Chapter one
Imagine looking into the eyes of the boy you've loved for over ten years and seeing the exact same emotion glimmer through his but not for you. Yep. That's the kind of agony my heart felt as I listened to my best friend since birth, Peter, go on about his proposal to his girlfriend, Arden, that he'd been seeing for a year. Although she was the sweetest girl I'd ever met, I couldn't help but hate her.
I gulped back my emotions, each gulp increasing in pain and my eyes withholding with all their might from shedding tears. I wore a smile and nodded occasionally as he spoke, praying from my heart that he wouldn't recognise the sadness that lurked within me.
"It's crazy how two people just meet. Everyone has a destiny. I love her so much Amelia." He slumped into the couch and his mouth was shaped in a dreamy smile.
"I can tell. You guys are totally made for each other. I'm so happy for you, Peter." I slowly moved my gaze to the television and pretended to be preoccupied by the flickering screen. I've been in love with Peter since I was thirteen; I was now twenty-three and the emotion never ceased but only increased as I watched him grow into the amazing gentleman he is today. Despite my dreams of him discovering his undying love for me, he not once saw me in that way and in fact referred to me as his sister; you could just imagine how that made me feel.
"Meels?" I heard him call and I flickered my eyes in his direction.
"Hm?" I responded.
"Are you alright?" He asked curiously, his electric blue eyes scanning my face.
"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be?" I attempted to say in a light-hearted tone, praying he wouldn't see past my act. Truth be told, I wanted him to leave already so I could cry into my cushion and remain indoors for the next two weeks; grieving.
He eyed me skeptically then shrugged. "If you say so. I've gotta go but I'll see you later ok? You better come to my engagement party tonight." He arose from his seat and so did I, motioning to walk him out.
"Of course," I said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
He hugged me promptly before exiting the door, leaving me all alone in my house that smelled like candles where I could let my prisoned emotions finally escape. A tear rolled down my cheek and before I knew it, I was violently sobbing with my head shoved into the lounge pillow. Sure I knew they'd been dating, but I thought that like the others, she'd be out of his life sooner or later. But no, now they were getting married which meant he was going to be tied to her for a long while.
Oh how I wished it was me. I wished I was the one with the glimmering ring resting on my finger, I wished I was the one that got to spend my life lovingly with the boy I had considered to be my soulmate but life wasn't a fairytale. I'd come to realise this recently but better late than never, right? It didn't help that I had plugged in my ear phones that were playing my sad playlist of songs I had reserved for moments like these; each lyric touched my heart and only made me cry harder.
It was weird that me, a twenty-three year old female, that is supposed to have her life together, had her head buried into the suede cushion over a crush that had developed when I was ten. I had turned down every offer I got to meet someone new in hopes that one day Peter will realise that he too loves me strongly but it was stupid me to ever believe that such a thing would occur; the boy was engaged for heavens sakes. To make matters worse, I had to attend the little party they were throwing tonight and watch them live out my dream life while I sat and watched.
I eyed the clock, it was 3:00pm. I had four long hours to be depressed before the party I was absolutely dreading, began.
