CHAPTER 37

JULIANA'S POV

At 5 p.m. I get ready and head out to meet Maggie. Nattie's is a small cafe that we used to frequent, and it holds a lot of good memories for us. As I walk in, I see Maggie sitting at a table in the corner, her eyes fixed on me. I take a deep breath and walk over to her, sitting down across from her.

"Why did you tell my mom about me staying with Marcus?" I ask her, getting straight to the point. I am not going to be all-nice to someone who has no loyalty to me.

"No hey or hello Maggie?" She asks as she sips on her coffee.

"Well, I just want to know why you told my mum about Marcus before I told her myself."

Maggie looks down, her expression unreadable. "I thought I was doing the right thing, Juliana. I was worried about you, staying with a guy like Marcus. I do not want you to get hurt again."

I feel a mix of emotions wash over me. Anger, hurt, confusion. "But why didn't you talk to me about it first? Why did you go behind my back?" I just want her to be straight with me for once.

"I have told you multiple times not to trust that man but you choose not to listen. I don't even know what you see in him. I just wanted to protect you but now I know that you don't deserve my protection and love. All I have done since we were young is protect you, Julie."

"Protect me? If you wanted to protect me, you wouldn't have told my mother anything. We are supposed to be friends, we are supposed to have each other's backs. You call yourself my best friend and yet you go and stab me in the back." I tell her, I am not going to take any of her bullshit anymore. 

"You know what, you are the most ungrateful person I have ever met. After everything I have done for you, you want to be mad at me because I told your mummy about you." 

"It was not your place to tell her, I was going to tell her at the right time, not the way you did it. It is like you wanted my relationship with my mother to be bad just like yours and your mum."

"No Julie I did not want that, I just wanted her to know that you are not as holy as she thinks you are. She has the right to know what her goody-goody-two-shoes daughter is up to. She has to know that you are someone's slut now." There is no affection in her eyes, it is like the Maggie I used to know has disappeared, and this new Maggie has come in her place.

"Why did you pretend to make up with me when I came to the apartment?" I ask, confused by her behavior.

"Because I wanted to get rid of you, you were annoying me with your emotional drama. The only way I was going to get rid of you was to make you believe that I was not mad at you, and it worked as I knew it would."

I feel a lump forming in my throat as her words hit me like a ton of bricks. I never expected Maggie to say such hurtful things to me. I feel betrayed, hurt, and angry all at once. How could she think so little of me? How could she turn on me like this? I have always loved her as a sister, but I doubt she ever loved me.

"I can't believe you, Maggie. I thought you were my friend, someone I could trust. But now, I don't even know who you are anymore. You have no right to judge me or my relationship with Marcus. You have no idea what we have been through together. He is a good person and I love him because he makes me happy."

Maggie scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Oh please, do not act like you are in some epic love story with Marcus. He is not a good person, Juliana. He is dangerous and you are putting yourself in harm's way by being with him. I was just trying to protect you."

I shake my head in disbelief. "You don't get to decide who I can be with, Maggie. You don't get to dictate my life choices. I trusted you, and you betrayed that trust. I don't think I can ever forgive you for what you did."

Maggie looks at me with a cold expression. "Fine, if that's how you feel, then maybe we are better off without each other. Maybe we were never really friends, to begin with." There is no emotion in Maggie; it is like someone else has taken over her body.

I feel tears welling up in my eyes as I realize that our friendship may be over. The thought of losing Maggie, someone who has been by my side for so long, is heartbreaking. But I can't continue to be friends with someone who does not respect me or my choices. I want a friend to understand me and respect every decision I make.

I stand up from the table, my hands trembling with emotion. "I think it Is best if we go our separate ways, Maggie. I can't be friends with someone who doesn't support me or trust me. I will come get my stuff when I find a new place to move in. Goodbye."

With that, I turn and walk out of Nattie's, leaving Maggie behind. As I step out into the night I feel a mix of sadness and relief wash over me. It hurts to lose a friend, but I know that I deserve better than someone who would betray me like that. Coming here I thought Maggie would apologize but I was wrong. Maggie has changed so much that I don't even know who she is anymore.