Steffi

5:

Carrie:

I slowly punched in the familiar digits one by one. The phone rang once, twice, thrice. Each ring reverberated in my head, pounding furiously at my already confused mind. I was beginning to lose hope when Kevin picked up the phone. Then I poured my heart and soul on him.

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Kevin:

The phone was ringing repeatedly as I got out of the shower. I quickly threw on a pair of boxers and an oversized t-shirt and hustled to the telephone. As I picked up the phone, I heard the familiar sobs of a female. It was Carrie. I held my breath as she began to speak.

“Hey Kev, sorry to bother you right now. It’s just that I’ve got some problems and I needed someone to talk to,” Carrie lamented.

“Go right ahead,” I replied. “I’m here to listen.”

“Well, you know about my mom and stuff. I’m still grieving over that. But on top of that, I have to worry about Gary,” she proceeded. “He asked me to be his girlfriend.”

I had begun to eat dinner when she dropped the bombshell on me. I practically spit out the pasta I had in my mouth. “Say what, he asked you to be his girlfriend?” There was an awkward silence afterwards, so I decided to rephrase my words. “What I meant was, I’m happy for you. What’s the problem then?” I lied.

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard those awful things that the other guys say about Gary. And Gary laughs along, all mighty and proud. So I just wanted to know Kev, are they true? I mean, you have known him the longest out of all the guys” Carrie pleaded.

I was at a crossroad. On one path, I would ruin my own chances with Carrie. On the other, I would ruin Gary’s chances with Carrie. I remained silent for a few minutes.

“Is that a yes?” she whispered.

I would not be able to live with myself if I did not tell her the truth. I once again played the role of the nice guy. I bit hard on my lower lip to keep it from trembling, and I let the truth come out. She let out a sigh of relief.

“Really? That makes me feel so much better Kev. But there’s something else,” she trailed off.

“Go on, you can tell me,” I urged.

“I don’t really like him,” she answered.

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Steffi