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I feel like crap. I looked around my apartment and I tried to remember what happened the previous night. I remember drinking with my best friend, Danny. Then we got into an argument. I stormed out of wherever we were hanging out and went to another bar? I can't be too sure. But I definitely remember drinking a lot.

Even now, I still don't remember just what the hell Danny and I argued about.

Was it about Adam, my lying ex-boyfriend? Or maybe it was about Hallie, His lying ex-girlfriend? I remember yelling. Lots of cursing. I vaguely remember telling him to shove something where the sun don't shine.

Well, that can't be good.

Danny and I go way back in high school. He was the jock, captain of the football team and I was the nerd. We shouldn't have been best friends, but we were. We stuck by each other throughout college, complicated relationships and petty fights.

My cellphone dinged. I looked around my messy room and found it shoved underneath my mountain of pillows.

Danny sent me a message. It says, "I'm sorry."

That does not make me feel any better. Did he insult me? He's said some really offensive things to me in the past, but I was never offended enough for him to actually apologize to me.

What the heck did we fight about last night?

If he insulted me, maybe I insulted him? Should I apologize? But what am I apologizing for?

My cellphone dinged again. "Can I come over?"  I hesitated. Do I want him to come over? Maybe I should meet somewhere else. Before I could reply, I heard my doorbell ring. I looked at the clock. It’s 8 in the morning. I sighed. I know who’s at the door.

Danny.

I gingerly walked to the door, not even glancing at the mirror. I took a deep breath. I opened the door to find my best friend carrying two cups of coffee.

“Hey, Danny.” I said simply. “I wasn’t sure if you’re up already. We were very wasted last night. Here, have some coffee.” He shoved the coffee in my hand and went inside the house.

“Look, I want to apologize about last night. I was way, way, way out of line. I shouldn’t have said what I said. It’s not right. You can do whatever you want, it’s your life and….” He trailed off.

“Uh…yeah, it’s my life and all that. You should just uh…butt out of...um…” I stuttered. “It’s just that I think you are making a big mistake. You don’t need that stress in your life.”

I thought about that. What would stress me out? Adam stresses me out. We broke up two months ago and he’s been asking for another chance. I remember telling Danny about that. Maybe that was what the fight was about.

“And I get it that it’s not that easy to let go, but I remember you crying on my shoulders and telling me that you don’t want to give up. But you just have to.”

I was thinking of telling Adam that we can be friends. As much as he is a lying, cheating manwhore, he was deep, deep down a good guy. And we were friends before we started dating.

“I was out of line last night. I know I don’t have the right to stop you from doing anything. I just want the best for you. And I still believe that THIS is not the best for you. “

“Why would you say that? It’s better than the alternative.” I said.  “I think the alternative is brilliant.”

What! Maybe getting back with Adam was not what the fight was about. There was no way in hell Danny was okay with me getting back with my ex.

I took a big gulp of coffee. And I decided to just bite the bullet and ask him.

“Dan, what the hell did we fight about last night? I don’t remember anything.”

Danny looked at me and laughed. Laughed very hard. “Nothing? You remembered nothing? Exactly how much did you drink last night?”

I was affronted. “Do I look like someone who is in the know? I’m so confused. I thought we were fighting about Adam.”  

Danny narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t you dare get back with that idiot. I know you believe that he is a decent human being, but he is scum. He is lower than the lowest insect in the world. I don’t understand what you see in that lying, cheating jerk. I mean I know you are not getting any younger but you shouldn’t be so desperate to…”

“Desperate! Who the hell are you calling desperate! For your information, I am NOT getting back with him. I just thought maybe we could be friends. Just friends. That’s it. My goodness. I never thought I would ever hear that from you!” I screamed. He opened his mouth to answer but I beat him to it.

“Of all people, you know damn well what kind of hell he put me through. I cried on your shoulder! Why would I put myself through that again!” I shouted.

“Being friends with that man is even worse! He will worm his way back into your life. He will turn up the charm and make you forget why you broke up in the first place,” Danny screamed back at me.

Tears started streaming down my cheeks. I took a deep breath. I was about to say something when Danny said, “Tina, you are a good person. But you keep doing this. You tell yourself why you should let go, but you never really let go. You keep giving people second chances. I love that about you, Tina. I do. God knows how many second chances you’ve given me. But Adam will just screw you over. I know it. You can do whatever you want. But if I’m really your best friend, listen to me. Stay away from him. He doesn’t deserve a second chance as your friend or your lover.”

There was silence. I didn’t know what to say. He was right of course.

“Look, uh…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I will just see myself out. I will call you. I’m sorry again about last night.”

Before I could even stop him, he was gone.

And I never found out what we were fighting about last night.


July 17, 2020 10:05

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4 comments

04:13 Jul 23, 2020

That was engaging and also content was very much relatable.

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Kaye Salangsang
22:37 Jul 23, 2020

Thank you! ☺

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Crystal Lewis
13:10 Jul 21, 2020

Oof the mystery! That’s quite often how life is like sometimes though - you don’t always say what is needed to be said and often make assumptions that are usually totally wrong. Nicely done.

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Kaye Salangsang
02:50 Jul 22, 2020

Thank you. ☺

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