Page 18 of Bleeding Hearts

Demi: as long as you come with sushi

Asher: Yeah. I’ll be there around 8.

Demi: THANK YOUUUU

Asher: Always.

March 13th, 2023, 3:30 p.m.

Demi: movie night tonight???

Asher: Are you gonna make me watch your romance crap again?

Demi: absolutelyyyyy

Demi: we can watch one action movie to satisfy your manliness too though don’t worry

Demi: as long as there’s a romance subplot :)

Asher: You’re impossible. See you later.

CHAPTERFIVE

Demi - March 22, 2023

“Please don’t leave me,” I whine, sitting on the floor of Logan’s room as she packs her things into boxes.

The bitch had to fall in love with my brother, and of course the asshole had to ask her to marry him, and now my best friend is moving out of the apartment that we’ve shared for the past six years and leaving me here alone.

“Demi, I’ll be fifteen minutes away.” She laughs, so damn happy to be moving in with the love of her life, as she deserves to be.

I know I’m being dramatic. I’ve just never been very good at being on my own. I’ve never really had to be alone. The most alone I ever felt was living at home with my parents, and even then, I was never actually alone.

“I know. I’m just going to miss you.” I lift up a picture frame, gently placing it in the box next to me, begrudgingly helping her pack.

I am going to miss her, even if she will only be fifteen minutes away. Her moving out changes things.

Yes, she spends most of her time with Kaden now when she’s not working, but here with me has still been her home.

Logan has been my lifeline for almost the past six years, the best friend anyone could ask for. Sure, I have other best friends. I guess I’m just always going to be a little bit scared of losing that.

One of the good things that has come out of her and Kaden is the friendship I’ve built with Asher. Over the past six months, he’s slowly become one of my favorite people in the world.

We don’t hang out more than a few times a month, but he texts me about fifty memes a day that never fail to make me smile.

I’ve also become his favorite wingwoman for when we do go out. Whether he takes my advice on who to go for is another story.

I won’t lie and say it didn’t make my heart pinch a little at first to see him pick up girls left and right, knowing he was sleeping with all of them.

I think I’m just used to it now, though. I’m also just phenomenal at lying to myself. Although, I will say it’s been a while since I’ve seen him actually go home with anyone, now that I think about it.

So maybe the crush I had on Asher never fully went away, but I still stand firm on us being only friends. I’m like ninety percent firm.

Okay, maybe seventy percent.

Who the fuck am I fooling? I’m not firm on it at all. But I’m pretty sure he is, and that’s all that matters.

When we first became friends, I watched him shamelessly take women home with him after a night out together, so I’m pretty confident he’s not interested in me that way.

---