Alexander Gonzales

For three days, I try not to think about her. About what I said. About the way her face fell when I pushed her away. But it's like trying not to breathe. No matter what I do, no matter how much work I bury myself in, she's there.

The regret is there. Gnawing at me. I regret everything I said. I did it all to protect her from me, from my world. I shouldn't care this much. My life is full of decisions that costs people more than just hurt feelings. So why does this one haunt me?

I snap. I can't take it anymore. I need to apologise.

I reach for my phone and dial her number. The phone rings once...twice. My heart pounds in my chest, like I'm some schoolboy trying to get a girl to notice me.

"Hello, this is Mia speaking." She starts.

"Hi, Lake...can we talk..."

Beep beep beep.

She hangs up.

I stare at the phone in disbelief. Did she just hang up on me? I rub a hand over my face, feeling the frustration starting to build.

Alright I deserved that. She's pissed. And for good reason.

I look over to Christopher. He's sitting by the corner on a couch, watching me, wanting to laugh.

I try calling her a second time. This time the call didn't even go through. Did she fucking block my number?
Smart woman.

I throw my phone on the table, now standing up. Pacing back and forth.

"I think she's pissed at you, bro." Chris says.

"You think?" I snap at him as if I already didn't know that.
"Give me your phone." I say and put my hand out.

He hands it to me. I call her again, this time from his phone. "Hello?" Her soft voice cuts through.

"Mia if you just let me..."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Son of a bitch!" I yell at the phone.

Chris laughs.
"Did she hang up, again?!"

"Yeah. Yeah, she fucking did."

Chris leans back, crossing his arms over his chest, clearly amused by the situation. "Damn. I've never seen you like this, man. I gotta say, it's kinda entertaining."

"Who knew? Alex Gonzales getting ghosted by a girl." Chris adds.

I shoot him a dark look. "Shut up."

"A woman not picking up when you call? I gotta say, this is a first." He laughs harder.

"Enjoying yourself?" I snap, already angry.

"Thoroughly." He grins. He leans forward, his smile widening. "Maybe you shouldn't have been such an asshole. Just a thought." He says.

"Thanks for the advice, Dr.Phil." I say dryly as I grab my car keys and slam the door shut, heading outside.

She can't ignore me forever.

***

I stand in front of Mia's apartment door, my hand raised, ready to knock. Before I get the chance to, the door swings open. Revealing not Mia, but my sister.

For fuck sake.

Amelia looks at me, blinking in surprise. "Alex?"

She stares at me, shocked. Like I've walked to the wrong house. I can't blame her. I can already feel the questions piling up in her head.
I mean, for as long as she's known, me and Mia are definitely not friends.
Me showing up at her place out of the blue is definitely not normal.
Mia and I don't exactly hang out, let alone have reasons to see each other. Hell, for the most part, Mia and I don't even exchange polite words, and surely not "friendly visits"

So how the fuck do I explain this to Amelia.

Why am I even here?

Oh right...I remember. Because someone decided to be a brat and block my number.
Shit I'm getting worked up over nothing. This is always how it's been. How it should be. It's safer for her to not talk to me.

"Hey." I say trying to sound casual.

Amelia crosses her arms. "So...what are you doing here?" She asks.

I open my mouth, then shut it immediately. What do I answer?
I can't exactly tell her I've been thinking about Mia for days, and that I messed up big time. She's my sisters best friend for gods sake, it's not something I'm proud of. I can feel her suspicion growing as the silence stretches between us.

"Something you need to tell me?" She asks after a while. Oh no. This is messed up. Now my sister thinks I have a thing for her best friend.

"No...Mia told me you'd be here...I came to check on you." I lie. It's the first thing that I can come up with.

She arches an eyebrow, it's clear that she doesn't buy it. She tilts her head trying to figure me out.

"Good to see that you're back outside." She says, as she moves to the side for me to enter the apartment.
"Come in. Mia's in her room." Amelia says as I look around.

It's a cute apartment she's got. A lot of candles.

Mia's voice echoes from her room and when she walks out, she freezes.

Her eyes narrow, her expression hard. Yeah, she's still pissed.

"Alex?" She asks, har voice flat, giving nothing away. She looks at Amelia, a little nervous this time.

Amelia, ever the curious one, looks between me and Mia, clearly sensing that something isn't right. Her gaze flicks back and forth trying to piece together the story we're not telling.

"Alright guys, what's happening here? You two are acting a little weird...Is there something going on between..." Amelia starts but we both say "no" at the same time.

I look back at Mia. She doesn't want Amelia to know about whatever the hell is going on between us. We're not... whatever she's thinking.

I rush to fix the situation before it gets out of hand.
"No. It's not what you're thinking. Mia and I had a surprise for you actually, that's why I'm here." I say quickly, even though I don't know where this is going.

"We did?" She thinks for a second before catching on. Don't expose me.
"Oh yeah. We did." She says now smiling at her friend, playing along.

"Aww you guys planned a surprise for me? You didn't have to do that." Amelia says, her voice softening.

"Yeah...we actually planned a vacation for all of us. Just a weekend trip, nothing too crazy." I say.

Mia immediately opens her mouth, ready to object. I shoot her a glance, silently daring her to say something.

Amelia hugs us both, completely oblivious to the situation. "That sounds amazing! When are we leaving?" She asks Mia this time.

"On Friday. Bring Ezra too." She says.

And if looks could kill, this would be it.

"Can't wait." I flash her a smile. She looks even better when mad at me.

I love writing Alex's POVs it's so much fun!
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