Last night was…

Bea's POV

The night had grown late, and the remnants of the party had dispersed from my house, leaving me with Grace. It was past three in the morning, and there she was, still sobbing over Theo, who had essentially broken her heart.

I'd tried everything to console her. Water, pizza, even finishing off the champagne bottle, but nothing seemed to stop her tears. We stood in the kitchen, both of us at our wits' end.

"Grace, I'm so sorry about how Theo treated you," I said, my voice laden with sympathy. "You're beautiful, smart, funny, and kind. Any guy would be lucky to have you. But you don't have to endure this treatment. I can't even imagine how hurtful his words were. I wish I could do more to help, but right now, all I can offer is my support."

"You're right," Grace sobbed. "I know it's silly for me to be this upset, but he's just... UGH!" She groaned, frustration evident in her voice.

"It's not silly at all," I reassured her. "In fact, I cried the entire night after my first breakup with Josh when he was being a total jerk."

"Really?" she asked, a glimmer of curiosity breaking through her tears.

"Yes," I admitted with a sigh. "I'm not proud of it, but I did."

Josh,  chimed in as he entered the kitchen with a grin. "Did you really cry all night, even in your sleep?"

"Yes," I confirmed, a hint of embarrassment in my voice. "It was not my finest moment."

"I'm not a total jerk," Josh whispered, standing behind me.

"No, you're not," I said, leaning back into his comforting presence.

Grace, still curious about our past, asked further. "What happened between you two, anyway?"

"Nothing," Josh and I answered in unison, sharing a secret smile.

Grace raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. Instead, she expressed her gratitude. "I have a feeling there's more to that story, but I won't push. Thank you for listening, both of you. It means a lot to me."

"That's what friends are for," I replied, wrapping her in a comforting hug.

With the conversation settling, Grace asked if she could sleep on the couch, considering she hadn't packed any clothes.

"Of course," I assured her. "And Josh can lend you one of his shirts."

"Thanks for letting me stay here. You guys are great," she said, hugging me once more.

"It's truly no trouble at all," I said. "You can stay as long as you need."

Grace, still upset about Theo, poured her heart out. "I don't want to go back to the apartment. We'll be living with Theo. He'll be kissing Melanie right in front of me, and they might even have sex. It makes me sick. He made me sick. No wonder he wanted to break up. He didn't want me; he wanted her. He's always wanted her. He never liked me. No one does."

Tears welled up in her eyes once more. I couldn't stand seeing her like this, so I took her hand. "Come on," I said, leading her away. "We're going to paint your nails. It's been a while since we've had a girl's night."

Josh looked puzzled as we left. "Don't worry," I assured him. "We'll be right back. Why don't you order us a pizza?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said with a chuckle. "You're a lifesaver."

Grace and I settled on the living room floor, ready to paint her nails. She was worried about my skills, but I assured her it would be fine. "What color do you want?" I asked, pulling out an array of nail polish.

She pointed to a bottle in the corner. "What is that one?"

I picked it up and examined it. "It's a bright pink," I said.

"That sounds nice," Grace replied.

"Are you sure? We can choose from a variety of colors, and we can even paint each nail a different color if you want."

"No, that's fine," she insisted. "It's a nice color."

"If you're sure..."

"I'm positive. You're too sweet to me. You should be a little meaner."

I laughed. "Well, you are my best friend."

As I opened the bottle of polish and started working on her nails, Grace's thoughts drifted to her future. "What about your classes this year?"

"I don't know," she sighed. "I'll have to switch some of them. I can't believe this is happening."

"We can call the registrar's office tomorrow and see if there's anything we can do," I suggested, trying to ease her worries. "You'll figure it out."

As I continued painting her nails, Grace changed the topic. "Are you and Josh going to get married?"

"We're not really talking about that right now," I replied.

"You've been together for a while," she noted.

"Well, yes, but I do have my doubts."

