Chapter 270 Isabella
Mia was still on the mend, and I heard the boss had thrown a new gig her way—big deal, super demanding. Mia's the type who either goes all in or not at all, so she was wiped out every day, crashing by eight tonight.
I was just chilling solo, bored outta my mind, scrolling through vids on my phone when Isabella dropped a bomb in our group chat.
"Hey babes, I'm tying the knot on October 4th. Come party and be my bridesmaids. Got some killer dresses for you all."
This news was like a jolt of caffeine.
I perked up and told her Mia was out cold, then slid into a private chat.
Isabella's about my height and has this no-nonsense vibe.
During our four years at Northern Institute of the Arts, Mia and I always teased her for being such a tomboy, saying she'd never get hitched. She'd just laugh it off, saying she was lucky and would totally find a great guy.
Back then, we all thought Mia would be the first to walk down the aisle, given her hot and heavy thing with Benjamin.
But man, were we wrong.
College days still felt like yesterday. Brad and I went from buddies to lovers, and Mia and Benjamin split. The first one to get married? The tomboy.
It was only in our senior year that we found out Isabella had a childhood crush. She was head over heels but never spilled the beans, so they stayed just friends.
I’d barely been gone a year, and now she was getting hitched. Looked like her dreams were coming true.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I grilled Isabella until I knew everything about her fiancé.
Turns out, the guy's name is Collins Caleb. Comes from a good family, pretty easy on the eyes. When he was nine, he spent a summer at his grandma's place and got chased by a dog, almost peed his pants.
Isabella, also at her grandma's that summer, saw Caleb all freaked out and thought he was cute. With the guts of a hero, she grabbed her grandma's stick and went after the dog, saving Caleb. The whole "beauty saves the hero" thing became a legend in the village.
Later, the dog's owner came to complain to Isabella's grandma, saying the dog's leg was busted. Grandma had to cough up twenty bucks. After Caleb got chased by the dog, Isabella got chased by her grandma and couldn't dodge a spanking.
I genuinely wished Isabella all the happiness with her true love.
When we started talking about Mia, Isabella and I felt this deep sense of pity, lamenting how unpredictable life is. The once-famous model couple at Northern Institute of the Arts had split because of real-life stuff, which was a bummer.
Isabella said she was torn about whether to tell Mia about the wedding. If she told her, Mia might feel hurt seeing it all; if she didn't, it wouldn't feel right without Mia, since they'd been tight for so many years.
Plus, a bunch of our college crew would be at Isabella's wedding, and some might know Benjamin. If that stirred up any drama for Mia, it’d be a mess.
Later, she talked it over with Caleb, who said Mia couldn’t dodge stuff forever. She needed to toughen up and face the future head-on to really deal with her past. Isabella thought that made sense and decided to clue Mia in.
"Yeah, you gotta tell her. The three of us were like peas in a pod for years; we can't miss each other's big days. Besides, word's gonna get out eventually. If Mia finds out you kept it from her, she'd be hurt. Even if you're trying to protect her, it’d just mess up our friendship."
I wanted to chat more, but Isabella hit me with: [Jane, my man’s back, calling me to bed. Catch you later.]
I stared at the dark screen, annoyed, and shot her a Facebook message, giving her grief for ditching her friends for a guy.
I waited a bit, but she didn’t reply, so I crashed solo.
In the middle of the night, I was out cold when a warm body snuggled up behind me, leaving me all confused as my hands were gently held. When I woke up in the morning, the room still had a faint scent, but the spot next to me was empty.
Rubbing my sore right hand, I zoned out for a while. I really needed to toughen up.
When I left the bedroom, I found a big bag of snacks on the kitchen table. Among them was the yogurt that had been bugging me. Under the bags was a note, "Last night was awesome, thanks, babe. Had to leave early. Eat up, and hit me up on Facebook if you need anything. I’ll reply ASAP."
I opened the yogurt, and the sweet and sour taste chilled me out. I couldn’t help but scold myself for overthinking. That was Brad, one of the guys who loved me most. No way he'd hurt me.
Since Yancy vanished from our lives, Luna hadn’t been around. Our meals turned into breakfast at home and lunch and dinner on our own.
As for why Yancy disappeared, where he went, and why he didn’t even say goodbye, we had no clue.
Mia looked rough in the morning. I told her to rest and went to the kitchen to whip up my specialty noodles.
When I brought the noodles back, Mia was chatting with Isabella about the wedding.
Throughout their convo, I kept an eye on Mia, worried she might get upset.
Turns out I was stressing for nothing. Mia didn’t show any signs of being bummed, and she even seemed pretty stoked.
While eating, I kept sneaking glances at Mia, trying to figure out if her excitement was real or just a front.
On what must’ve been the umpteenth time I glanced at her, she caught me. She tapped the edge of my bowl with her fork. "What’s up? If you’ve got something to say, just spit it out. Don’t keep glancing at me; it makes me think you’re crushing on me."
Her eyes were clear, her smile genuine, no hint of faking it, making me feel like I was being overly cautious.
"I see the Mia from four years ago. It’s awesome." I took a sip of the noodle soup. "Isabella and I were really worried about you, afraid the wedding news would upset you."
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