Blinded

"I told you so," is the first thing she says when I finish telling her the whole story, which only dampens my already sour mood.

"Wow, no, I am so sorry for you ,girl."

"Or I will always be there for you ,bestie."

"Or I will kill those bastards ,I always knew men were scum." I say with a raised eyebrows, Mia is a very loyal person with strong opinions about a lot of things including my relationships,so I was expecting something more but all she does is shrug.

"Nope, the only thing I'm going to say is that I warned you there was something off about David and his sister," Mia replies, putting air quotes around the word "sister." I groan and take another spoonful of ice cream.

"First of all, you were the one who introduced me to him, so if there is anyone to blame, it's you, "I say, pointing at Mia which earns me a glare from her and a pillow tossed at me, almost knocking the bucket of ice creams out of my lap.

"Hey, stop that! Secondly, he said she was his stepsister, or sister—I don't know, he kept changing it. But he did add ‘sister’ in the end, so what was I supposed to think?"

"Him committing incest is the last thing I would think or anyone would think for that matter , So it's not my fault," I responded, taking another spoonful of my favorite flavour of ice cream, chocolate,the only comfort food that works for heart break.

I don’t have a favorite food; I just love food in general. Ice cream is my go-to for comfort, pizza when I’m happy, and a large burrito when I’m sad. Any other food works well except when I need comfort. Ice cream is the only thing that truly makes me feel better—it’s like the cold matches my frozen heart.

“Hey, ice cream brain, I’m talking to you!” Mia says, snapping her fingers at me. snapping me out of my daydream ,what is seriously wrong with me? This isn’t the worst thing that has happened to me, but by far, it’s the weirdest. I’m already eating ice cream; why am I still thinking about it?

“I told you before to stay away from him , but you were dumb enough to date him, and by the way he never introduced his step sister to us. And by ‘us,’ I mean Lucas. I was never friends with that idiot; we just have the same friends, which puts us in the same friend group—that’s it!” she huffs. I try to speak again, but she holds up her index finger, signaling that she isn’t done ranting.

Here we go again, I mutter under my breath, rolling my eyes as she takes a few more breaths and brings out her inner lawyer.

“And since we are already in this predicament let me make one thing clear to you , Alexia Ross. I never introduced you to that bastard. All I said when he walked to our table that horrible day was his name, and then I told him to buzz off. So if there’s anyone to blame, it’s you.”

“I don’t know what fairytale called Delulu land you live in, but I didn’t introduce you to that stupid prick. I even warned you to stay away from him because he was a jerk.”

“But all you saw was the fake kind side that he showed you all the time. You even believed him more than me.”

“Heck, you almost ended our friendship because you believed him when he told you I was going after him.”

“You kept your distance from me for weeks. You moved in with him to the house that Dad bought and you stupidly put it in his name, and now look where that has gotten you!”

“You have no home because he kicked you out, no job because I don’t know why since you haven't told me yet, and no best friend because I don’t befriend dumb people,” she says, hitting the table in front of her to add emphasis to her speech, making me jump a bit . Then she walks away from the room, muttering about how she needs wine to cope with the situation, leaving me to ponder on everything she said.

Mia is right though. I was naive, foolish, and a complete idiot. How could I not see all the bright red flags that were dangling right in front of my face?

But when I think about it deep down, I know that I did see the flags but chose to overlook them. I can't believe that after everything that has happened to me, I still fell into the same trap. I still trusted the wrong people and ignored the warning signs. Seven years later, I was still the naive girl I was back then. I guess I haven't grown or changed.

All the signs were right there. The rumors were there; everyone knew that he was pursuing Mia early on, and honestly, I wasn't surprised. He told me he stopped once he met me, but that was a lie.

Everyone knew that he was the only one in his friend group who wasn't as well-off as the rest of his friends, so he was always dating rich girls. His main goal was probably Mia because marrying into her family would set him up for life.

When I came into the picture, rumors spread that the only reason he got together with me was that it was an easier way to get to Mia. I should have believed those rumors, but I was so blinded by his words. He told me that the only reason those rumors existed was that he once asked for a meeting with Mr. Gabriel and Mia said no. He claimed she humiliated him and made everyone believe he was chasing and begging her. What was the foolish thing I decided to do? I believed him.

I didn’t just believe him; I also told him that Mr. Gabriel adopted me and that he treated just like his daughter so I could ask for his help for him . That was all it took for him to stop inviting Mia to anything he wanted to do with me. I also put a small distance with her and me, choosing to spend more time with David instead and jeopardizing our friendship because I knew how possessive Mia could be, and I actually believed she would do something that cruel.

I stopped hanging out with her, and we nearly had the biggest argument when he kept complaining that she was going after him. Then I caught her telling him to stay away from me, and I snapped.

I yelled at her, and she yelled back. I called her names, and so did she. I was so blinded that when I said our friendship was over, I didn't feel any regret. I wholeheartedly thought she was a bad friend.

But I was the bad friend.

“Bitch, where are you? I ain't done yelling at y—” she says making me turn to look at her .

“Aww, sweet pea…”