6: Two Sides of the Coin

“Zoey?” Amanda said, shocked to see the person who had decided to ghost her three years ago.

“You know each other?” Jordan asked as fast as lightning.

This was not going as planned.

“Hi, Amanda,” Zoey said, her voice sounding more like a broken record now than it did before.

“Yeah, we went to college together,” Amanda said, trailing off slightly as the memories flashed before her.

“And you didn't think to tell me?” Jordan asked, turning to Zoey in annoyance.

“Hope everyone's welcome to the reunion?” Ray chipped in as he glided through the water on his back.

“Shut up, Ray!” Amanda and Jordan thundered at the same time.

It was clearly going to be an awkward moment for everyone, so Zoey decided she was going home. She walked over to Amanda first because she had to clear the air between them. At least, she felt she needed to.

“Congrats on the wedding,” she told her. Amanda only nodded in response and let out a curt “Thanks.”

The memory stuck no matter how hard they both tried to brush it aside, and Amanda remembered things slightly differently from her friend.

She had not simply been on the verge of losing her ex-boyfriend when Zoey decided she was no longer going to be a part of her life. Her father's company had been on the brink of bankruptcy, and she had debated dropping out. It was on a Saturday night after a party that Amanda had quietly slipped into the bathroom and left several unanswered voicemails for Zoey before slitting her wrist.

The homeowners had been quick to find her, and she was rushed to the hospital before she could bleed to death.

“You never called back,” Amanda said, breaking the silence that Zoey was too scared to break.

Jordan saw through the heat. He saw Zoey shudder underneath the blanket she had covered herself with. He knew it wasn't from the cold.

“Zoey, did you do that thing I asked?”

Zoey was dumbstruck for a minute. Then she mouthed an “Ooh” when she finally recognised that he had only asked that to save her bum.

“On it,” she said as she packed her clothes by the pool and made a graceless saunter back to the guest room.

•

Zoey got up early the next morning with the intent to leave. A gentle knock sounded on her door just as she was reaching for its handle. She thought it would be Jordan. She hoped it would be, so she could explain to him that she had only become aware of the situation when it was already too late, just in case he wanted to close the deal.

Instead, she opened the door, and Amanda's bright smile greeted her ice-pale face.

“I wanted to speak to you,” she said to Zoey as she crossed into the room.

Zoey didn't know what to say, so she kept quiet and waited for Amanda to say whatever it was that had been on her mind.

“Look, maybe we didn't end on the best of terms,” Amanda started. “But the past is in the past, and I'm willing to let bygones be bygones.”

Zoey was speechless. She had been throughout the unexpected reunion, and now she was even more frightened. There she stood, face to face with an old friend offering forgiveness who didn't think the person she was offering it to was about to ruin her life.

“I want you to come to the wedding.”

Zoey didn't realise she had let out a cynical laugh until she heard it echo through the room.

“I'm sorry, I'm just really excited about all of this. I didn't expect to meet you here… at all,” she said.

“Yeah, same, actually,” Amanda smiled, rolling her eyes at the absurdity of chance. How clueless she was. “You know, for a second there, I actually thought you were planning on stealing my fiancé, but that's stupid. Silly me.”

Zoey let out a very loud and clumsy laugh at the oddly accurate conclusion.

“Of course, if that were ever to happen, you know what I'd do to you, right? I'd f*cking carve your eyeballs out and watch you bleed to death as I make love to him right in front of you.”

Again, Zoey was speechless, and damn near traumatised by the image.

“Yeah, definitely not what's happening. You can count on that,” she lied and gulped.

“Good.”

“If you'll excuse me, I actually have to leave now, but… I'll be in touch.”

Before Zoey knew it, Amanda had launched herself into her arms and given her the scariest embrace she had ever received. Then she left the room as soon as she could, only to bump right into Jordan on her way down the stairs.

“Well, good thing I found you,” Jordan said and took her by the hand as he forcefully dragged her into a secluded space.

“Stop it.”

“What the hell, Zoey?” he asked, breathless as he pushed her back into a corner. His body was so close to hers that she couldn't escape even if she tried. “This wasn't part of the plan.”

“No kidding. You didn't tell me you were getting married to my college best friend.”

“How was I supposed to know?” he whispered, trying his best not to let his frustration break through the tempo of his voice.

“No, how was I supposed to know? You brought me here, remember?”

“What're you guys doing?” a voice asked behind them.