"Hi, it's James. Is Debbie with you?" It was the first time he sent me a message, and curiosity consumed me. I stared at the message on my notification bar for a while before letting out a long sigh.
I called Debbie to confirm if she had given her boyfriend my number before responding to him. She confirmed that she did because he had asked for it. "Why did he ask... never mind," I concluded. "Don't worry, he just wants to know I'm ok when my phone is out of reach. You're my closest friend, and there's nothing wrong with you two having each other's contact," she explained. I exhaled and mentioned, "He's been trying to reach you, though." "Yes, we've spoken," she replied. After a short talk, I hung up and saved his number.
"She's not with me," I typed back, and a few minutes later, he reacted with a thumbs up to my message. We could view each other's statuses, and as days turned into weeks, he began replying to almost all of mine – memes, photos, etc. It was becoming awkward, but I didn't want to read too much into his actions. I trusted my friend's boyfriend and thought he was just trying to be friendly.
Debbie's deep love for her boyfriend was evident from the name she saved his contact; 'the air that I breathe'. "Has it gotten to this level?" I asked, flashing the screen in her face. She grinned and nodded like a child. "You're a true lover girl," I remarked with a chuckle as I continued with what I had taken her phone for.
As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, his messages no longer revolved around Debbie or replies to statuses. He would DM me, asking about my day, how I was doing, and posing some awkward questions that only a love interest should ask and I kept assuring myself that it was nothing.
'Experiencing a bit of physical tension', was the caption I added to a sad puppy photo that I shared on my WhatsApp status before placing the phone on the nightstand. I slid under the sheets, wrapped my hands around my abdomen and shut my eyes. Few minutes later, my phone buzzed. I reached for it, ignoring the pain, and saw that James had messaged me. His message read: "sorry princess, we could take a walk if you don't mind."
I quickly sat up in bed, and wiped off the tears that had formed in my eyes with the back of my palms to ensure I wasn't the crazy one. "Jeez!" I exclaimed out of total disgust as I typed back. "Princess???" The text ticked blue immediately I sent it. I felt queasy.
"I've always had feelings for you," he replied. I placed the phone face down on the bed, contemplating how terrible Debbie would feel if I warned her about him. "Would she take my advice to stay away from this dude?" Thoughts clouded my mind as I felt nothing but pity for my friend. I picked up the phone again. He had sent numerous messages shamelessly confessing his feelings from the first day he saw me and how he had been using my friend to get closer to me.
"You're shallow minded," were the only words I could bring myself to type before blocking and deleting the entire chat. The next day at school, Debbie was all over him, and the look in her eyes when she was with him tore at my heart. I wanted to tell her that he wasn't worth her beautiful heart, but I couldn't because the words were heavy in my mouth plus I didn't want to ruin her excitement.
"Debbs, do you believe James loves you as much as you love him?" I asked her on our way home from school. She stopped and looked at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "Of course, why?" "It's nothing. Really." I said. "Are you sure?" She looked concerned. "You know I can't handle breaking up with James," she added with a steely glint in her eyes.
"Lover girl, there's nothing wrong," I feigned a smile and grabbed her hand. "You scared me there," she exclaimed, and we walked in silence to the bus stop. I couldn't bear to see Debbie hurt, so I decided to keep the secret to myself, allowing her to enjoy her relationship while it lasted.
"One way or another, she'd find out the truth, but it won't be from me," I whispered to myself as I sat on the bus. Debbie is a wonderful girl who deserves everything, including love, but James? He's definitely not worth it but, I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth.