GB96 s2 - The Fellowship Part 2

You walk into the diner without a plan or a script, but your mood only darkens as you hear their laughter and see that they don’t even notice you until you’re on top of them. You walk up to the booth, and the reactions are telling.

Ellen almost spills her drink. Stef freezes.

Nadia and Jessica both smile at you.

“Hey, Carla,” Nadia says, giving you a knowing look.

“Hi,” Jessica adds.

Jessica doesn’t know. Obviously. And Nadia has, with a little help from Stef no doubt, a less than complete understanding of the situation. You could ask how long this has been going on, but you think that you know the answer to that question.

“Hi,” you say, your eyes on Stef.

Stef knows how fucked she is. You are not an actress. But you are the smart one. The better one. Your teeth grind as you tell yourself that internally.

You smile.

“Let’s talk outside,” you say.

Stef swallows, and you can see that a part of her wants to protest. She’s affronted. That just pisses you off more. But she looks down and sees your clenched fist.

“Yeah,” she says nervously. “Sure. Sorry,” she adds with a smile to Jessica, who looks puzzled, but not alarmed.

Ellen slips out of the booth as well. That’s big of her. She’s not the problem here. She hasn’t been acting strangely because she’s sleeping with Stef, she’s acting strangely because she’s been keeping Stef’s secret.

Your rage isn’t stable. Once you reach the sidewalk, you only have to look down the street to see the building where your new apartment is. Ellen and Stef stand behind you expectantly. They’re expecting some fire and fury, which you had fully intended to deliver until a second ago. Now you’re trying not to cry. You can’t help but think about how lonely that apartment is going to be now, because it’s over. Not just the lovey-dovey stuff. You don’t want to see Stef’s face at all.

You need to get out of here.

“Come on. Carla,” Stef says, putting her hand on your shoulder. “Can you chill? It’s just fun.”

You take a deep breath. You’ve never been the type to punch people, but this is uncharted territory. You knock Stef’s hand away.

“Don’t touch me. I don’t want to hurt you,” you say tightly.

Stef snorts disdainfully. “Come on. You’re going to act like you didn’t know? What? You thought we were serious?”

You whirl and punch her squarely in the nose. For all her bluster and the implication that between the two of you, she is the tough one, you aren’t the one who just got knocked on her ass. Stef crashes to the pavement and Ellen gasps. Stef clutches her nose, which is bleeding like a fountain.