All Chapters of Wanting my best friend’s brother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 25

The knock came again. It was harder this time. Ethan and I looked at each other. Neither of us moved."Ethan." Her voice was flat and certain from the other side of the door. "Open the door. It's me."The sound of her voice sent a sharp wave of panic through my chest. "She’s not supposed to be here yet," I whispered."I know," he muttered.The meeting wasn’t until the afternoon. It was barely morning. Ethan exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand over his face. He got up, grabbed a shirt from the chair beside the bed, and pulled it on quickly. He ran his hand through his hair as he walked to the door. I pulled the covers up slightly, my heart hammering. I was still in his t-shirt. My hair was a mess. No version of this looked like anything other than exactly what it was. Ethan held the doorknob, then paused and glanced back at me."Stay here for a second," he said quietly.I nodded, even though every part of me wanted to disappear entirely.He opened the bedroom door. I couldn’t see her at

Maya didn't ask questions or even say anything when I walked in. She just took one look at my face, stepped aside, and let me in. I sat on her couch and she disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later she came back with two mugs of tea and sat beside me. She still didn't say anything. She just waited.That was the thing about Maya. She always knew when to wait. I stared at the mug in my hands for a long time before I finally spoke."I met with Anabel today at Ethan’s place."Maya didn't react. She just looked at me."Okay… so what happened?" she asked, sipping her tea."She gave me an ultimatum," I said.My voice sounded too flat. Maya tilted her head slightly. "What kind of ultimatum?" she asked looking confused.A sob tore out of me so suddenly it startled even me. I bent forward, covering my face with both hands as the tears came hard and fast, like they had been waiting for permission."Hey…" Maya moved closer immediately, rubbing my back. "Hey, it’s okay…"I shook my head,

Nothing about me felt normal anymore. Although life didn't stop.I went back to work on Tuesday. I answered emails. I reviewed designs. I made sketches. I had meetings. I gave feedback and smiled at the right moments. From the outside, everything looked fine. But inside, something was quietly missing. My best friend.Anabel.It had only been a few days but her absence was everywhere. Not in a dramatic, obvious way. But in the small ways that sneak up on you when you're not paying attention. I would see something funny on my way to work and reach for my phone to send it to her before remembering. I would finish a long day and feel the urge to call her just to complain about nothing, the way we always did. I would open our chat and stare at the last message I sent her. Still undelivered. It was just sitting there with a single grey tick like a door that had been quietly shut in my face.I had made my choice. I chose Ethan and I didn't regret it. But choosing him didn't make the loss of