cari pours me another glass of wine while i explain to her what happened between my mom and dad. "so they used to live together in miami until i was really young, i don't even think they were together half the time they lived together. it was just for mine and my brothers benefit. but when he left i took it really hard, my dad and i were always the bestest of friends until recently, he barely talks to me now" i explain to her. she listens intently, not looking away from me once, proving that she does really care about what i'm telling her.
"what about your friends and stuff you have back in miami" she questions. i tuck my hair behind my ear and take a sip of my wine.
"i had this one best friend, we would do everything together, pretty much inseparable. but i started dating this girl and i don't think she liked that the attention wasn't on her. she was mad at me and ended up sleeping with my girlfriend. which sucked because i lost the both of them in the space of one night" i tell her.
she frowns her eyebrows and shakes her head. "you dated since?" she asks and i shake my head.
"how about you?" i question. she lets out a loud sigh and runs her hand though her hair.
"i dated a girl for a couple years, broke up back in lockdown. i was so so heartbroken i didn't think i'd ever get over it. it took a while but i can only recently now say that i'm completely over her and that i'm ready to move on" she tells me, and i can instantly tell by her face that she doesn't even want to think about her anymore.
"i think the hardest part about finding a new relationship after a breakup is trust. i find it so so hard to trust people to the point where i just avoid dating" i explain to her.
she takes her glass of wine up to her pink lips and takes a large sip before carefully placing it back onto the table. "i agree, but like i wrote a song about this recently and i think that you learn so much from relationships and break ups that the next person always gets a better version of you because we learn so much from past relationships" cari tells me.
i watch as she picks up her bag from beside her feet and pulls out a pair of earphones. she scoots her chair around the table until she's beside me. she hands me an earphone which i put in my ear as she plus them into her phone.
she begins playing the song, leaning her arm on the back of my chair. the smell of her perfume surrounding me and she sits close to me. i listen to her raspy voice on the song, which is kinda heartbreaking. i can feel cari's eyes on me, watching me while i listen to the song.
i finish off the rest of my wine and listen to the lyrics. "this is a beautiful song" i say, playing with the rings on my fingers.
"thank you" she says quietly.
i take the earphone out and hand it back to her and she puts them back in her bag. i look around, rubbing my hands up and down my arms, freezing from when we got soaked earlier.
"you cold?" cari asks, looking at me with concern.
"yeah a little" i tell her, she picks up her wine glass and drinks the rest of it quickly and then stands up grabbing her things.
"let's go home" she says to me. i nod and trail beside her for the short walk back home. it feels weird calling it home actually, because it doesn't feel like that yet. it's only been one night, and it's a difficult place to settle in. everyone in there is a stranger, even though i've gotten to know cari and alex it's still unfamiliar to me.
cari holds the door open for me and follows me to the elevator which takes us to our. "thanks for coming with me tonight by the way, it's been really fun" she says, unlocking the door to our apartment.
"thanks for bringing me, tour guide" i say, nudging her in the arm like she did to me earlier. she looks at me with a grin on her face and then throws a fluffy blanket at my head.
"warm yourself up" she says, watching as i wrap it around myself as she does the same with hers. "your finally back, i thought you guys were staying there all night" alex says, joining us in the living room.
"we got a little distracted talking" cari tells her best friend, whilst sitting down on the sofa and putting her feet up on the table in front of her. "i'm going to get out of these wet clothes and shower, i'll see you guys tomorrow" i say to them both.
i take my blanket off and throw it onto cari's head like she did to me. i walk away but glance back at her, meeting her eye seeing the biggest smile on her face and alex looking at her questioningly.
YOU ARE READING
better version ; fletcher
Teen Fiction"i want someone who's never going to leave me, that can have the better version of me"
