Luckily, they weren’t confused at all. They both admitted they’d had feelings for each other for a while and they’d be stupid not to give it a go. I was worried that I would become a major third wheel, but actually our dynamic didn’t change all that much. Maybe it was because they made sure not to make me feel like that—Ruby and her parents flew out to Mauritius every year to see her mum’s family, and the first time Leo joined them, I was invited along, too. I did consider saying no at first and leaving them to it, because I didn’t want to take the spotlight off Leo, but then I thought,hello,who turns down a trip to Mauritius?!
Ruby, Leo, and I have always very much had a “Three Musketeers” mentality when it came to our little clique. Matthew was welcomed as my other half, but he always had his own group of friends he’d spend most of his time with. Once we moved to London, he got closer to them and we’d hang out together ascouples, but he’d also respect that Leo, Ruby, and I had a dynamic he wasn’t part of. Matthew loved Leo and Ruby, and they loved him, but the three of us were the originals, and nothing was ever going to change that.
Anyway, Leo and Ruby have turned out to be the perfect match and here we all are today, still best friends, the two of them engaged to be married in September. It was fate that we were all getting married the same year.
Matthew really screwed us on that one.
“We could frame him,” Ruby muses, as I snuggle down further into the duvet.
I have yet to get up, but they don’t care. Leo is under the duvet with me and Ruby is drinking beer at 11:00A.M.
There’s no judgment in our friendship triangle.
“What do you mean?” Leo snorts. “Like, for a crime?”
“Exactly.” Ruby nods slowly, her eyes freakishly widening with her evil-genius plotting. “It’s simple. We frame him and he goes to prison for the rest of his life. Then who’s laughing?”
“I don’t think anyone’s laughing, Ruby,” Leo points out. “And if we’re going to frame him, we’d need to find a crime to frame him for.”
“Not a problem.” Ruby shrugs. “We could rob something. A bank! Let’s rob a bank! And leave his fingerprints everywhere!”
Leo blinks at her. “That’s… stupid.”
“You know, Leo,” she begins, narrowing her eyes at him, “you could be a little more supportive, rather than just lying there like a slug, making cynical and rude comments.”
“I’m also lying here like a slug,” I point out.
“Yes, but you’re allowed to be a slug,” Ruby says, coming over and stroking my hair. “You can be a perfect little slug for however long you want.”
“All right,” Leo sighs next to me. “How about we egg his house?”
Ruby rolls her eyes. “What are we, eight years old?”
“You were egging people’s houses at the age of eight?”
“Look, Leo, let’s not lose focus,” Ruby demands, brushing off his question and going back to her pacing. “We can’t egg his house because in case you’ve forgotten, he doesn’t have one. He’s moved back in with his parents for the time being. And as much as I hate him right now with every fiber of my being, his parents seem nice. Sorry, Freya.”
“Don’t be,” I say glumly. “They are nice. They’re really nice.”
Leo rests his head on mine, not saying anything.
Ruby sits down on the bed. “Have you heard from Matthew at all?”
“Not really,” I admit. “He phoned last Saturday to make sure I was okay.”
“He thought there was a chance you’d be okay on the day that would have been your wedding? How thoughtful.” Ruby shakes her head. “I am so angry at that man.”
“Dad wouldn’t let him speak to me. He was manning my phone. When I got it back, I called Matthew maybe five billion times, but he didn’t pick up.” I hesitate, picking at my nails. “Then he messaged saying he thought it would be better if we cut off contact for a bit. Took some space. That hasn’t stopped me from calling him about twice a day. I threw my phone out the window to stop myself from doing it, but about ten minutes later I ran down to the garden to find it. It had landed in a hedge and was fine. I called him straightaway and it rang out. I’m pathetic.”
“No, you’re not. Anyone would be the same after what’s happened,” Leo says, Ruby nodding in agreement.
I sigh heavily. “I just… I know it’s not over yet. We always work things out eventually. Everything will be fine once he’s had a bit of time.”
Ruby blinks at me, her eyebrows knitted together. “Wait. You don’t think it’s over?”
I throw my hands up, exasperated. “We were together for twelve years. Twelve years. You don’t throw that all away, right? He got cold feet about the wedding, which can happen. It’s a big deal. There’s a lot of pressure. I get it. But we are meant to be together. He’ll realize that soon enough.”
“Freya…” Ruby begins cautiously.
