Fake Girlfriend

We dropped Stella off first. I don’t think she knew what to say as she got out. The entire ride had been dead quiet because Lex and I were to preoccupied with our thoughts to talk. It must have made Stella feel awkward. Well, if it did, she didn’t show it.

She kissed Lex’s cheek. “Bye,” she said. But Lex was unresponsive. “I hope everything works out.”

“Bye, Stella,” I managed to say.

“See ya. It was nice to meet you, Thisbe,” she said, hopping out of the car. She shut the door and waved.

I crawled from the backseat into the front through the small space between the seats, gave a small wave back, and re-buckled myself as Lex drove away. I noticed that his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tight. I didn’t say anything, because I knew how he felt. He was worried, but also frustrated that Cole never told him. Whereas, I shouldn’t have been surprised that Cole never told me, Lex was his best friend, someone who should be told these things.

The silence in the car continued for the 20 minutes it took to get to Cole’s house.

When we got there, I had to stop myself from jumping out of the car while it was still moving. Lex pulled into the driveway, and when the car stalled, we both got out right away and half-ran to the door. Lex knocked, and it took a while for the door to open. The seconds that passed as we waited felt like hours. And when Cole finally opened the door, instead of being relieved, I couldn’t help but gasp.

Cole was sleepy looking. His tousled hair and tired expression would have been cute had it not been that he had a black eye. I put a hand to my mouth and I could feel tears in my eyes. Lex cringed. Cole just looked at us tired and confused; after all, it was at least eleven o’ clock at night.

“What the hell, guys?” he asked, sounding sort of annoyed. I remembered that he was probably still mad at me.

“What happened to your eye?” Lex asked abruptly, his face still solemn and tight.

Cole touched his eye, as if he had forgotten it was there. He frowned. “Just a bit of a fist fight with some guys. They pissed me off,” he answered plainly.

I couldn’t hold it in any longer. “You’re such a liar, Cole!” I said, the tears escaping my eyes.

He suddenly looked alarmed.

“Cole,” Lex said. “We know.”

Now, Cole looked scared. “W-what? Know what?” But it was clear he knew what we were talking about. Then, he got angry. “Who told you?!” he hissed. Then, he got scared again. “N…nevermind. It doesn’t matter. Just… just go away!” He tried to slam the door, but I managed to put my hand between the threshold and the door before it closed. And the door slammed on my fingers. It hardly hurt as much as the pain in my chest, but I still let out a little scream.

The door flew back open. Cole had a look of worry. I cradled my hand with my other arm, but stood firmly, this time putting my foot against the threshold to act as a door wedge. “I’m not leaving,” I said.

“I’m not either,” Lex agreed. He crossed his arms. “Why the hell did you never tell me, Cole? We’ve been best buds since forever.”

Cole’s eye narrowed. Again, he was angry. “Best buds?” He snickered. “You dated by old girlfriend behind my back. You’ve always taken Thisbe’s side on everything, ignoring me for days. You took Thisbe, my girlfriend, to the Halloween Dance—“

“You went with Caroline!” I defended.

He glared at me. “You wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Well you won’t talk to us now!” Lex said, pissed off.

Cole turned his glare to his friend. “Why would I talk to the guy who seems to like getting involved with my girlfriends.”

Now, I was frustrated. “Cole! You know it’s not like that! And why do you care if it was? It’s not like I was your real girlfriend!!” I blurted out loudly, too angry that Cole was talking to his best friend like this to check what I was saying. My eyes went wide when I said it.

Lex caught it right away. “Wait. What?”

“Nothing, Lex,” Cole hissed, glaring still, unfazed that I had just shouted out our secret. “Get lost.”

“Cole!” I shouted, surprised and furious.

He looked at me still glaring. “You go too,” he said.

Lex spat on the porch in front of Cole’s feet. “F*** you, Cole. I was wrong to be concerned about you,” he said. He began walking towards his car. “Come on, Thisbe. Let the a**hole be by himself.”

I stood firm, though tears totally drenched my cheeks, and it was getting really hard to keep from sobbing. “No. I’m not going,” I said, staring straight into Cole’s eyes.

Lex snickered bitterly. “Well, I’m not staying. You won’t have a way to get home if you don’t come,” he said.

“I don’t care. I won’t go,” I said. “Cole doesn’t mean it, Lex. I know he doesn’t.”

“I do,” Cole insisted monotonously.

“F*** off, Cole,” Lex said. I was shocked. Even when Cole found out Lex was secretly dating Caroline, the words weren’t this bad. It hurt me to hear these words exchanged. “Last chance, Thisbe,” Lex said. At least he still sounded worried for me.

“I’ll be fine,” I said without looking back.

I heard Lex drive away, leaving me with Cole.

Finally, his eyes met my teary ones. I could see his fierce glare waiver. “Good luck getting home, now,” he said bitterly.

I ignored the comment. He was only being this way because he was scared. I knew that. “Why would you say something like that to Lex?” I asked. “You know he was only worried about you.”

Cole just snickered.

“Cole…” I said. Instead of being frustrated, I was just sad. Why won’t he just open up? “Please, Cole…”

Suddenly, there was a gruff voice in the room behind the door. “Cole, you bastard. Waking me up… Who the hell is at the door?” The voice was slurred, and I immediately knew who that must be. Cole’s step dad. And he sounded drunk. I was suddenly scared, then I heard some sort of glass shatter and I yelped.

Cole swore under his breath, eyes wide. “Stay there,” he said, shutting the door on me. But, he forgot I had my foot in the door, and it bounced back open, revealing the scary scene before me without him realizing.