Adri Da Pest
Guess who showed up looking for Mally after practice. I told him to eat shit.
Jo Momma
Witnessed it. It was pretty cool. Jordan practically ran away from her.
Adri Da Pest
Are you finally admitting I’m cool, Jojo? You hide it well, but I know you love me.
Jo Momma
This is why I don’t compliment you.
Shayzilla
She is reading the texts now. Slowly.
Adri Da Pest
Slow as hell. Hurry up, Cap.
Me
This is why I keep our chat muted.
Adri Da Pest
You wound me
When I look up, Shay’s eyes are narrowed. “Why is Jordan looking for you?” she asks, voice dripping with animosity.
Hell if I know. We’ve spent the better part of a year avoiding each other since our breakup, but I will never miss an opportunity to mess with my bestfriend.
“I didn’t tell you? We’re getting back together! Wanna be my maid of honor?”
Shay crosses her arms. “Don’t start.”
“No,youdon’t start. You know damn well you’d be my first call if I heard from him.”
It’s not like Jordan can get in touch with me anyway. He’s been blocked since the day we broke up a year and one month ago and will stay that way until kingdom come.
“That’s a relief. Now you can start dating again. It’s about time you start searching for your happily ever after.”
Winry pads across the hardwood floor, and I crouch down to rub the soft black fur between her pointy, oversized ears. “Shay, come on. You already know how I feel about this. I don’t want to date right now.”
Or ever again.
Honestly, I would like happily ever after to leave me the hell alone.
Long ago, I realized it’s easier to be alone than to feel like a burden to the person I care about. Love puts my heart in someone else’s hands, giving them control of the most vulnerable part of me. If I tried to explain that to Shay, she would insist Jordan was a bad apple and promise there are better ones out there. She would insult him and tear him to shreds, making me laugh until the tears ran dry and my stomach was in stitches.
But after the moment ends, I’d be left to wonder for the millionth time why loving me is so hard.
Plus, I don’t need a boyfriend. I need a copilot, and Shay currently holds that title. I’m in the driver’s seat, and she helps me get to the final destination, sitting with me through endocrinologist appointments, picking up my insulin when I can’t, approaching me with care, and forfeiting all judgment to tackle the problem with me.
I need someone who won’t treat me as a burden like Jordan did or smother me like my mom does.
