Page 197 of Something Rad
I crane my neck up, my tired eyes blinking at her. “Well, that’s not very nice.”
“Who ever said I was nice?” Alice questions me. “Have you never heard of tough love? That’s what friendship’s all about. And I can tell you need a whole lot of that right about now.”
“Alice, I know you mean well,” I say. “And Iwilltalk to you. But can’t I just have twenty-four hours to simmer in my emotions?”
“Sara.” Alice shakes her head, placing her hand on top of mine. “We have been friends a long time. I know how you operate. You are a busy girl. I knew damn well that if I did not catch you this afternoon on your day off from work that we would absolutely never discuss this. You’d just bottle this up with everything else you feel and shove it aside while you distract yourself with even more responsibilities you already don’t have time for. So, no, you may not have twenty-four hours.”
I stare up at her, open-mouthed, for several seconds. When I realize there’s no way she’s going to let this go, I flop over onto my back and let out a groan. I think I may even kick my feet a little in frustration.
“Great,” Alice nods. “That’s a great first step. Now, talk.”
I blink at my ceiling, blowing a deep breath out of my nose. “I honestly don’t even know where to start.”
“How about the beginning?” Alice suggests. “How do you feel? What are you thinking? I know I’ve been a little out of the loop since you and Ro–”
“Please don’t say his name,” I cut her off, my voice tight.
Alice is quiet for a few seconds. “Okay,” she says. “Well, I guess I just want to know what happened. Since you and…him…started dating. You guys really seemed so happy. I was so sure…” she trails off, twisting her lips to the side. “It just really seemed like he had gotten you out of your shell and like you had helped him turn a new leaf. I was convinced you guys were the real deal.”
I let out a puff of air, something between a laugh and a scoff, because Alice’s choice of wording couldn’t be more spot-on ridiculous.
I was convinced you guys were the real deal.
I cover my face with my hands, shaking my head.
“Sara? What is it?” Alice asks, wrapping a hand around my wrist.
I run my hands down my face just enough so that I can peek up at her. “Alice…I…”
“What?” she urges me on.
“I have to tell you something.”
I may as well. There’s no need to keep it a secret anymore. There’s nothing to keep under wraps. We’ve had a very public break-up to our…(Very? Almost entirely? Somewhat?)fake relationship.
“Sara.” Alice pushes, yanking both of my hands away from my face.
In a flash, my back jolts off the bed, and I’m sitting up straight at Alice’s eye-level. “It wasn’t real,okay?”
“What?” Alice questions me. “What wasn’t real?”
I swallow against the lump in my throat, fighting the urge to look away from my best friend out of embarrassment. “Us,” I breathe. “Me and him. None of it was real. We both had things we needed and the other could help us get them. If people thought we were dating, it benefitted both of us.”
Alice appears to have frozen in place, staring back at me with wide eyes.
“We were…just faking it,” I continue. “Acting like we were a couple. Pretending to like each other. It was all a lie.”
Several painfully long seconds go by, and Alice still hasn’t moved. I’m not even sure she’s breathing. Just as I’m starting to genuinely get concerned, she breaks form out of nowhere, completely startling me. I rear back, clutching my chest, and it takes me a long moment to realize that she’s…laughing.
No, actually, she’s not laughing. She’shysterical. She’s chuckling so hard that her face is pink and she’s squeezing a hand over her stomach.
“Wh–Why…What?” I stutter.
Alice continues to laugh deeply, swiping at the tears quickly forming at the corners of her eyes. “Oh my God, that’s a good one,” she manages to hiccup out.
“What are you talking about?” I question her.
“Sara…” Alice shakes her head, finally managing to calm down. “I mean, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
