"I'm not saying that I have a bad life, but if you were to write a story with me in the lead role, it would certainly be a tragedy."
When I said that there was no way that my life could possibly get any worse, I was kidding. I didn't actually expect...
"It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you."
―John Updike, My Father's Tears and Other Stories.
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Our mothers often warn us that we will get our hearts broken over and over again until we find that special someone who'll make every other guy pale in comparison and every heartbreak totally worth it― I called bullshit on that theory from the very beginning and with good reason too.
It wasn't easy for someone as cynical as me when it came to dealing with matters of the heart. The problem wasn't that I didn't believe in the concept but it just really perplexed me how easy it was to fall in love with someone you had no business being in love with in the first place.
A loud sigh cut into my reverie causing me to shoot a wary glance at Jamie who was slumped on the couch with his arms crossed.
"I don't want to talk about it." I turned away and stared at the ceiling.
"But this silence is so defeaning," he complained.
"You are such a child," I grumbled.
Reaching beside me, I grabbed my phone and turned it on. It rang almost instantly, eliciting a groan from me.
"You want me to get that?" Jamie asked.
I vaguely heard him as I scowled at the screen where an unsaved number was calling. Even though it wasn't saved, it wasn't unfamiliar either; years of calling it had imprinted it on my memory. "It's no one," I muttered, tossing the phone aside.
My chest hurt as I heaved a frustrated sigh. Blocking Brian's number had been one of the hardest things that I'd ever done and unblocking it proved to be the stupidest.
"I'm still a really good listener," Jamie said.
I tilted my head to the side to look at him. "Why do you even care?"
"Because you're hurting and as your best friend it's my job to care."
"As my what?"
"Your best friend."
I chuckled at the absurdity of his statement. "Why would you say such a thing? We ceased to be friends the moment that you walked out of my life."
"I didn't have a choice, Tay."
"Oh, really now?" I sat upright and reached under the coffee table. Jamie was watching me curiously as I pulled out a photo album. "Freshman year," I told him. "The best and worst year of my college life."
I slowly turned each page, trailing my fingers across the photographs with a wistful smile until I came to a stop at the one that I was searching for. I slid it out and tossed it to Jamie, watching as his eyes widened in recognition.
