Page 29

Eliza sat across from me in the restaurant—the one she had fallen in love with, when she came to visit me last semester. Our table was seated in the corner, allowing us a bit of privacy over the tables that were scattered all around.

I texted Nina before we left the apartment and invited her to join us when she finished her training.

Her reply came ten minutes later, saying that the track team was heading to dinner, and she was just about to ask me if I wanted to join them.

We ended the conversation by saying that we’d see each other back in the apartment.

After a quick peruse of the menu, we ordered our food, and the waitress left us.

And the moment I dreaded most has finally arrived.

Eliza took a sip of her water and placed her glass back on the table before settling her gaze on me. ‘Start talking.’

I let out a sigh. Might as well just get this over with. ‘His name is Colton and he’s my partner for the ASL class I’m taking this semester.’

‘And why is he bringing you bubble tea and flowers?’ she asked, arching her brow.

‘We usually practice ASL after the class at the bubble tea shop nearby,’ I answered.

‘And afterward, we head over to the shop across the street, so I could get flowers for the apartment. But since he had an away game this week, we didn’t get to practice.

So, this was his way of making up for it, I guess.

’ I shrugged. Picking up my own glass, I took a sip of the iced tea I ordered.

‘An away game?’ I heard Eliza ask.

‘He’s on the baseball team,’ I clarified.

‘Is he now?’ Eliza exclaimed, clearly enjoying this. Especially when she knows all about my streak of crushes on school athletes. ‘Is he any good?’

I gave her a sour look. ‘How would I know? I don’t watch all of their games,’ I said, trying to deflect her questions.

‘But I thought you attended all of the home games.’ Eliza tilted her head, her voice all innocent. I shot a glare her way, knowing she was anything but innocent especially when she was interrogating me.

‘Ugh, fine. Yes, he’s a really good baseball player,’ I admitted. Considering he had hit a home run at almost all the games I had attended, I would say that was an accurate description of him.

‘Good to know,’ Eliza said, a knowing smirk plastered on her face. ‘So, what’s been going on between you two?’

‘Nothing,’ I stated, point blank. ‘We’re just friends.’

Eliza gave me an amused look. ‘Friends don’t stop by your apartment just to drop off bubble tea and flowers.’

‘Good friends do?’ I said, phrasing it more like a question than a statement.

Eliza just arched a brow at me, then took another sip of her water. ‘Speaking of the baseball team, what happened to your other crush who was also on the team?’

Eliza might be the most ambitious person I knew, but deep down, she was also a hopeless romantic just like me.

And that’s when I realized why I hadn’t told her about Colton.

After seeing that first game during my freshman year, I remembered our phone conversation that week, when I had told her about Colton: how I might have started developing a crush on him that day, and how it just continued growing bigger and bigger with each game I went to.

But I was always cautious of never giving out his name, only referring to him as ‘my crush’, without ever putting a name or a face to it.

This was just so I could keep the fantasy of crushing on the baseball player, and the happily-ever-after of it all alive, whenever I talked to her.

But fantasy was easy to keep, when you’re separated by a whole campus, not when it showed up at your front door with bubble tea and flowers.

My inner turmoil must have brewed longer than I thought, when I heard Eliza let out a massive gasp as she pieced out the puzzle herself.

‘It’s him, isn’t it?’ she exclaimed. ‘Your baseball player crush is Colton.’

Sighing, I nodded. No use in trying to hide it any more. ‘Yes, it’s Colton,’ I confirmed.

‘Well, aren’t you a lucky gal,’ Eliza laughed. ‘I should be taking notes from you on how to get guys.’

‘Get guys?’ I murmured before speaking up, ‘You’re getting ahead of yourself here. We’re just friends, Eliza. That’s all we are and that’s all we will ever be.’

‘You seem pretty confident about that,’ Eliza said, tilting her head. ‘Did he say anything about only staying friends?’

‘I mean,’ I trailed off. ‘Technically, he didn’t. But how do you move forward to being more than friends, when he hasn’t asked me out yet?’

‘Fair enough.’ Eliza nodded.

Our food arrived a few moments later, and we ate silently through the first few bites, savouring our meal. Eliza offered her plate for me to taste her food, and I did the same with mine.

I thought the whole Colton conversation had come to an end, but I realized I was completely mistaken, when Eliza asked me her next question. ‘So, what you’re saying is, the only thing that’s holding you back from being more than friends with Colton is that he hasn’t asked you yet.’

