Emily gasped. “Oh no! You guys broke up?” she asked. That was the only explanation. Emily felt her heart breaking for both of them.
“No, Em. We—,” Seb started.
“Yes!” Ray said over Seb with a glare targeted towards Seb.
“Yes, we broke up,” Seb repeated with a sigh.
“But when? Why didn’t I know about it?” she asked, joining them on the couch. She felt confused and hurt that they didn’t tell her. She also had a distinct feeling that there was more to the story.
“Ray?” Seb said, looking at Ray.
Ray sighed. “I asked him not to say anything,” she said.
What’s with all the sighing? “Why? And why didn’t you tell me yourself?” Emily asked her.
“It’s very recent, Em, and we were still processing it,” Ray offered.
“Umm… okay, I guess,” Emily said, still confused about how she should react. She felt like she should be angry. There was also a tiny voice in her head repeating that her friends didn’t need her, even during the worst time of their lives. But they seemed upset, so she couldn’t exactly go off on them. “Are you guys okay?” she asked, scooching closer to Ray.
“I mean, it was going to happen anyway, right?” Seb said slowly, a little hesitantly.
“Yeah, long distance never works,” Ray said, nodding.
“I honestly thought if anyone could make it work, it would be you guys,” Emily said earnestly.
“Well, let’s not waste our time on sad things. It’s spring break, we need to have fun! It’s a requirement,” Ray declared, getting up and clapping her hands like a cheerleader.
“Yes,” Seb said, pumping his hand up. “After a quick nap, though,” he added, making himself comfortable on the couch and placing his feet on Emily’s lap.
***
And fun they had. Over the week, Ray took them around her favorite beaches in the day and bars at night. She was thriving in her new life. Emily was happy for her, and she was extremely satisfied with the sweet tan she was now sporting.
After a particular night of heavy drinking, Emily came out of her room in the morning feeling like a zombie, all with the compulsion to eat the brains of the people driving their cars so loudly outside. She found Ray’s side of the bed empty, but Seb was outside looking like he’d just gotten back from a run.
“How do you look like that right now?” Emily asked quietly, very quietly.
“Aw, Em! You’re so sweet!” Seb said, placing his hand on his heart.
“Bu… but you drank more than me,” she said. She was having a hard time processing things right now.
“Oh dude, you have like no capacity! Let’s go get you some coffee.” He came around the kitchen counter and guided Emily out of the house with a hand on her back.
“And a lot of carbs,” Emily added, looking up at him.
“And a lot of carbs,” Seb nodded.
That decided, they began their journey towards the nearest cafe, Seb walking like a human person and Emily wobbling beside him, glaring at everyone they came in contact with.
When Emily finally took a sip of her coffee, it was like a haze had lifted. She could see clearly again. And the urge to rip the throat of the stupid cashier typing stupid things on the billing machine? Totally gone! She also finally took stock of her surroundings.
The cafe was pretty empty. There were just a couple of customers other than Seb and her. One of them was a woman sitting at the far corner with hair the exact shade of pink as Ray's. Emily smiled at herself. Ray probably made it a trend here.
After the fifth sip, it hit her that the womanwasRay. Sitting just two tables away! She was about to nudge Seb, who was chatting up the barista, when a woman entered and walked straight towards Ray’s table.
Seb turned to see what had Emily’s attention, and things took an unexpectedly weird turn. Ray, yes, she was definitely Ray, stood and straight up kissed the woman. On the mouth. Formore than a couple of seconds. So, not straight up. Gay up? Bi up? Pan up?
Emily laughed at her own joke. Maybe she was still a little bit drunk. She looked back at Ray and the woman who was probably Ray’s girlfriend. They were now looking right at her. The woman was very pretty, even with her frantic expression, looking between her and Ray. Good job, Ray!
