A couple of hours later, I shove the key in the lock and push open the apartment door. Even before it swings wide, loud voices assult my ears. Honestly, if I didn’t need to stop at home before practice, I would carefully back away.
“That’s not what I said,” Ethan grumbles. “You’re putting words in my mouth again.”
“Ha!” Sydney snaps. “Do you think I’m deaf?”
Uh-oh.
If Ethan has any sense, he’ll proceed with extreme caution when answering that question. Kind of like a bomb tech handling explosives that could detonate at any second.
Ugh. My guess is that Ethan and Sydney are at it again. They’ve only been dating for four months, and I’ve already lost track of how many times they’ve broken up and gotten back together again. I was over their drama after the first few times it happened. It’s a vicious cycle that neither seem willing to pull the trigger on. Hell, I’d be more than happy to end it for them if they’d let me. They need to go their separate ways and never look in each other’s direction again.
Individually, they’re both great people. I love them.
As a couple?
They are a total nightmare.
“You know what? Forget this,” Ethan yells, not bothering to answer her question which is probably the shrewdest move he could make. “I’m out of here! Call me when you calm down, and we’re able to have a civil conversation!”
I peek around the doorframe before reluctantly inching my way inside. I’m just in time to see Sydney rear back as if she’s been slapped.
Her fists settle on her hips. “Excuse me? Are you implying I can’t hold a civil conversation?” From where I loiter in the tiny entryway, I’m able to see the sparks of anger that flash in her vibrant, grass-colored eyes.
The last thing I want is to be pulled into another one of their arguments. Been there, done that way too many times to count.
Ethan plows a hand through his short blond hair before his shoulders slump. “I’m gonna go. We’ll talk later when we’ve both calmed down.”
Instead of waiting for a response, he stalks toward the door, passing me on the way out. I give him a tentative smile in greeting.
“Hey, Demi,” he mumbles before closing the door behind him.
“Bye.” By the time I raise my hand to wave, he’s gone, already disappearing into the hallway. I turn toward my friend. “Um—”
“Yes, we broke up,” she snaps before I can ask.
“I’m sorry?” It’s more of a question at this point. From one day to the next, I’m never sure if these two are a couple or not. It’s exhausting, and it’s not even my relationship. I’m a spectator—or maybe hostage would be a more accurate term—sitting on the sidelines, trying not to be hit by friendly fire.
My bestie rolls her eyes before throwing herself onto the couch in our living room. “I think we’re really over this time.”
Sure...whatever you say, crazy.
Sydney says this every time they have a fight. After a few days of separation, they somehow find their way back to one another. Kind of like a guard and an escaped prisoner with a tracking device. It’s maddening. They can’t be together, and yet, they can’t be apart. I have no idea what they’ll do, and I’ve stopped doling out unsolicited advice that goes unheeded.
I’ve come to the disturbing conclusion that the two of them are gluttons for punishment.
How else do you explain the constant drama?
“What happened this time?” The question pops out of my mouth before I can rein it in again. My backpack is set on the table before I plop down on the chair and settle in across from her. We’ve got roughly thirty minutes before practice. Their fight probably lasted ten minutes tops, but the dissection of it will take four times that long.
Sydney wrinkles her nose as she squints at the ceiling. “You know what? I don’t even remember what started it.”
Not surprising.
“I just know he doesn’t get me,” she continues.
“Then maybe this breakup is for the best,” I say gently, hoping the remainder of senior year doesn’t follow the same pattern that has already been set. If so, I might end up moving home, and I really don’t want to do that. As much as I love my dad, we need our own space.
“Maybe. We’ll see.” Sydney rolls onto her belly and rests her chin on clasped hands before waggling her brows at me. “So...dinner with daddy tonight, huh?”