"I think about you more than I should."

-Maddie-

"Well, shoot." I mutter, staring at the delivery guy standing in front of me. I gave a bewildered stare at the delivery man who seemed to be fumbling for a note in one of his multiple pockets, stopping with an 'aha.' before squinting to read the name scrawled onto the crumpled sheet. The youngster grins widely at me as he struggles to carry the humongous bouquet of flowers. "It's from sir Ren. I suppose you are miss Maddie?" He smiles. I nod, quickly taking the flowers from him. "I'll take it from here." I smile softly as he bows politely. I wave at him before shutting the door.

I sigh as I walk slowly, my feet pattering against the hard wooden floor. Rays of the soft afternoon sunlight pierce through the windows being my only light source in the kitchen. I stop in front of my coffee table, gently placing the flowers down on the table. I smile in satisfaction before taking out my phone.

I see a bunch of notifications from different apps but I receive no text or missed calls from Tyler.

After what had happened last week, I had lost all forms of communication with Tyler. Heck, I didn't see him at all. I rest my head on the surface of my table. Why did we have to fight?

Was I exactly what Tyler said?

Returning my attention to the flowers on my desk, I read the note that Ren has left. I felt bad. I wanted to forgive him yet I couldn't. There was just too much going on at the moment. And I was scared, scared that he might leave me again.

Suddenly, my phone rings. "Hello, who—" "Madilyn?"

I freeze. My legs grew numb as my throat went dry. "Tyler..." His name rolling off my tongue. My grip on my phone gets tighter. "Are you okay? You don't really sound good." He states through the phone.

"I'm okay." I say quietly. He lets out a shaky breath. "I'm really sorry for crossing the line. It's up to you whether you'd like to continue dating." Then, he grows silent.

"Tyler..." I mumble, guilt rising in my chest. "But promise me one thing." He adds. I tense up at this. "Which is?" I manage to ask, my hands started to feel sweaty. "That we stay friends if it doesn't work out. I don't want our friendship to be ruined because of my foolish mistake." He says genuinely. "Get well soon. I'll get you some flowers." "Wait how did you know I was—" Then he hangs up.

How.....

I looked at the phone then at the flowers. Should I still continue dating Tyler? He'll get hurt if I do...The loud rapping on my door snapped me out of my thoughts. I contemplated whether to answer or not however the door swung open,

Suddenly, my front door opens, revealing my friends with wide smiles plastered on their faces. "Guess who got first place amongst all ten thousand business companies?" Capella says in a sing-song tone. Her eyes were glistening with happiness. "Congratulations." I smile, giving her a hug.

"C'mon. Grab your coat and your stuff. We are going to celebrate." Leah giggles. I grab my stuff and headed out with my friends.

It was early evening and the air was turning colder. The sky was now dark blue and most people can be seen heading back to their homes. The subway was filled with people waiting to be back with their families.

A few minutes later, we went inside a chicken restobar.

"One large chicken platter, a salad, four chicken skewers and two bottles of alcohol. Just the mild ones please." Valery cheers. The waiter smiles at her then leaves to prepare the order. "W-we are d-drinking?" Leah stammers, her eyes widening. "Can I just drink one small glass?"

"Yeah, sure." Capella smiles. Our worried friend lets out a sigh of relief. As my friends converse, my mind drifts off somewhere else. I recall Tyler telling me that it was my choice if I were to leave him or not. If I leave him, it'll be selfish of me to do so. I do like Tyler but I think I see him in a more brotherly way. It is hard for me to tell him that.

Sure, he may say that it'll be fine but I know that it wouldn't be. It will never be okay if someone you like leaves you for someone else. I do not want to be that someone for Tyler. But if I continue this, he will hurt even more.

"Hey, Maddie! We are about to toast." Leah whispers loudly, causing me to jump a bit. Everyone looks at me. "Sorry, I spaced out." I say sheepishly as I forced a sweet smile, taking the small glass from Capella's hands. She gives me a small smile.

Leah stands up. "Cheers to Capella's success! And to our friendship!" She grins widely, raising her glass to the air. "Cheers!" We say in unison, only mine was softer. After we clink our glasses, Valery and Capella downs the liquid. Leah seems to have done so as well, for her cheeks were slightly pink and her body was slumped against the table.

I stare my own glass, swirling the nearly transparent liquid inside. I empty the cup at one go, feeling the alcohol burn my throat as I winced, giving a half grimace, half smile. Carefully placing the shot glass down, I could feel heat rising up from my chest and onto my face, dusting my cheeks with a tint of scarlet.

Another cup won't hurt would it? I moved forward to grab the bottle, the cold neck made its way to my sweating palm as I poured myself another drink, downing it once more in the process. Contrast to the heat I felt, the cool liquid ran down my throat smoothly, a chill went up my spine.

All these problems are such a headache. I'll have fun today and worry about it tomorrow.

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