Me:Madeline, thank you. This means so much to me. You’ll meet her at the wedding. I’m sure you two will hit it off. Thanks for today. I really had a great time. I look forward to seeing you again on Saturday.
I go to my message area and open Alex’s number. I swallow hard, wondering whether I should message or call, but I figure calling her right now could be a bit much. So I decide to go with my first instinct and I type out a message.
Me:Alex, I know you’re angry with me. I’m sorry for not telling Madeline about you sooner. Trust me, it’s not because I didn’t want to. I just thought telling a potential girlfriend about another woman in my life was a little… strange. But, I’ve told her now, and she’s looking forward to meeting you at the wedding. I hope you can forgive me. We need to fix us, Alex. I don’t know how we got broken, but I need you in my life. You’re my best friend…
I hit send and hope that she can find it in her heart to write back. I hate how we left things. Alex leaving like that was shit,and I feel like a fucking ass for hurting her. My cell rings in my hand, and I look down to see Alex’s name flashing, and I don’t hesitate to answer.
“Hey, you,” I murmur.
“So Tacos kinda suck without you,” she says, her mouth still obviously half full.
I chuckle. “Ice cream is bland without you. Plus, you took my corn chips, so I have nothing to dunk into the tub.”
She laughs, and it’s like heaven to my ears.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I should have left you some Mexican. I kinda took it all. But in my defense, I’m freaking hungry.”
“You didn’t eat today because of me, right?” I ask, and she exhales a heavy sigh.
“I thought you were ignoring me. I don’t know what happened. I thought there was a problem in our relationship because you always message me back. And then I was anxious, maybe something had happened to you or something like that, then, I thought you were moving on without me.”
“Alex, I’m so fucking sorry. Just know you’re going to be in my life forever. You arenotgoing anywhere without me. I would have you permanently attached to me if that were legal.”
“You already have an identical twin, surely you don’t need a conjoined twin as well?” She giggles, and our normal conversational tone seems to be coming back.
“I always want to be joined at the hip with you,” I say honestly.
“Well, I’m free Thursday evening. We can book the surgery then if you like?” she asks, and I chuckle.
“Let’s not fight again, okay? I hate the thought that I hurt your feelings, Alex.”
She exhales and sighs. “It’s okay. I think I was just being too sensitive to something that wasn’t there in the first place.”
I’m guessing she means the fact that she thought she didn’t mean as much to me as she actually does, which is totallynotthe case. I’ll never let her think that way again. “Okay, please know, no matter what happens with Madeline and me, you’re alwaysmy girl. You will always be my bestie, and I have your back no matter what.”
She exhales and goes quiet for a moment, which surprises me.
“You okay, Alex?”
“Yeah. Guess I’d better ask Ronan to the wedding. Or maybe I’ll go on my own. Fuck the plus one.”
Furrowing my brows, my stomach sinks slightly.
Maybe it isn’t going so well for her and Ronan.
“Alex, ask Ronan. You never know, once you meet him, you guys might actually hit it off. Don’t be scared to take a leap.”
She puffs out a long breath. “Okay, I’ll ask him when we hang up.”
“Awesome. This will be good for you, I can feel it.”
She lets out a stifled laugh. “Yeah, maybe. Anyway, I need to eat this Mexican and have some margaritas, then have a siesta,que pasa?”
“Wait! Doesn’tque pasamean, what’s up or how’s it going, or something like that?”
“Meh, I dunno, it just sounded cool, ehgringo?” And just like that, she’s back to her usual weird chirpy self.
“I love your weird,” I say, and she chuckles.
