When I check my phone to see what time it is, I notice we’ve been on the phone for a whole three and a half hours.
“I should hang up and go to sleep,” I say, yawning right afterward.
He groans like he’s in pain or more like he simply doesn’t want me to hang up yet. “Stay on the phone, please.”
“Why?”
“Because… you know. So I can wake up with you still there.”
23
Sofia
“I’ve got myself a missing puzzle piece”—Like All My Friends by Francis Karel
“I get the whole thing withyour ex and that you want to get back at your sister,” Lily says, her eyes focused on her boyfriend as he skates past us. “But isn’t it kind of cruel to your parents?”
The scoreboard reads 3-1 for the opponents, whoever they are. I don’t care much about hockey, but Lily asked me to come, and I couldn’t say no. As far as I know, Brooklyn is with her aunt today, which means we don’t have to take care of her during this game, so truly, if it weren’t for my best friend, I’d be in my dorm room studying.
“Why would it be cruel to them?”
Lily sighs, turning her head to look at me just when Aaron goals. She doesn’t even acknowledge the crowd going wild. “They loved Aaron. I’m sure your mother will be sad when she finds out you two ‘broke up’. Especially after seeing you act all in love for two whole weeks.”
I really don’t care. “She wasn’t sad when I told her Leon cheated on me.”
“Leon isn’t Aaron.”
That he is not.
I didn’t spend years crying about Leon, but I spend an unhealthy number of years crying to my mother about how much I miss Aaron and Lily. Almost every single night for at least five years, I used to tell her how Aaron is going to come find me eventually, how everything is going to turn out just the way I always dreamed of. I grew older, so after the age of thirteen, I kept these thoughts to myself.
“I’m sure my mother will get over my fake breakup.” She would, but I sure will hear a hell lot of questions over said breakup.
Lily hums like she’s not sure whether she should believe me or not. “Areyougoing to be okay after the breakup?”
Our eyes meet. Hers calling me out on whatever bullshit I’m about to tell her, mine probably telling her a million different stories at once. “Sure. It’s not like we’re actually dating. No commitment. No feelings. We’re just putting on a show for my family and that’s it.”
“You know, Colin and I were fake dating.”
“You were?” My eyebrows quip up in surprise.
“Ah, well… sort of. He tried keeping me from committing suicide and was a little scared Aaron would murder him if he was just ‘playing’ me. And I kind of found out Aaron didn’t want Colin to fuck me unless we were together, so there’s that too.”
Committing suicide? What the fuck. Like, I guessed something bad happened to Lily. The Lily I knew was never this quiet, but I didn’t think she was trying to fucking kill herself. And how could she say it so… casually?
“Lily… I had no idea.”
She shrugs. “It’s fine, honestly. I am happy now. I have a great boyfriend, and his friends are actually really awesome, too. I have you back as well. And, yeah, maybe sometimes it’s still a little difficult, but then I just rant to Colin, and he’ll make me feel better.” Lily nudges me with her elbow. “But back to you. You’re so totally going to fall for him.”
Lily’s lips press together into a thin line as she keeps herself from either smiling or calling me out. It wouldn’t matter if she were to call me out because I have to believe what my mouth says.
I cannot get Aaron and my relationship confused.
“I gave you enough time to regret your decision from last Saturday, so tell me… do you really think Grey is hotter than Aaron? I mean, I do think that but I’m Aaron’s sister so it would be weird if I thought he was—” Lily shakes out her body at the thought of saying her brother was hot. Maybe if I didn’t have a brother myself, I’d find it questionable, but as someone with a brother, I can totally relate to the shudder of disgust.
“He’s an AsianGod. Of course he’s hot.”
Lily starts to laugh but stops as the guys sitting behind us shush her madly. “What about Miles?”
