Outburst

I burst out laughing as my brain registered the name that Jina had just uttered. "You're joking right?"

"Olivia, why would I joke about something like that? I—"

"Jina, please tell me you're not serious." My voice had gotten louder, it was shaking slightly with anger, and my smile was quickly turning into a scowl.

"I wish I'm wrong, but—"

"BUT YOU CAN'T ACCEPT ME AND LIAM GOING OUT TOGETHER RIGHT?! I KNEW YOU WERE JEALOUS SINCE THAT TIME I TRIED TO TELL YOU ABOUT HOW GOOD HE MADE ME FEEL", I spat out scornfully as my rage bubbled up inside of me.

Jina looked at me with a hurt and confused expression. "W-what? No—"

"YOU CAN'T ACCEPT THE FACT THAT A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING LIKE ME GOT A BOYFRIEND BEFORE YOU, RIGHT? SO YOU HAVE TO BE A BITCH ABOUT IT AND RUIN IT SOMEHOW", I continued, blinded by anger as words that should never have come out were now pouring out of my mouth.

Jina was too shocked to respond to that latest flurry of insults.

"Get out of my house. I don't want to see you anymore", I ordered with venom, pointing to the door.

"Olivia, please calm down and list—"

"GET OUT!"

With tears in her eyes, Jina got up and trundled towards the door. With a foot out of the door, she turned back to face me. "Olivia, I know you may not do what I say, but please don't go to your date later. If you skip the date and my suspicion is right, you may get an unexpected call from your blackmailer tonight. If I'm wrong, then... " She paused for a bit. "... then I won't bother you ever again", she finished before closing the door behind her.

Finally left alone, I started feeling tears welling up, partly because of the stuff I had just said to Jina, but also because I couldn't understand why she would even suspect Liam in the first place. What was supposed to be one of the best day of my life had suddenly turned bitter really fast.

-

I spent the next few hours laying in bed, staring aimlessly at the ceiling of my room, trying to digest what had just happened.

Multiple times I hovered over the call button in my chat with Jina, or typed 'Sorry' before deleting it over and over again and throwing my phone away in frustration. Despite trying my best to find a reason, I simply couldn't understand why she would incriminate Liam, the guy who she herself had helped me pick, the guy who had been so gentle with me up till now, the guy who had made me feel the best I had ever felt before.

Even worse, I was starting to doubt myself. There was this tiny voice in my head, constantly going 'What if Jina's right?'. Even though I didn't want to comtemplate this possibility, I still couldn't shake off the horrible feeling.

Just like that, time passed without me even realizing it, and by 6p.m, I was still on my bed when I heard a knock at the door. There was no doubt who that was. He had promised to pick me up at this time after all.

I got up gingerly and made my way to the door, head full of doubts and regrets and all kind of negativity. "Maybe it would be good to go on this date", I thought. It would at least help me forget about everything that had just happened, at least for a little while. Yes, I always felt a jolt of joy whenever I was with Liam.

I placed my hand on the handle. And froze. 'What if Jina's right?' Those words now echoed once more in my head, over and over, louder than ever before, rendering me immobile. Should I listen to Jina and skip the date as she advised? Or should I listen to my heart and meet Liam on the other side of this freaking door? It was time for me to choose.