Chapter 2

Over the next week, Cara's antics became even more entertaining.

On Monday, Alex invited me to dinner. When I got to the restaurant, I was surprised to see Cara there, too.

She was sitting right next to Alex, and there was a drink already set out for me at my spot.

As soon as Cara saw me, she waved enthusiastically. "Come on, Yvonne. I ordered you a cup of strawberry milkshake, full sugar. Isn't this every girl's favorite?"

I didn't drink anything with full sugar, and I never drank strawberry milkshake.

Did Alex know that? Nope. We'd only been together for less than a month, so he hadn't figured out what I like yet.

But Cara had no clue I didn't drink strawberry milkshake. She just randomly ordered something she thought "girls would like", putting on a show of being "thoughtful" and "considerate" for everyone to see.

I sat down, pushed the strawberry milkshake aside, and smiled. "Thanks, but I'm watching my sugar intake lately, so I'm not really into sweet drinks."

Cara's smile froze for a split second, but she quickly recovered and turned to Alex. "Alex, seriously? You don't even know your girlfriend is watching her sugar intake? What kind of boyfriend are you?"

On the surface, she was pretending to be on my side, but what she was really doing was hinting to Alex that we weren't that close and didn't know each other well.

At the same time, she was showing off to me, like, "See? Alex and I talk about everything. He tells me everything about you."

Alex frowned, probably sensing something was off, but he didn't say anything. He just handed me the menu and told me to order.

Throughout dinner, Cara kept bringing up stories from their childhood.

She'd say things like, "Alex, remember that time in middle school when you got into a fight and I did your homework for two weeks?" or "Remember our senior trip? You got altitude sickness and I had to carry you down the mountain."

And also, "Your mom told me last time that you should find a reliable girlfriend and stop messing around."

Every word was meant to emphasize one point: she and Alex had a bond that ran way deeper than anything I could ever have with Alex.

They'd known each other for over a decade, shared their whole youth, and had each other's backs through thick and thin.

And me? I was just some girl who'd only been around for a month. What could I possibly have to compete with that?

I kept quiet, ate my meal, and flashed them a smile every now and then. My game face was on point.

Alex kept glancing at me, probably checking if I was bothered. Each time, I shot him an easy smile, and he relaxed.

He thought I was generous.

He wasn't the first guy to make that mistake.

*****

Tuesday, things got even more dramatic.

Alex and his crew had a regular thing every Tuesday night: hitting up a pool hall called Wildfire. He asked if I wanted to come along, and I said sure.

When we got to the pool hall, Cara was there, just like I expected.

Cara was wearing a tight white tee, and over it, she had on a baseball jacket, which was the exact one Alex owned.

I recognized that jacket right away. Alex had worn it when he picked me up from school last week, and I remember saying, "This jacket looks pretty cool."

Now it was draped over Cara, way oversized, almost reaching her mid-thigh. She'd deliberately rolled up the sleeves to show off her slender wrists, making her look both lazy and effortlessly stylish.

As soon as I walked in, Cara threw her arms open and came over. "Hey, Yvonne. Come here, let me show you how to play. Alex is too blunt to actually teach anyone."

As she spoke, the collar of the baseball jacket fell open a bit, and I could see that her tee underneath had a pretty low neckline.

Every guy in the room could see it.

I noticed a few of them let their eyes linger on her for a second before quickly looking away.

One of them, Frank, even nudged the guy next to him and whispered something, and the two of them shared a knowing look.

Alex, though, didn't seem fazed at all. He walked over to the pool table, picked up his cue, and started chalking it up.

Cara immediately sidled up to him, pulled a small box out of her pocket and handed it over. "Alex, I got you some new chalk. You said the last brand sucked, so I had someone bring this over from abroad just for you."

Alex took it, glanced at it, and his lips curled into a small smile. "Thanks."

That one smile made Cara's eyes light up at once.

I leaned against a chair, holding my phone and replying to a message.

My roommate texted me: [Is that pick-me tomboy hanging around your boyfriend stirring up drama again?]

I replied: [Yes.]

My roommate shot back instantly: [So why aren't you dealing with her?]

I paused, thought for a moment, and typed:[It's not time yet.]

My roommate sent a bunch of exclamation marks, and then typed: [You're terrifying. If I ever pissed you off, I'd be dead before I even realized what happened.]

I smiled and put my phone away.

Honestly, I was not terrifying. I knew one thing: emotions were worthless currency in this world. I could get angry, feel wronged, or go full hysterical, but none of that would actually fix anything.

All it did was make me look like some "unstable crazy woman" to everyone else.

Especially when I was dealing with someone who was a pro at gaslighting moves, always playing the victim or putting on that "genuine" act in front of a crowd. Showing my emotions was exactly what they wanted me to do.

Cara wanted me to fight with her, to go blow up at Alex, to turn the whole place upside down.

Because only then could she smoothly drop her classic line: "Alex, look at the girlfriend you picked. She freaks out over nothing. It's so much more chill just hanging with us."'

So I didn't make a scene. I didn't even let a hint of annoyance show on my face.

I kept watching, taking mental notes, and waiting for the right moment.