My Best Friend's Girlfriend

Chapter 4

 I lay down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling and releasing a prolonged sigh. My parents were arguing downstairs, and I stood to close my door and block out the noise. Before I could, I heard some of what they were saying.

"All I'm saying is if you put in more effort raising him, maybe he would be turning out better!" my mother shouted.

"He's unteachable! I've tried!" My father fired back. "You deal with him! He's your son!"

"He's yours too!"

"I KNOW! You think I wanted a son like that?! You think this is rewarding for me?!" I finally shut my dear, sinking down to the floor and covering my ears in a desperate attempt to unhear what I'd just heard. Tears burned in my eyes, and I clenched my hands into fists. After a moment, I forced myself to rise from the floor and walk to my bed. I might as well send Fitz Sophie's number now, I thought, needing anything to distract myself. I withdrew my phone from my backpack, which still sat on the floor beside my bed and texted Fitz.

I got Sophie's number

It took a second for him to reply.

You did? Great!

I sent him the number, settling back on my bed and leaning against the wall. My parents' shouts were still resounding downstairs. I squeezed my eyes shut. Finally, they ceased, and I heard loud stomping footsteps up the stairwell and to their room. I unlocked my phone again, staring blankly at my text messages. There was only one person I wanted to text.

Hey, it's Keefe

Sophie responded almost instantly.

Hi! How ru?

My smile faded as I looked back at my door, beyond which my parents stewed with angry comments, awaiting the next argument in which to use them.

I'm fine

Is Biana normally like that?

The question caught me off guard.

What do you mean?

I knew exactly what she meant

She seems very protective if you

I snorted. You can say that again, I thought.

And I don't think she likes me very much

I'm sure she does

Yeah, because she seemed so excited to hang out with me

I paused. What am I supposed to say? I wondered. Sophie was right. Biana didn't like her, mainly because she viewed her as a threat.

If it makes things any better, I like you

I didn't know why I said it, my fingers almost seemed to type the text by themselves.

That's sweet

I let out a breath of relief. She hadn't reacted badly.

I like you too

I had no idea why that made me feel so good. She didn't mean it in any way other than as a friend. There were plenty of people that liked me.

Who doesn't?

Sophie didn't text me again that night. Oh crap, I thought. Wrong thing to say. It was just easier to act like I didn't care, even about something trivial. Sometimes it felt like I was even lying to myself, but that was better than admitting the truth.