I woke with a jolt, lungs gasping for air as I sat upright, a puddle of sweat dampening the sheets underneath me. Running a hand over my face, I reassured myself that it was all just a bad dream, but the taste of iron lingered on my tongue.
***
It was the last week of school before summer break. Assignments handed in; exams completed.
Since Eden only shared one of our classes, I did not have to compete for Ava’s attention as often as I would at recess and lunch. We watched news bloopers on her laptop, sharing earphones, laughing hysterically until our stomachs ached.
It felt like the old days again—the days before Eden.
“Hey, are we still seeing The Conjuring 2 tomorrow night?” I asked on our way to PE, our gym uniforms conveniently ‘forgotten’ at home.
“Oh, shit, sorry, I forgot to tell you,” Ava said. “I went to see it with Eden on Sunday night. It was so good! You’ll love it!”
A lump formed in my throat, her words stunning me into silence. I swallowed my hurt, afraid of what I might say as anger, confusion and disappointment fought for dominance over my racing thoughts.
We’d been preparing to see this movie for months. We talked about it non-stop, watching promotional interviews in class when we should have been doing work. I’d been so excited.
Ava must have sensed the betrayal piercing my heart, for she added, “I can still watch it with you if you want.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” I mumbled.
“I’m sorry,” Ava said. “Eden wanted to see it and I just completely forgot.”
“Completely forgot?” I repeated. “Are you serious? We’ve been talking about it for months!”
Ava sighed. “I know. But she’s my girlfriend, okay? I got excited that she was interested in horror and wanted to watch a movie with me.”
“Oh, so now that you have a girlfriend, I mean nothing to you?” I scoffed.
Careful, Augustus. Rein it in.
“That’s not what I said!” Ava snapped.
“Well it’s how it feels!” I snapped back.
“You’re just jealous,” she scoffed, shaking her head, “you’re jealous because I have a girlfriend and you don’t.”
“Are you fucking serious?”
“Yes, I’m damn serious!”
“Ava, you’re not fucking special for having a girlfriend,” I said, a laugh eerily similar to the Devil’s escaping my throat. “You know what you are? A bad fucking friend.”
“A bad friend?” she echoed, pausing in the hallway to stand in front of me, tears swimming in her eyes. “I am the bad friend? You’re the one who has been miserable and rude ever since I got a girlfriend. You don’t want me to be happy unless it is with you!”
“That’s not true.”
Isn’t it?
“Why, then? Tell me why you hate Eden so much!”
“I don’t.”
“Don’t lie to me, Augustus!”
I ran a trembling hand over my face, swallowing back my honesty in the hope that I could repair this situation before I worsened it. The last thing I wanted was to lose Ava. I would rather be forgotten accidentally than abandoned on purpose.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “You’re not a bad friend. I’m just…disappointed.”
