Mending Wounds

Chapter Four

I grew up with his bad habit. When I’m nervous and anxious, I shake my right leg up and down a million mile and hour, which is completely fine if it didn’t drive everyone around me insane. I was exactly doing that in ihop on a Saturday morning, anxiously waiting to see my boyfriend, once that I haven’t see in person in a little over three weeks.

I watch the street, nervously waiting to see Ben making his way through the crowd. It’s been more than 45 minutes since we got seated, 30 minutes since I last heard of him, and 15 since I gave up on keeping a solid conversation going with Alex and Jeremy.

“Hey, I’m sorry to disturb you” a brown-haired worker approached us “But you’ve been here for almost an hour and have not order yet, so you sort of need to order. We’re very busy today and need to turn table”

“Sophia?” Jeremy said “We have to order; Ben can order his own food when he gets here”

“Order for me, I need some fresh air” I said as I got up then left.

As soon as I got out on the street, I leaned against the car taking slow breaths and trying control my emotions and not burst into tears. I was upset and heartbroken that I have yet again been stood up by Ben for the fifth time in the past two months.

I took a few minutes to gather my thoughts before I walked back into the restaurant. To my surprised there were two boys seated on our table with Alex and Jeremy. From where I was standing, I gave Alex a confused look, she just gave me an apologetic smile then turned to say something to Jeremy. My walking suddenly came to a halt when I recognized one of the boys, Cole. Deciding against my better judgement, I walked back to the table and took the only available seat between Alex and Cole.

I flashed the guy seated next to Cole with a polite smile “Hey, I’m Sophia. A friend of the family” I said.

He gave me a wide boyish smile “Jessy” he said “We’ve already met before, Derek’s birthday party three years ago. I went to school with Cole”

From the corner of my eyes, I couldn’t help not to notice Cole hot gaze on me. I decided to ignore it, turning my head the other way and closer to Alex’s ear.

“What the f**k is he doing here?” I whisper asked.

She shrugged “I don’t know. He was here and asked to join us” she whispered back “I was surprised too”

Cole leaned forward on the table, trying to catch my attention “I thought this was supposed to be a double date. Where’s your boyfriend, Sophia?” he asked.

I leaned back into my chair slightly annoyed at his nosiness, then did the only thing I could, I lied through my teeth to avoid the humiliation of being stood-up “He cancelled, something really important with work came up” I said as I looked over to Alex and Jeremy, hoping they don’t expose my lie for what it was.

“Hello babies, what conversation am I interrupt?” Rowen, one of Alex’s best friends interrupted “Hopefully a topic that is not about your lovey dovey memories”

I looked up to Alex, giving her the ‘What the f**k, Alex. why is she even f*****g here?’ look. She replied with a ‘sorry’ look, letting me know that she didn’t really plan this, which was the usual.

Ever since Rowen and Alex became best friends two years ago, I couldn’t seem to bring myself around to like her. We weren’t the closest, and sure as hell didn’t like each other. It was like Alex was seeking to find a friend that does everything that I don’t and everything that I lack, therefore, we were the complete opposite. Rowen is the fun friend, the one Alex would call up every time she wants to go out drinking, dancing or clubbing because I am not a fan of any of those.

The one thing I learned and the thing that makes me hate when Rowen is around is because wherever she goes, troubles follow. Every time end-up going partying, I’d get a call at 3 a.m. from Alex drunk and crying because she got stranded in some sort of club of party because Rowen left with a random dude. What makes me hate her even more is how she is with Alex, she always makes her cry, but somehow Alex always forgives her for the s**t she does to her and things she’d say.

“Cole” she said surprised “I didn’t know you’re back”

I felt burn rise in my chest as I watched her reach down to him, slightly hitting me with her ass as she hugged Cole and kissed him on the cheek.

He gave her a polite smile “Yeah, I just got here yesterday actually”

“So what conversation am I interrupting?” she said as she took a seat only the seat that was newly placed between Alex and Jessy, which also happened to be across me.

“We were talking about having a birthday party for Alex and Cole in three weeks” Jeremy said “What do you think, themed birthday party?”

