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In the kitchen, I set Tangerine down. She goes straight to her food bowl and gulps down the breakfast left there.
It’s for the best that I’m alone. Maybe I’ll be able to move my stuff to a new room before I even need to see him. And then I can work on my secondary summer project: Getting Over Sebastian Miller-Callahan. GOSMC. NASA loves their acronyms. I thought of it last night while I was falling asleep, trying my best to forget he was right next door.
As of now, Project GOSMC is officially underway.
Except… there’s a note on the kitchen counter.
Of course he left a note. I can’t stop the tiny smile that crosses my face at the sight of that messy handwriting, but by the end of it, I’m scowling again.
Hey, di Angelo—
I’m at the training facility. There are Nespresso pods in the cabinet above the machine, and the oat milk you like is in the fridge. I made apple-almond oatmeal—also in the fridge. Don’t forget the cinnamon.
-S
P.S. If you want to come to the game, ask for Billy. I’ll leave a ticket under ‘Captain Kirk.’
P.P.S. We are friends.
I fold the note into a tiny square and set it down carefully. This is good for Project GOSMC. Nothing makes me retreat faster than being told what to do. Outside the bedroom, at least. He might call us friends, but I know better. I could never just be his friend, and he deserves better than me. It’s as simple as a math equation or a line of code. With any luck, we’ll orbit each other for years to come without ever crossing, for the sake of Penny and Cooper, and one day I’ll see him with another girl, and she’ll be perfect for him, and I willsmileand say they make a lovely couple. She’ll become Penny’s best friend instead, and when I see pictures of them on whatever the next iteration of Facebook is, I willkeep smiling.
I really need that cup of coffee.
While the machine warms up, I use the microwave to heat the oatmeal, adding cinnamon on top, and open my laptop.
I need to be working, not thinking. Not… stewing, or whatever my mind wants to do.
Yet after scanning the code for a mindless five seconds, I can’t help but take out my phone.
I wince when I see the abandoned text thread I shared with Sebastian. He hasn’t texted me recently, but there’s a whole string that I left unanswered. I couldn’t bring myself to type out a response, not when it meant having to confront how shitty I was to him.
April 4th
Sebastian
Mia, let’s talk about today
Cooper and Penny don’t actually care that we’re together
Let’s talk. Please.
April 9th
I care about you, Mia. As a friend, if that’s all you want anymore
Just talk to me
April 13th
I’m waiting, if you want to come
I guess you didn’t want to come
April 20th
Fine, di Angelo. Shut me out, but don’t shut out Penny
I swallow, feeling the blush from my cheeks all the way down my neck. It hurt, watching him text me, ignoring each one. But I hadn’t wanted to give him an opening. It was for his own benefit, anyway. The sooner he hated me and let me go, the sooner he could work on falling for a girl who actually deserved him.
