Page 11 of Mutual Discord

“Want to text me so I have your number?” he asked, just a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Oh, yeah,” I mumbled, quickly opening the messaging app.

Hi. It’s Sofia. was all I typed before hitting send.

His phone vibrated, and when he glanced down at it, I turned quickly to say goodbye to Caitlin. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Have a good night,” she said, looping her arm through Alex’s once again.

“Good night,” Alex murmured softly, pivoting away with Caitlin.

For several long moments, I simply watched them walk away, arm in arm. Caitlin was speaking because Alex dipped his head ever so slightly down to her, and something about their pose felt intimate. Like I was intruding where I wasn’t supposed to.

And I was. Caitlin had met Alex in New York and then traveled here to see him again. I didn’t know what that meant for them long term, but I knew I needed to keep my distance. Alex and I may have interacted through weird internet circumstances, but we knew each other in real life now. He was dating one of my favorite people in the world, and I would respect their relationship, whatever that may be. I would learn more about them tomorrow.

Until then, I inhaled until my lungs felt ready to burst and then turned away from their retreating forms and walked to my car alone.

Chapter Four

“So what do you think of Alex?”

I had just taken a sip of my cucumber water and almost spit it out all over the tabletop. Somehow I managed to hold it in…but promptly choked, quickly pressing a towel to my lips as my eyes filled with tears.

“Oh my God, are you okay?” Caitlin reached over and grabbed my arm. “I didn’t mean to catch you off guard like that.”

Of course she hadn’t, but then my best friend was the reason I was so on edge. Caitlin and her new boyfriend, Alex. User16892.

After dinner the night before, I went home and changed into my pajamas, going through my nightly skincare routine as if it was just an ordinary night. Somehow I had managed to section off the part of my brain that wanted to dissect what happened at dinner. Wanted to fixate on the fact that my bestie’s new boyfriend was my online friend. A man who knew all about the Matildas, when everyone who knew the real me had no idea about the series.

A unfairly gorgeous man I genuinely liked but refused to consider because he was an internet acquaintance I would never have cause to meet in real life.

Until now.

I had been so damn proud of myself for not spiraling over the identity of Caitlin’s boyfriend until my phone had dinged with a new message.

Alex Castillo: It was a welcome surprise to meet you, SLikeTheSun.

For at least ten minutes I stared at the text, unsure of what to say. Or if I should say anything at all. After typing out various replies and deleting them, I finally settled on:

Sofia: You say surprised; I say shocked.

I figured I might as well be honest. Up until that moment, my TikTok persona had communicated with him with almost blunt honesty, and I wasn’t going to change who I was now. He responded immediately.

Alex: Yeah, it kind of looked like you might have a panic attack.

Covering my face with my hands, I groaned. I had been having a panic attack, and what did it say that Alex noticed but Caitlin didn’t?

Rather than giving any more consideration to that random question, I quickly typed a reply.

Sofia: Hey, it’s not every day you meet someone in person who you’ve only interacted with online.

Alex: I know. I experienced it today, too. What are the odds?

Sofia: A wild coincidence!

We exchanged a few more lighthearted texts after that before I wished him a good night. Truthfully, I could have chatted with him for hours, but I was worried we were edging into uncomfortable territory. Alex may be my internet friend, but he was Caitlin’s boyfriend, and I needed to respect that.

A fact Caitlin reiterated to me now with her sudden question.