Once our driver pulls up to the restaurant Clara jumps out cutting herself off. She had been telling me all about things she wanted to see. Things she wanted to do. I followed along with her words. Stretching I pushed myself out of the Uber we had taken to the place. I think she called it the Loft-house. I was a little on edge, especially how fancy the place looked.

We make out way up the sidewalk bypassing the lines that were sitting outside. There must have been a concert or something going on in the building next door. Shaking my head as a group of guys catcall towards Clara and I. If I wasn't too focused on following the bouncing curls of my best friend I would have stopped to give them a piece of my mind.

She spoke to the hostess in a polite tone, her body leaning against the wood as she waited for the lady to check out the dining room.

"Why are we at such a nice restaurant?" I questioned looking around at all the booths. Everyone seemed to be dressed up, and I felt out of place because of this. I hadn't changed out of my sundress. The decorations reminded me of Paris, the chairs a soft chestnut color. The lighting above the room gave off a faint golden glow as couples ate their food, smiling covering everyone's faces.

"Good reviews," Clara shrugged before leaning forward to whisper to the lady behind the counter. I didn't worry about it as I was sure Clara was just trying to get us a really nice table. I was willing to bet she was trying to pull the celebrity card. I turned my head hoping to help her out if this was the case. She turned around quickly grabbing me by the arm.

"She is getting us a seat," She beams as she whispers into my ear. I push her away slightly pulling my arm out of her grip. There was no reason to whisper that. I chuckled to myself lightly turning back to the dining room. Everyone seemed slightly older and there was definitely no kids in here.

We followed the lady as she led us through the busy place. Her hips swaying in her tight pencil skirt. She tugged at it as if it was bothering her as she stopped at a table. The seats next to us were empty, a few cards placed on the dishes. Maybe it was reserved or something. Clara and I sat down in our seats. I glanced around the room searching for the bathroom.

"I'm going to use the ladies room," I mumbled to Clara as she picks up the menu, searching through the food items.

"Alright, I will get you some water," I nod my head as I remove myself from my seat, pushing through the crowd until I reach the bathroom. It seemed like people were still filing in as the crowd outside begins to disperse.

The girls' bathroom was just as amazing as the rest of the dining room. The tapestries hung from the wall perfectly even with the ceiling. Everything was clean and welcoming with a seating room for a woman to breastfeed if needed. I travel to the back of the bathroom finding a stall. The door opens behind me as another girl enters the bathroom.

"No, mother, I really think tonight will be the night he proposes to me. He said he had a special surprise for me and we are at such a fancy restaurant I'm not even sure how to act, everyone here is so stuffy..." I hear the girl as the water starts rushing. I tried not to pay attention but she was talking so loud it was nearly impossible. Her voice echoing off the walls. I finished my business before flushing the toilet and unlocking the door to wash my hands. When I walk around the corner the blonde girl sits in one of the seats, her fingers tangled in her perfect blonde curls. She wore an overly tight dress as her large assets nearly spill over the top of it. I couldn't help but roll my eyes as I watch her in the mirror. She checks her nails for imperfections before she continues speaking.

"Yes, if he asks, of course, I'm going to say yes. He is a doctor and young, he will be able to pay my bills and take care of me and I will be able to go shopping whenever I want. He will work long hours so I won't have to see him as much, which I don't know could be a good or bad thing, we will see," I wanted to smack her in that instance. As a girl who was just recently engaged there was no excuse for treating someone that way. I rolled the ring that was around my finger before grabbing a few papers towels.

"Your dress is so cute," The girl pauses as she points at my outfit. My heart drops in my chest as I turn to look at her. She pops a bubble with her gum before turning back to her conversation with whoever was on the other end of the phone call.

"Thanks," I mumbled before heading back into the dining room.

I rushed through the room just wanting to get back to my table. I wanted to sit with my best friend and enjoy a nice meal without having to think about anything else. There was too much going on around me and I felt horrible for the boy that must have loved that girl so much.

He was an idiot.

When I got back to the table Clara had ordered a bottle of wine and a basket of breadsticks. I praised her mentally before reaching down to grab one. Taking a quick bite of it I took my seat and chomped the delicious soft dough. I closed my eyes to fully take in the food as it kissed my taste buds. This was amazing.

