"That, honest to God, is the worst model you've ever made," she says and bursts out laughing mid-sentence.
"It's not that bad," I say and look at the wonky structure optimistically.
"It is!" she shrieks as she rolls around the floor cry-laughing.
"Oh, come on! Don't be mean," I say and gently kick her thigh. She's too busy wiping away her tears of joy to fight back.
"I always knew you weren't the most creative one," she sits up with a Cheshire Cat type of smile, "but this is awful!" she finishes and reaches for the model. My eyes are caught by something completely different... a familiar bracelet.
"That's a cute bracelet. Where did you get it from?" I ask and point at it. Her face lights up again.
"At this weird jewellery store in the mall on the outskirts of town," she replies and adjusts it slightly before she gets up on her feet again.
"I have to go pee before I start laughing again or I'll piss myself," she says, half chuckling as she leaves the room. I sit down with my model on the floor and try to get my mind off the bracelet as I readjust some of the towers. Her bag gives off a vibrating buzz. I ignore it and start to deconstruct the whole thing. Another buzz. And another. And another. And another. Soon, it's just a series of buzzes and beeps. I sigh exasperatedly and reach for her bag. I dig through it until I find her phone. My eyes scan over the dozens of notifications again and again and again and again and again until it hits me like a train.
"I never got to tell him 'I love you'!" I scream so harshly at her that my throat burns with the aftertaste of my words.
"I'm so-"
"Don't tell me you're sorry, because if you really were, you wouldn't have done it in the first place," I tell her as my vision suddenly becomes blurred. I'm crying. "I didn't get to tell him how he, still, to this day, makes a swarm of butterflies appear out of thin air when I hear his voice. Do you think he knows that I listen to the voicemails he has left me when I miss him? Does he know how I cried for weeks when he left me, how it physically burned in my chest every time I thought of him? I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move, I felt like I was dying."
"I-"
"You know how much he means to me! You watched me fall in love with him again and again, every single fucking day for two years straight. Didn't you see the desperation in my eyes? Or should I have thrown myself at his feet for it to become apparent enough for you?" I scream at the top of my lungs and grab a pillow from my bed, chucking it at her. Her arms quickly go up to protect herself. The pillow silently hits the carpet as she averts her gaze in the same direction. My chest heaves up and down as I struggle to breathe and regain my composure. Her hands ball up into fists as she finally dares to look into my eyes. With tears of her own, she begins to shake her head.
"I did. I saw how you looked at him. I saw the way you admired him, how you kissed the ground after each step he took and marveled at each breath he exhaled. But I also got to watch the two of you have your little fairytale romance. I got to be the third-wheel on the dates, I got to watch you two gaze hopelessly into each other's eyes. I was the one who you cancelled plans with for your dates. I got pushed aside as if ten years of friendship meant nothing to you," she speaks with a strained voice, trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Oh, you're really gonna try to put the blame on me now?" I quickly let out as I wipe my tears away with the sleeve of my shirt. In the quiet moments between sobs, I can hear the floorboards creaking outside my door. I roll my eyes as I wipe away the snot with the same sleeve as before.
