Broken Girls And Broken Boys

Chapter Thirteen: He's only my friend...right?

"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do now," Maria blubbers through a mouthful of ice cream. Before she swallows that, she scoops another into her mouth before wiping her eyes with her sleeve- mascara follows its path down her face.

"Maria, you will be fine," I reply, trying to soothe her. I grab her hand and hold it over the table; Maria shoots a weak smile at me and I smile quietly in return. She shovels another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth before her eyes shift to my partially-eaten tub.

"Can I have your ice cream?" she asks, her eyes pleading with me. I roll mine and slide it over- unlike Maria I don't magically store fattening foods, instead they go straight to my stomach and legs where they sit for ever more; so I let her take it though it's almost like saying goodbye to my child. Some how she manages to eat her way through my desert too though she's had three before I arrived and two whilst I was here.

"Why would her dump me? I'm gorgeous," she mumbles, more tears running down her cheeks (I swear she must have some sort of infinite supply of them stored away somewhere).

"Maybe he's just blind?" I offer because though I have a lot of experience in the dumping department, I'm not usually too bothered when it happens. After a while you get used to it.

"He's not. I think he was doing some hoe from his local," she mutters, wiping away her tears once more. Maria pushes the empty pots into the middle of my table before pulling her hand from mine and standing up. "Right, I'm done with ice cream. Can we go get those Frappes from The Coffee Shop?" she asks, though we both know I can't deny the caffeinated drinks Tony makes.

That is the only good thing about our city- the coffee.

And let's not even go into the iced frostinis- they are to die for.

"Sure," I agree, trying not to sound too excited about the idea. Maria shoots me a genuine smile- the first one for hours- and grabs my hand to pull me out of the booth seat. I smile in return and we head out of The Ice Cream Factory into the crisp air. Though it's November, there has not been a single drop of snow- to mine and Maria's dismay. I sigh into the misty air and wrap my coat around me tighter. The freezing air whips through my split ends, gently caressing them, and I shiver further into the warmth of my winter jacket.

We head down the street arm in arm both silent- it's rare to see us two not chatting away about something or other. "Kendall," Maria breathes, causing a cloud of mist to appear. "Do you think I was stupid to trust Connor or be so obsessed with him?" she asks, furrowing her brow.

"No. You weren't stupid. Sometimes guys make promises they can't keep. Why should we feel stupid when all we did was give them a chance? It's not your fault he was slimy and a sleaze and besides, you don't need him. You've got me remember?"

Maria laughs hoarsely and smiles at me. We stop in front of the cafe and she turns to me with a smirk. "Of course, how could I ever forget my lesbian lover?" she winks, opening the door to The Coffee Shop. The pungent smell of coffee hits me and I sigh into the warmth of the cafe. Maria and I settle down into the corner of the room just as Tony comes bounding over with a big grin on his face.

Tony is by far the friendliest person you will ever meet- he's loud, bubbly and has one heck of a moustache. "Hello, my friend," he booms kindly, his Italian accent easing into his ever word. He turns to me with an ear-splitting grin. "And hello my best employee," he touches my shoulder with his gigantic hands and I smile to him. I catch one of the Barista's at the counter glare at me and roll her eyes.

"What can I get for you today?" he asks his dark kind eyes flickering between Maria and me.

"It's fine we can get it," I offer, beginning to stand up; Tony pushed me back down into my seat and I fake-glower at him. His deep chuckle reverberates around the room causing everyone to smile-even Maria tries to pull a watery grin onto her face.