"Okay, I can see why you wanted to come here now," I muttered looking around the room. It seemed like people were filling all of the booths but the table next to us was still empty.

"I wonder who is sitting there," Clara mutters looking around the place. It was like she was waiting for someone. I shook it off grabbing another breadstick before plopping it into my mouth. If I wasn't careful I would have eaten the whole basket in less than twenty minutes. I picked the menu up realizing I should search for something to eat. If the starter was this good I was eager to try some other things. Searching through the menu I decided to go with the pasta.

The young blonde girl from the bathroom came strolling through the dining room before taking a seat at the table next to us. I lightly tapped Clara under the table trying to get her attention without anyone else noticing. Pointing towards the girl behind the menu I stuck out my tongue pretending to act disgusted. She shot me a crooked look obviously confused at the reasoning behind my actions.

"She is a money chaser," I whispered across the table watching as the girl continues to chat into her phone. Clara shrugged her shoulders leaning in to whisper back.

"Yeah, you can tell from the boob job, who do you think she is waiting for?" My heart sank when I realized who it was.

Carter enters the dining room holding a dozen roses in one hand as he walks towards the table. I quickly hit behind my menu trying to avoid getting noticed. I didn't want to see him twice in one day. My heart racing as I tried to cower. Unfortunately for Clara and I, we could overhear him.

"Kylie, how are you doing? You look beautiful," He quickly hands her the flowers before giving her a kiss on the lips. My heart sank as I watched, peeking from behind the menu. Suddenly her conversation in the bathroom hit me like a ton of bricks. It had hurt me before I knew it was one of my best friends she was talking about.

Could I consider him a best friend though? Should I be worried about what was going on in his life when he left? How had he found a girl and dated her long enough that he was willing to propose to her? I shook my head feeling like a complete idiot. I should have known this, we saw him in the ring shop earlier today, he must have been picking one out for her.

"Clara I want to go," I whispered looking down at the menu. There was no pasta in this world that was good enough for me to sit through Carter and... Kylie's date. I didn't want to hear them flirt, to hear them laugh. I was thankful Carter had moved back to California after he forced me to choose, or more so didn't give me the chance to really choose. I should have picked him. My heart was telling me that now as I sit and listen to him flirt with another girl.

"Doesn't she kind of look like you," Clara couldn't help but stare as she compares me to the blonde sitting in front of Carter.

"Yeah if I dressed like a whore and had double the cleavage," I felt self-conscious as I hid behind my menu.

"He isn't even paying attention, but you are drawing attention to yourself you should probably get up," Clara pulled the menu from me as the waitress came back to our table. She took our order before leaving once again. I grabbed the bottle of wine filling up my glass as I pulled it to my lips sipping the sweet liquid. Anything that would help me get through this night.

"You are so sweet," I heard Kylie mumble in her same annoying voice she had used in the bathroom. I found myself jealous of her though. My body trembling with anger as she sat across from him, holding all of his attention. I shook my head quickly, fumbling over my thoughts as I tried to force Carter out of my head.

Andrew and I would be okay, we would find a way to make it through tonight. Maybe I would try to call him. I pulled my phone out of my handbag dialing Andrews number before putting the phone to my ear. It rang a couple of times before sending me straight to his voicemail. My heart froze in my chest... had he ignored my call? He must have been busy, that was normal for him. Was he really done with me though?

My head was spinning. I had so much desire to be the girl across from Carter but at the same time, it didn't feel right. It felt out of place and just like the same bad timing he had a year or so ago. I found my body craving Andrew more and more, he was reliable, at least I had thought when I chose him. Why wouldn't he answer his phone?

The waitress brought our food and Clara began to eat the chicken she had ordered. I glanced around the room watching as people continued to eat their food, not worried at all about the mental breakdown I was about to have. I could feel it rising in my body. The more Kylie laughed, the more Carter flirted, the more I wanted to scream and rip all of my hair out.

"I'm going to become a nun," I mumbled to Clara, she dropped a piece of her chicken back on the plate as she looked up at me chewing carefully. She cocked her head sideways before taking a drink of her own wine. I grabbed my glass bringing it back to my lips as I chug the rest of the contents. Filling my glass once again I continued sipping the red liquid as it trickled down my throat.

