Sooner or Later...You'll Want Me Again

SOL...YWMA [Ch. 27]

Previously: “So that was your plan, wasn’t it? Flirting with Phil to try to make me jealous,” Cory clarified. “I wasn’t. Why should it matter whether it was in front of you or not? If I want to go out there and flirt with him right now, I will,” I argued. “Like hell you are,” Cory bellowed. “You don’t control me, Cory. You don’t have a say so about what I do,” I yelled. “I just really didn’t like seeing you liked that with him. Phil’s a great guy, great friend. He’s just not the right guy for you,” he spoke. “Until you can get your shit together, do me a favor, focus on your love life and I’ll focus on mine,” I finalized. I heard Sandy speaking to Courtney on the phone. “Yeah we all went out grab a bite to eat. Oh, your Maid-of-Honor is enjoying herself,” she informed Courtney, sending a smile my way. Why is she referring to herself in third person? Why was she talking about herself in third person? Why did she smile at me when she said it? 

 Chapter 27

I entered Courtney’s house alone. The others from breakfast had their separate things to take care of. As I shut the door, I heard the soft murmur of conversation coming from the kitchen. I shut the door quietly behind me and made by way to the source of sound.

Once in the kitchen, I spotted Courtney, Quentin, and Andrea sitting at the table. My cousin and Courtney were sitting across from each other while Quentin sat on the end, facing the two. When I was in view, the three turned to me in unison.

“What the hell, Isyss? You take off and leave your cellphone? Since when is that the smart thing to do?” Andrea started drilling me. I listened as she continued. She went on about how I always forget that “I’m a world known supermodel that shouldn’t wander off while creepy creepers are lurking”.

“I know, Andrea, I didn’t mean to worry you,” I told my worrisome cousin.

 “We had to convince your cousin here not to call the Calvary,” Quentin added on, causing me to roll my eyes. I looked to Courtney, whom seemed hesitant.

“Hey,” she greeted me. I replied back just the same, causing Quentin to groan in frustration.

“Okay, this has to stop. You two need to talk, and this time, I’m going to be present. Geez, you guys are acting like teenagers,” he felt the need to say, mumbling the last part.

I nodded my head in agreement. “Fine,” I said before taking Andrea’s previous seat, facing Courtney. There was a silence before Andrea broke it.

“So…this obviously has nothing to do with me. I’ll be watching tv,” she informed us, clearly not wanting to get in the middle of this drama.

“This won’t take long,” Quentin told her before she left. He watched her walk out, and when she was gone, he looked to his two bestfriends. “First off, Courtney, please explain this whole Maid-of-Honor confusion to Isyss. She’s obviously hurt by it,” he began, getting straight to the point.

Courtney sighed. “No, first I need to apologize for snapping at you like I did. There’s just so much going on right now and I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed,” she explained. I held back a dry laugh. Overwhelmed? Join the club...

I nodded, letting her know I understand what she means. She’s dealing with getting her wedding together and finishing her book before the publisher’s deadline…it must be stressful. Quentin leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

He watched as Courtney continued to talk. “And about the Maid-of-Honor fuss…” she trailed off and began examining her nails, a clear sign of nervousness. “I did ask Sandy,” she finished.

I inhaled as I look at her. Hurt by her words. Am I not a good enough bestfriend? Did my being gone change our friendship? Does our twenty three year friendship mean nothing now? All these questions began swimming in my head.