "It was great, except for when her boyfriend called."

All of a sudden, the apartment is quiet, Josh had paused the movie. "Whoa, how was that?"

I chug some water down, which gives me a minute to think about how to word my response without coming off as a crazy jealous ex.

"He seems like a douche, honestly."

"Could that be your jealousy talking? What'd he say?" Josh and Mallory are totally into this now.

"Okay, so Kate told me she had left him a message earlier and explained that she doesn't remember him so when he calls back, she might be confused. You know, just giving him a heads up."

Josh and Mallory nod along, understanding.

"So, I'm heating up dinner for us, and everything was going really well all evening, we were looking at old pictures and thinking back on old times. Then, he video calls her and the first thing he tells her is how bad she looks!" I wave my bottle of water around in my anger. Luckily, I had already downed half the bottle or else the water would have gone flying everywhere.

Josh and Mallory are taken aback, "He actually said that?" Mallory asked.

"Yes! He was like "You look awful."

"What an asshole," Mallory says, shaking her head.

"How did Kate react?" Josh asks.

"She looked surprised that he would say that to her, and remember she doesn't even know him or well she doesn't remember him. I couldn't believe he said that, but I, of course, didn't say anything. I didn't want to stick my nose in her business."

"Maybe, she'll see him in a different light now that she has to meet him all over again," Josh replies.

I was quiet for a moment and they probably thought I was done talking and ready to move on with my night, but I wasn't ready to let it go. "And get this. He called her Katie!"

"Doesn't she hate being called Katie?" Josh asked.

"She does! See, even you know that and you haven't seen her in a few years and you only knew her for like 2 months."

"Even I remember that," Mallory added. Mallory and Josh were high school sweethearts like Kate and I were. But, Kate and I broke up halfway through fall semester freshman year so they hadn't solidified a friendship enough to hang out post-breakup.

"So you going to try to win her back?" Mallory asks with a coy smile.

I look from Mallory to Josh, eyeing him because he must have said something to her about my feelings.