"What?" Clara looks at me as if I were an insane person in a mental asylum. "Why would you become a nun?" She wiped her mouth with her napkin leaving a red stain from where the wine had been on her lips. I shook my head. I could feel the tears welling up in the back of my eyes. I needed to leave, I wanted out of this situation.

Dinner continued this way for another hour. My heart switching back and forth between the love I had for Andrew and the love I'd known for Carter. Would Carter have been happy with me, even if he had to give up his dreams of going to the best medical school there was? I couldn't think about it anymore, my thoughts tuning out as my ears strain harder to hear everything Carter and Kylie talked about. He hadn't mentioned seeing me this morning and I wondered if she knew about me at all. Did he talk about high school? Had he talked about our filing last year, all the kisses we shared? My lips craved those kisses right now.

Just when I thought I couldn't watch anymore, Carter did the unthinkable. His eyes so focused on the girl he hadn't even noticed Clara and I were sitting next to him. He stood from his seat fumbling in his pockets. His eyes lighting up once he found what he was looking for. He took Kylie's hand in his as he leaned forward to kiss her. I turned away for just a moment waiting for them to pull away.

Carter leans, bending down until he was on one knee staring at the girl he had been eating with.

"Kylie, I know we haven't been together very long but you make me happier than I've ever been..." My heart rockets with pain as he continues speaking, "I want to take care of you, to give you everything you could ever want, and I hope in return you will take care of me, spend time with me, and love me, just as you have the last few months," My heart stopped this time. Did he say the past few months? How long had they been together?

"Will you marry me?" There they were. The words I never wanted him to say to anyone. Anyone besides me. The words I had secretly hoped I would one day hear him say in high school when we were just friends and I found no one interesting besides him. My heart ached as Kylie jumped from her seat, tears flowing down her face. She was a good actress.

"Yes!" She shouted as Carter stood placing the ring on her finger. I wanted to cry and I felt the tears were thinking the same thing. A lone tear slipping down my face as I quickly tried to pull myself together.

"Let's get out of here," I whisper looking at Clara.

I took one long look at the girl. She did look like me. Her blonde hair cut the same way as mine, though that wasn't hard as I didn't have any layers or bangs, there was nothing to make my hair unique. Unlike my naturally blonde hair, she clearly bleached hers as her roots were showing through. She wore the same kind of dress I would except she wore a size too small. I could see her green eyes matched mine as she stares at the man I had once loved.

Maybe I still did love him.

Clara and I jumped from our seats as she threw a hundred down on the table. She scribbled on one of the napkins that it would cover our food and whatever was left was the tip. I hadn't realized how much either of our food cost but we needed to get out of there now. Clara knew it, and I followed her as she pulled me through the busy place. She nods to the hostess as we rush out of there. The cool wind welcoming us as we burst through the doors. I could feel my breath failing me, coming in short bursts as I tried to figure out what was going on. There was nothing I could do anymore. Carter was gone. Andrew was gone.

I bent over pulling my heels off as I ran towards the beach. A car slamming on its brakes as it nearly hits me. I wave shouting a quick apology before continuing towards the water. I ran down the beach as the pedestrians have dispersed to whatever their plans were for the night. A few campfires blaze, scattered across the open sand.

I ran until I felt like I was far enough away from the restaurant, though I would never be far enough away from this moment. I could feel the tears flowing down my face at a rate faster than I could wipe them away. Why had Carter done this to me? Why was he able to affect me this way? Collapsing to my knee I could hear Clara running after me. She was shouting towards me but I was too caught up in my thoughts to hear a damn word she was saying. She had brought me here, did she know he was going to be here? How could she have?

"I'm so sorry Erin," She whispers through her own tears as she falls to the sand beside me. She wraps her arms around me as I search the waves for answers. I could feel her eyes staring at me as she watched me cry. It felt like her heart was breaking for me, just like mine had in that building. "I knew he was going to be here tonight, but how could I have to know that he was going to propose to her," Clara pulled away from me as she brings her palm up to her forehead. In the distance, I can hear the thunder rolling. The clouds traveling as the wind pulls the storm closer.

The storm that would bring as much rain as my heart brought tears.