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Aleyah knew she was a liar. It wasn't something as serious as being a pathological or compulsive liar. She, just like anyone else, told small, mostly unharmful lies here and there. But that wasn't what she was referring to.
The girl did care about Jude despite her numerous attempts to forget him. However, since he appeared at the Royal Crest every day from the first time Aleyah saw him there, she blamed the boy for haunting her mind constantly. He'd come in around the same time every afternoon, either with his parents, brother, or friends. Sometimes, he even came alone.
But what irked the waitress was that he'd go into the restaurant and act completely normal. As if he wasn't playing some sort of mind game with her. Aleyah had even served his table once, and all the boy did was give her a curt nod of appreciation, then went back to his business.
It shouldn't have bothered Aleyah as much as it did. Especially because there was a high chance that he didn't recognize her. He probably met hundreds of girls weekly. Ones beautiful enough to catch his interest and make him request numbers. Just earlier that week, he was on a date. And by the waitress's comparison, Maddison Tate was far better than Aleyah. It was even absurd that there would be a possibility that the two needed to be compared.
And by the end of her analysis of the situation, Aleyah had managed to gaslight herself into believing that the only reason she saw Jude at the Royal Crest so much was that he enjoyed the dead atmosphere and small portions of food. After all, he did have to keep himself fit for his career.
"I sound crazy, right?" Aleyah looked up from the empty box and to the boy beside her. " I mean, 'the' Jude Bellingham can't be messing with me."
"It's not crazy. It's absolutely absurd." Lucas deadpanned as he pulled out a small sweater from the box in front of him and handed it to her.
At the end of every month, Aleyah and her neighbors, which included Lucas, received boxes of items that wealthier people had donated. Each household received one box with mystery items ranging from money and food coupons to clothes and shoes.
The two friends sat in Aleyah's living room, sorting through their own boxes. Once they got acquainted with one another a few months prior, they began to sort through their boxes together, giving the other items they wouldn't need. It was like a tradition.
"Wait, listen, you don't know the whole story. You haven't heard about our first conversation." The girl tried to reason even though she'd supposedly come to a conclusion on the ordeal.
"And I don't need to." Lucas angled to face her. "Aleyah, even if the two of you clicked at first, you know it's never gonna work. You know it too. You gave him the wrong number."Aleyah pursed her lips. He was right. She was aware that he was right. But she didn't know why the truth bothered her so much, why she couldn't just stuff everything Jude related with all the unwanted thoughts at the back of her mind.