She pushed red dyed hair behind her ear as she leaned toward the table, causing her more of her chest to spill out of the V-line of the white shirt that was already so see through, it reveled her bra color and lace pattern “What type of theme are we talking about”

“Maybe a superhero themed party” He replied.

“No, f**k that” she shook my head “Ditch the theme, that’s lame”

“Agree” Alex said as she raised her hand in agreement.

“I second that” Jessy said.

“It’s settled then, no themed party. We’re having a normal young adult party with alcohol since now you’re already old enough to that” she smirked.

Not long after, everyone jumped into their own conversation with someone around the table. I was just in and out of conversation with Alex and Jeremy. The conversation came to a stop and everyone started cheering and smiling when the waiter started to place the plates on the food on the table. When he placed mine in front of me before leaving, a frown appeared on my face.

I stared at my food for a couple of seconds, debating whether to call back the waiter and asked her to change the eggs from being sunny side up to scrambled with cheese because that was the only way I ate my eggs; or debated on whither I should just stick it up and learn to start eating eggs in new ways. I couldn’t do either though; I couldn’t break my bad habit of only food in certain ways or a specific selection, nor wanted to create drama and attract the attention of everyone on the table by asking for another dish and get called picky.

As I reached for the fork to start picking my food and force myself to eat it, my plate started moving away from me, causing me to jump slightly and look up at the cause of it. Cole.

“All these years and you still haven’t learned” he chuckled as he placed his dish in front of me “She always has and always will order your dish wrong. She has the memory of a gold-fish, you should know that by now”

I looked down to my new plate, waffles with bacon and scrambled eggs on the side. I then looked at Cole slightly confused and embarrassed.

“Cole, it’s fine” I told him trying to reach to my plate, but he moved the plate away.

He pushed the side dish of hush brown to me “I don’t mind, it’s not a big deal really. Plus, you won’t even finish the whole thing, so I’ll share with you”

I gave him a small, embarrassed smile along with a thank you before I dug into my food. He didn’t reply, he just gave me a heartwarming smile before digging into his plate, then occasionally stealing bites of hush brown from my plate. Being like this with him during breakfast was like a small glance of what we used to be before all the drama happened and the breakup. It made me wish that things are still that easy and fun between us.

“God, this breakfast is so peaceful and quiet without the little annoying brat” Alex chuckled.

“Agree” I joked along with a chuckle “If he was here, I wouldn’t have anything left on my plate by now”

“Says the girl that is always hanging out with him” Rowen rolled her eyes “You literally spend most of your time with him, even more time than you spend with Alex nowadays. It’s like there is something going on between you too”

I raised my eyebrows at her poor choice of words with Cole being here and his already existing suspicion of Derek and I dating “What the f**k are you even talking about” I frowned “Derek is two years younger than I am and is like a brother to me, and let’s not forget he is my best friend so there’s no way in hell that there’s a thing going on between us”

“Are you sure? Because I’ve seen how you guys are, all the inside jokes, secrets, and the late night hanging out. I wouldn’t be shocking I mean” she pointed out “For all I know, you guys could be secretly banging. You used to consider Cole as a best friend and brother before you two started sneaking around and banging; so I wouldn’t be surprised if you did that with Derek as well”

“Well that was different, and I’m already seeing someone else” I defended myself.

She sipped on her with a smile as she held my eyes “You’re point it. I wouldn’t find it shocking if you’re jiggling two set of balls in the same time, it’s sounds like something you already do”

“What the f**k, Rowen” Jeremy said, probably louder than he meant to.

“What? I’m just stating the obvious and base it on past experience” she pointed out, then she looked at Alex “You didn’t tell him about the time she was juggling your brother and poor Andy at the same time”

I felt the blood in my face boil as I turned red in embarrassment, shame and anger over the memory, over something that she was completely twisting into a story that paints me as the villain. I wanted to reply to her but was too shaken, angry, and one the verge of tears to even speak and defend myself. So, I moved my eyes away and looked out down to my shaky hands as they held each other in an attempt to stop them.

“What the f**k are you even talking about, Rowen?” Cole said “I don’t care if you’re Alex Best friend, but you better shut that hole that you call a mouth and get you head out of your ass because that is not what happened. If you want to change the whole events of something that we lived through and you just creepy observed from the sidelines in hope that one day you’d be able to throw it at Sophia face, at least ensure that no one else knows the story on the table before you twist it”

My head snapped up to Cole’s, thankful for he said the words that I couldn’t get my mouth to speak and hold silently covering my hands in one of his to help me calm down.