"You've got to marry him," Grace insisted. "He's such a sweetheart. You're perfect for each other."

I sighed, feeling a warmth in my heart. "I've heard that a lot."

"And I'm sure you'll hear it a lot more. Everyone is right about that."

"You don't have to say that."

"No, it's true," Josh chimed in, his eyes filled with affection. "I mean, look at me. I've got that big smile, and muscles, and I'm smart. What's not to love?"

"He's pretty great," I said, stealing a glance at Josh, who was watching us with a smile.

Grace, still emotional, continued to support our relationship. "I think the two of you would be adorable."

"Yeah sure," I laughed, focusing on her nails again.

"You guys should get married," Grace persisted.

I entertained the idea. "How about this, if we ever do decide to get married, you are definitely getting invited."

"Thank you."

"Now, do you want pepperoni or supreme?" Josh asked, looking at his phone.

"Supreme," Grace replied.

"Ok, and I'll have pepperoni," he said, his excitement evident.

Turning to Grace, he offered, "Do you want a beer?"

"Yes, please," she answered, and Josh headed to the kitchen.

Grace took the opportunity to share her tipsy thoughts. "I think you and Josh would make cute babies."

I laughed. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, you would. You would have cute curly hair, and freckles, and big brown eyes. Your baby would be the cutest baby."

I teased her gently. "You're a little drunk, aren't you?"

She defended herself with a chuckle. "I'm just a little tipsy. So, are you going to have babies with him?"

I giggled. "I'm not answering that."

"Come on."

"Maybe I'll give you an answer if you agree to stop talking about babies."

"Ok," she agreed, and we dropped the subject.

Josh rejoined us with drinks, and Grace shared her concerns about living with Theo and Melanie, lamenting the thought of witnessing their relationship unfold.

———————————————————————————

Melanie's POV

"Theo, I feel bad for what you did to Grace," I told him, my frustration clear in my voice. "You literally broke up with her on New Year's Eve by hugging her and then saying, and I quote, 'Sorry, Grace, this isn't working out. Happy New Year.' That's fucked up, dude."

Theo shrugged nonchalantly, attempting to defend his actions. "That was the best way to do it though! It was very... polite?"

I couldn't help but shake my head at his response. "You are an idiot, Theo. She was in tears. That was a horrible idea, and now we have to go and live in an apartment with her, and she's going to hear us all in love, and she's going to feel like shit because you decided to be a asshole."

Theo rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, clearly irritated. "It's not like she didn't see this coming, dude. I loved you more, Mel, than I loved her, and she knows that."

"I still think it was a shitty thing to do," I insisted, my irritation not subsiding.

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure I'm paying, like, 95% of the rent, so you don't have to live there if you're so unhappy," Theo retorted.

I let out a sigh, realising that arguing further wouldn't change the situation. "Theo, just drop it, okay? Let's just get everything in the car and head back."

Theo didn't say anything after that. We went up and down the stairs of the apartment, gathering our belongings and tossing them in the back of Theo's car. Part of me hoped I could say goodbye to Grace, but I decided against it, not wanting to make the situation even more awkward.

As we drove away from the apartment, I couldn't help but speak my mind. "She's going to be alone on Valentine's Day."

"We'll have each other," Theo said, trying to offer some comfort. "That's gotta count for something."

"We could have had her, too, but no," I replied, my frustration still lingering.

Theo remained silent, seemingly unwilling to engage in further debate. "Let's go back to my parents' place and sleep tonight, and then tomorrow, we can go home and set everything up and have dinner and watch a movie and just enjoy being together."

"Okay," I agreed, my tone softer now.

"Fine. We can live in the apartment with her. Whatever, it doesn't really matter," Theo said, his earlier defiance giving way to resignation.

"Theo, no," I said, sighing and looking out the window. I knew he had won this argument. "It's okay. Just drive."

We spent the night at my parents' house, sharing a bed as we had countless times before. The next day, we packed up our belongings in the car and took them to our apartment.