Chapter 3
1021 Words
I followed my best friend out of the kitchen, calling her name over and over. Sophie didn't turn back nor acknowledge my calling. I could see her stiff back, even from this distance. Her shoulders were shaking with sobs, the sound of her cries tearing at my heart.
"Sophie!" I called out. "Sophie, please wait! Let's talk about—"
Sophie burst out of the kitchen and came out to the main diner. She stopped so suddenly that I ran face first into her back. I could hear Alex closing in behind us, then he stopped beside me too.
"Sophie," he murmured to her, hands outstretched as though pacifying a baby. "Sophie, listen to me—"
"You backstabbers!" She screamed, then turned to us. In a matter of minutes, her face had been streaked with tears, and snot was running down her nose. Eyes bloodshot, hair dishevelled, she looked like the perfect picture of misery.
And the sight terrified me shitless.
Goddess, what had I done to my best friend?
"Backstabbers, both of you!" She bellowed. The entire diner had gone silent now, and all the diners were watching us with rapt attention.
Sophie swayed on her feet as she faced us, hands balled into fists beside her. She had a waif-like frame; small and fragile, but she looked as though the sight of her boyfriend and I making out had finally pushed her off the edge. She looked broken, and it shattered my heart to know I was the cause of all of this.
At that moment, I hated the Moon Goddess for setting us up this way. Hell, perhaps I hated myself even more.
"I always knew you had eyes for every man I dated, Maisie." She growled. "But I would never, ever have believed that you would actually go for my boyfriend, that you would do this to me."
My heart broke with the weight of her words. "Sophie, I would never do that—"
"I thought you would never, too." She shook her head slowly. "But I noticed the way you had looked at Alex when he walked in. You had been smitten, and the moment I'd turned my back, you had gone for him!"
A lump formed in my throat. "Sophie, it's not my fault!"
"Not your fault!" Sophie made a sound that was part laugh, part sob. "Yeah, right."
Alex stepped forward. "Sophie, listen. Neither of us planned this! We were together, and then—the Moon Goddess paired us. I swear, it wasn't—"
"You lying, conniving man!" Sophie spat savagely. "You told me I was special. You told me you loved me! But you don't, do you?" She flicked her finger between the both of us. "Neither of you do."
“That’s not true! I do care about you, Sophie. You’re my best friend.” I followed Sophie as she moved towards the front door. “It breaks my heart that this had to happen!"
"Then reject her!" Sophie ordered, turning to Alex. Her eyes were full of a manic light that scared me. One more emotional push, and Sophie would morph into her wolf right there in the diner, in front of several humans.
"Reject her!" She repeated, her voice turning to a heart-chilling growl.
Alex glanced at me, then turned back to Sophie. "I....I can't."
Sophie voice caught on a sob. She raised a hand to her face and stood still for a moment. The air around the diner was tense as all eyes were fixated on her.
"You know what?" She said finally, looking up at the both of us. "You both can have each other. I don't care anymore."
She turned and started for the front door again. I caught her arm, trying to stop her. “Don’t say that, Sophie. Please…You’ve got to understand.”
“Oh, I do understand.” Sophie shook off my hand. “I was never your friend."
At that moment, David burst out from his office and walked towards us. I could see the look of fury in his eyes, but I couldn't care less.
"What in the world is going on here?" He asked, arms outstretched. He turned to Sophie. "Do you care to explain?"
"Yes!" Sophie snarled savagely. "My coworker was caught smooching my boyfriend in the kitchen!"
The entire diner was thrown into even more pressing silence at her words. I felt an abashed blush creep up my cheeks as every single eye turned to me. Alex was staring at his shoes in embarrassment.
David turned to me, a look of consternation on his face. Then he scoffed loudly. "Work romance, Miss Blackwood? Oh, you are fired!"
Ignoring him, I turned to Sophie, who was staring at me with a mutinous look in her eyes. She leaned forward until we were almost touching noses, then snarled in my face. "You're going to regret this, Maisie. Mark my words. You're going to regret what you did today."
Her words sent chills right through my bones, but before I could react, she turned and reached the front door. She pushed it open, then walked out into the street.
"Sophie!" I called out to her again, feeling the fear in my chest grow. However, when I burst out of the front door, my best friend had disappeared, blending into downtown Atlanta traffic like oil paint in water.
A devastated sigh slipped from my lips as my eyes darted around, searching for the familiar, light brown hair; that dear, lopsided grin that I'd come to associate with my best friend. I felt adrift and alone, as though I'd lost a part of my soul forever.
Alex appeared beside me. Without warning, his hand slipped upwards and came to rest on my shoulder. His touch was oddly comforting, though it was the last thing I needed right now.
Quickly I shrugged his hand from my shoulder, then turned towards the diner again. I needed to pick up my things and leave the place for good.
My best friend was gone, and nothing was g
oing to bring her back to me again.
- Writer