A smirk appeared on his face as he looked Rowen dead in the eyes “I mean I get it. I know why you treat Sophia the way that you do. You’re f*****g obsessed with her, with every everything she does really. She’s loyal, funny, smarter, has manners, beautiful and twice the women that you will every be. You’re just being a b***h to her because deep down inside, you want to be her. I honestly do not blame you for being so obsessed with everything about her. Hell, I used and still am something” he said then his face went more serious then I have ever seen “But f*****g belittle her again and speak to her the way you just did, I will personally ensure that you are ruined”

Everyone looked at Cole in utter shock, some even mouth open, including me. It didn’t take long for Rowen to open her mouth in attempt to fire back though, but luckily Jeremy was faster.

Jeremy got up, digging his hand in his pocket “This is f*****g getting out of hands, and it’s time for this to end now” he said, then handed his card to Alex “I’m going to go ahead and take Sophia back home, while you deal with your ass of a friend that you still insist on being friends with despite all that s**t that she have done to everyone around you”

Jeremy then turned to Cole “And you, you’re will stay here with them and make she that that snake does not dig her teeth into my girlfriend and pulled right back into this stupid toxic relationship that should have ended the minute it started”

“Take Jessy too” Cole instructed.

Jessy shook his head “No, man, I’m good” he said “I’ll stick around incase anyone decided to bite someone head off”

Jeremy dragged me back to the car, where he took it upon himself to drive us back home. He didn’t say anything to me as he drove, just looked at me as I hugged my knees every now and then to check if I was still crying.

“It wasn’t like that, Jer” I said “What she said wasn’t true, it didn’t happen like that”

“Tell me then” he said, encouraging me to talk with a small smile.

I rested my chin on my knees “You know how Alex is, she likes the mend into my businesses as she please, calling it helping and preparing me for the new world”

She chuckled “She does that with me too”

“That’s what caused everything” I told him “She tried to set me up with Andy since he was fresh out of a long term relationship and I wasn’t in one yet, thinking we would make the perfect match. I would’ve, but I already had my heart set on another. I didn’t mean to lead Andy on, I mean I told him that we can be friends and hang out since he was fun, but he didn’t seem to  get the message at all and thought that we were dating.

“Two weeks into our friendship that he assumed was a relationship, he walked in on Cole and I making out in the Derek’s room and freaked out. He was really hurt and mad at me for according to him ‘Cheated on him and led him on’, even though I stated my intention from the very beginning. Just friends”

“That wasn’t your fault, Sophia” he said “You cannot force yourself to like someone”

I nodded as I wiped my tears away “I know, but still. I hurt him”

“He lived, so it doesn’t matter now. Plus, he’s probably dating someone else now, or even married” she chuckled.

I nodded in agreement before we fell into comfortable silence.

“You need to be more confident, Sophia” he spoke “You cannot let that b***h run all over you like that. I don’t care who she thinks she is, but she does not have any right to talk to you like that and you shouldn’t let her. I are one of the most ruthless people when it comes to comebacks and shade, but for some reason every time she’s around, you seem to be tongue tie and forget how to defend yourself”

“She just pisses me off so bad it makes me go crazy” I sighed “I just can’t think and breath when she’s around and digging her nasty ass fake nails into someone that deserves more than to be associated with such a b***h as a best friend”

“We both know that she shouldn’t be” he pointed up “Alex is f*****g stupid for letting her walk back into her life like that easily after all the s**t she did, and you can tell her that I said that by the way because I said the exact thing to her since the day we started dating. I love Alex and I promised that I’d treat her friends well and be nice to them, but I f*****g hate that awful excuse of a best friend. She’s just wrong in the head and everywhere else, and that is exactly why we should be the ones to escort her out of Alex’s life whether she agrees to it or not”

I looked over to him confused “And how the hell am I supposed to do that?”

He looked over to me with the most playful grin I’ve ever seen on him before he turned back “First, we need to get your mojo back. We can’t win this war with your tail between legs every time she’s around”