Page 81 of Once Bitten, Twice Fried
Julie had no idea what was going on.
“Do you know that Zoe kept a picture of the two of you on her fridge for years? Every time I visited her it was still there.” She took a deep breath. “I always assumed that you two broke up and you didn’t want to tell me because you didn’t want to ruin our friendship or something.”
“Wait, Zoe kept a picture of me?” The thought of Zoe looking at a picture of them every time she cooked was enough to put a dumb grin on Julie’s face.
“Julie, stay focused.”
Julie nodded.
“Now that I know the truth, I can safely tell you that all of it is stupid.”
“Hey! Be nice!” Julie frowned. “I know it’s stupid, I should’ve just forgotten about her.”
“No! You shouldn’t forget about her! You should tell her how you actually feel!” Yasmine was gesticulating wildly now. Some wine jumped out of her glass onto the floor but Julie felt like she couldn’t really interrupt to clean it.
“What’s the point of it now, though? She moved on and is getting her big celebrity wedding this month.” Julie said it almost sarcastically.
“You’re making her out to be this big mean cruel person, but you and I both know she couldn’t be farther from that. She hasn’t changed since college, and you still mean a lot to her. At the very least you should hear her out.”
Julie was silent.
“I know you’re scared of being hurt. But being hurt isn’t always a bad thing. You have to give a chance to people you actually care about. I’ve seen you date so many girls and you’ve never looked as happy as when you were with Zoe, but I guess at least you were safe.”
Julie didn’t want to hear any of it any more. She knew it was all true but it was too hard. Why couldn’t it just be easy? Why did it have to be like this?
Yasmine wasn’t done. “You decided that Zoe didn’t care about you and was considering you ‘a mistake’ but you know it’s not the truth. She never said that. She might be just as scared as you. You can’t be mad at a version of her that you don’t even know exists.”
“But she pushed her wedding date forward.” Julie hoped this would end the conversation.
“I was also about to marry someone I didn’t want to be with.” Yasmine said, ending the conversation definitively.
Julie stared down at her table. She didn’t want to have hopes for Zoe any more. She didn’t want to be in love any more. And yet… Yasmine was right. It was easier for Zoe to be this mean attractive woman who was playing with Julie’s feelings, because it was somebody that Julie could be mad at and forget. But Yasmine’s words were digging up the real Zoe that Julie had tried to bury. The Zoe who stayed up late with her to study for finals and would wrap a blanket around Julie’s shoulders whenshe fell asleep at the table. The Zoe who forgave Julie even though she’d treated her in the worst way possible for the past ten years. The Zoe who always cared about her but Julie denied it because she was too scared. Maybe it was time to let go of that fear that had been eating Julie and destroying anything good in her life?
Yasmine was standing, arms crossed, a sad look on her face.
“I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot but I can’t go another ten years of seeing you both like that and being stuck in the middle,” she sighed. “If you’re not doing it for yourself, do it for Zoe. She deserves to know how you feel about her.” Yasmine was starting to gather her jacket and purse. She was ready to head home.
Julie’s thoughts were going in all directions. It felt like she was given the key to her own cage, but opening the door meant that it could be a reality in which Zoe told her no. She could declare her love to Zoe and it wouldn’t mean that Zoe would run away at the altar to be with her. It was a frightening possibility, but Julie couldn’t live in limbo any more and pretend that pining after Zoe forever was a better destiny than having a definitive answer, whether it was positive or not.
The sound of Yasmine’s trainers against the wooden floor was nearing the front door of Julie’s apartment. Julie snapped out of it and ran after her friend.
“I’ll do it, Yas. I’ll tell Zoe how I feel.” Julie felt a lump in her throat. “I’m not gonna be an idiot any more.”
Yasmine smiled at her. “That’s bold of you to assume.”
Julie grinned back. “At least, I will be a little bit less of an idiot.”
“I believe in you. You can do it. I’ll see you later.” Yasmine waved at Julie and closed the door of the apartment.
Julie stood for a minute in her hallway, not really knowing what to do with herself. She just knew she had to call Zoe.
Chapter 34
“Idon’t know, just tell them you misunderstood me!” Zoe was trying her best not to scream into her phone. Harry had been trying to talk her around for 15 minutes now and neither of them were budging.
“I’m so sorry, Zoe. But I can’t just say that. It would be bad publicity.”
Bad publicity? Zoe gritted her teeth. That was rich of Harry to worry about bad publicity when he was responsible for the nightmare of the past few days.
