Chapter 15
Chapter 15:
A MONTH LATER… It’s been a month.
A month since Isla’s birthday. A month since I kissed my best friend. And a solid month of having my heart broken over and over as I scroll through her Instagram photos, only to be torn apart every single day by pictures of her and Dominic looking all lovey-dovey.
Things are still cool between Isla and me, but I can’t deny that our phone calls aren’t as frequent, as long, or as funny as they used to be. Most of her time is now consumed by work and her new relationship with Dominic, which makes me sick every time about how she finally decided to date him.
I know something is off between us, but I’m too afraid to bring it up. What would I even say? How would I begin?
Besides, would it even matter? She has a boyfriend now. And right now, it’s not like I can blurt out how I feel about her. It would be awkward, complicated, and messy.
I stare at my phone lying on the bed, reading Sandra’s hangout invite again. Tonight, she wants all of us to come to her place for a movie night.
And by “all of us,” I mean an extra guest I’m not thrilled about. According to the invite, Dominic will be there too. I know it sounds unfair for me to shout from the rooftops that I don’t like the guy, but that’s not even the real issue.
The issue is that something about him feels off. off. In the few times Isla and I have talked these past weeks, I’ve noticed her joking about how Dominic seems so concerned with her financial plans and goals, or I’ve listened as she blushed while telling me how he once tried to convince her to make some capital investments in the corporation where he works. He seems too good, too eager in love, to be true.
Or is he?
To be honest, I don’t want to go to this movie night, especially knowing I’ll have to see his face there. It already feels like it’s going to be a couples’ hangout—Sandra with Ethan, Isla with Dominic. And me? I don’t want to be the fifth wheel.
But I also know I can’t object to Sandra’s request. She’s the type who never forgets, even the smallest things, and she can be annoyingly vengeful. Plus, we’ve always had our friendship movie hangouts at least twice a month. It was something we came up with back in college to keep our bond strong even after graduation, even if life tried to pull us apart. We promised to stick to doing something together twice a month, no matter what.
And movie hangouts were always our go-to choice.
So I know that trying to object would be a big deal. Because this isn’t about my dislike for Dominic. My friendship with the coolest people in the world is also at stake, and no matter what, I can’t screw that up because some guy showed up in Isla’s life and managed to become her boyfriend.
I glance at the clock in my room. It’s already 6:30 p. m. Driving to Sandra’s house will take at least ten to fifteen minutes if I leave now, which will help me avoid her wrath for showing up late.
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