I did my best to ignore her, laying out bread and taking my sweet time to add all of my makings for a sandwich. Honestly, it wasn’t too difficult, because she was silent the whole time. I pulled out a stool to sit down and eat, groaning when I heard the one next to me scraping against the wooden floor.
“Um…Della?” The question came out quiet, but I refused to look her way. Apparently, I didn’t even need to acknowledge her because she started talking anyway. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now about our parents. Dad called earlier.”
I nodded my head in answer, taking a big bite of my sandwich so I didn’t have to say anything. I wasn’t sure what to say in the first place, really.
“So….” She dragged out, resting her head sideways on her knuckle, as if she were trying to make me glance her direction. “What does that mean exactly? For us?”
I shrugged one shoulder, finishing my sandwich and wiping the crumbs into a tiny pile. I really needed to take a shower before going into work. I didn’t have time for a heart-to-heart with Mia. Plus, I was beyond pissed about what just happened with Justin. I was upset that Mia lied to him, and I was even more annoyed by the fact that those two had apparently been hanging out.
Mia was a bitch. Plain and simple.
Sure, we never really had a close relationship. It didn’t help that she lived with her mom the majority of the time when we were both still in school, so we basically only saw each other on weekends and holidays. We didn’t have anything in common, and ran with different crowds.
Living together was beyond weird. I thought I was helping my mom out by letting Mia move in with us, maybe pushing her in the right direction, but it hadn’t helped at all, and now, our parents were divorcing. Mia and I had no reason to act like we liked each other or even as if we were related by marriage.
She sighed loudly when I stood up and began rinsing my plate off. “Fine, don’t talk to me. But could you just at least tell me if I should start packing all of my shit? If you’re gonna throw me out, at least give me some warning.” Her voice shook when she said the last sentence and I finally stopped to look at her.
Her eyes were filled with unshed tears, but I could tell they were about to spill over any second. Her hair was disheveled, probably from sleeping all day, and she wore only a pair of yoga pants with a ratty t-shirt. For the first time since she moved here, she actually looked like a normal person. All makeup was removed from her face, her usually heeled feet were bare, and like I mentioned before, she was fully clothed. Miracles do exist.
Don’t let her fool you, Della.
She was probably doing this on purpose, so I would feel sorry for her. I couldn’t forget what she had done and how she treated me on a daily basis. We weren’t friends, and soon, we would be stepsisters no more, so there was no reason for her to be here any longer. Right?
“I haven’t decided what to do yet, Mia. I haven’t really had the time to process everything.”
I dried my hands off, dropping the towel back onto the counter, and pushed off with my hands to head in the direction of my room.
“Della, wait.” My feet didn’t stop until she tacked on, “Please.”
I slowly faced her, crossing my arms over my chest, and tapping my foot. “What? Make it quick because I need to get in the shower before work.”
She bit her lip, chewing on it hard before fidgeting in place. “Listen, I know I haven’t been exactly easy to be around. And then the whole thing with Justin.” I rolled my eyes, not really caring to hear his name at the moment, but she continued on, “When I ran into him, it was by complete accident. It’s not like I was searching for him or anything.”
I really wouldn’t put it past her. The first time she met Justin, she had gone beyond flirting with him. I figured she probably would’ve looked him up as soon as she made it into town. I really shouldn’t have been too surprised that those two were together as friends, or whatever they were.
“And then we started hanging out. I thought maybe there was a possibility that we could be something more than friends. There’s just something about him that’s so…sexy. It’s such a turn-on.”
“Mia, I don’t have time to talk about Justin and how sexy he is, so please, get on with it.”
“Ugh, fine. So, anyway, I started insinuating things when it came to you and Nash, not giving him the complete truth when he asked questions about you. I didn’t lie to him, but I didn’t tell him the full story. I was being selfish. I know I was a bitch about everything, Della, and I know we don’t exactly get along. But I just wanted what you had. That’s all. And I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you because of that. Sure, I might’ve initially thought it was funny, but I can see how much your breakup with Justin has affected you. Maybe things will still work out between the two of you.”
I snorted loudly. “I highly doubt that, Mia. Sure, at one time I thought what Justin and I had was possibly something more, something that could last forever. But it was stupid and immature to think. I’m done with him, for good.”