‘Pretty much,’ I shrugged.

‘Okay. But what if he does ask you out?’

‘Doesn’t matter, since he didn’t,’ I quickly answered.

‘Humour me then. Think of it as a hypothetical situation.’

Her words made me pause. I already knew what my answer would be. But knowing Eliza, a simple no wouldn’t suffice. And that meant telling her about my stupid beliefs over something so childish.

Before I could think it through, the words were already out of my mouth. ‘I would probably say no,’ I confessed.

Eliza looked taken aback by my answer, surprise evident on her face. ‘How come? If you like Colton and he asked you out, why wouldn’t you say yes?’

‘Colton and I just can’t happen, Eliza,’ I admitted. ‘It’s just better off this way.’ I directed my eyes to the food in front of me, trying my best to ignore her heavy gaze.

‘What is it you’re not telling me, Clara?’ I heard Eliza ask, her voice soft.

I let her words hang in the air, as I tried to muster up the courage to talk about the curse and my stupid notion of it.

‘Did you ever notice a similarity between the story of how Mom and Dad got together with how you and Nathan got together?’ I started, letting my eyes finally meet hers.

Her eyebrows furrowed at my question, a look of confusion on her features. ‘And what exactly is the similarity?’

‘It started when you were paired up for something. Mom and Dad were partners for that class assignment back when they were in high school, while you and Nathan were partners for that work assignment.’

‘Okay,’ Eliza trailed off. ‘Well, that’s just a coincidence.’

‘But that’s not where the similarities end,’ I continued.

‘Another thing I noticed was how both of your relationships followed the whole cliché love interest story. You know, how in every romance story, the main character always brushes off the idea of ever being with the cliché love interest, because they’re convinced it’s never gonna happen,’ I said, putting up air quotes for the last three words.

Eliza raised her eyebrow in amusement at me. ‘I see where you’re getting at. So, you’re saying Dad was the cliché love interest because he was the bad boy?’

‘And Nathan was your work rival, which is another type of cliché love interest,’ I continued.

‘Fair point,’ Eliza said. ‘And Colton fits into this whole category because he’s a college athlete?’

‘Star athlete,’ I corrected her. ‘He’s one of the best players on the baseball team.’

‘And now you’re also partners for a class.’ Eliza slowly nodded, seeming to understand where I was going.

‘Exactly.’

‘But why do these similarities have to do with you saying no to Colton asking you out on a date?’ Eliza then asked.

‘You’re going to think I’m ridiculous.’

‘I will never think that,’ she answered truthfully.

I let out a tired sigh. What’s one more person to share my childish beliefs with? ‘I think our family is cursed, Eliza.’

Her head jolted slightly at my words. ‘Cursed?’

‘See,’ I exclaimed. ‘I know you’d think I’m being ridiculous.’

‘No, you just took me by surprise, that’s all,’ she quickly reassured me. ‘And what is the curse exactly?’

‘Cliché love interests are only meant for stories, that’s why people can’t stop writing them, and why we can’t stop reading them.

But that’s all there is to it. They only sound good in fiction, stories of make-believe.

But when it comes to real life, it just doesn’t last. At least for our family, it doesn’t. ’ I shrugged.

‘Oh, Clara,’ Eliza said. ‘You can’t possibly believe that.’

‘How can I not, when I saw it happen in front of me?’ I said.

‘First with our parents’ divorce, then with you and Nathan calling off the engagement three months later.

It’s all there, Eliza—the same pattern. I think I have enough reasons to be justified in believing this’.

I quickly directed my eyes back to my plate, trying my best to avoid Eliza’s gaze on me.

‘Clara.’ I heard her say, her tone pitiful.

‘I know you’re thinking about how ridiculous I’m being. Hearing all of this.’

‘I didn’t say that,’ Eliza said. ‘Nor do I think that.’

Her soft voice made me brave enough to meet her eyes. And all I could see was understanding, no judgment whatsoever.

‘I just feel so stupid saying all this out loud,’ I admitted.

‘It’s just that I used to think Mom and Dad’s love story was the best of all time.

How beautiful it was for having started with a cliché love interest, then actually living in their “happily-ever-after” with us by their side.

I thought it was always going to be the four of us, together.

I never knew there would be an end to happily-ever-after. ’