A way out

"So? What are you going to do? You will finally confess, right? Please tell me, you will reveal the truth this time"

Dawn adds this with her eyes fixated on her best friend Adele, across the restaurant's fine, wooden table as her hand stammers, rolling the spaghetti and the Greek salad very slowly, even her wide eyes has popped out, analysing Adele's body language with a perverted look written on her face. At this point she is very anxious to hear the answer, coming from the author's mouth because honestly speaking; she cannot believe her best friend is capable of fabricating so many lies, each and every day just to claim someone and she calls that love.

Adele firstly escorts a heavy breath, lifting her left hand to tenderly rub her neck, that has gotten very skinny and scaled, she hasn't been eating much for these past couple of weeks and her one shoulder, red dress is not representing her body structure so well. Her skeleton shoulders slump down as she bows her head to lean forth and tightly hugs a cup with her fingers, opening the plums of her full lips, to press the straw and delicately she sucks her strawberry smoothie. Dawn is almost consumed with drowsiness when she gazes at how the smoothie gallops in Adele's mouth. Her friend keeps stalling to give a direct answer, and she doesn't know why! She rolls her eyes and instantly ditches her fork aside to her plate and folds her hands, anxiously waiting for Adele to answer.

"Adele!"

"Nothing okay? I'll do nothing about it," she responds.

"Oh my God.... I cannot believe this, you going to keep lying to this poor guy" Dawn smacks her hands, widening her eyes in disbelief and shakes her head, far away from Adele's direction. The Huawei smartphone vibrates with a pop song tune, ringing above the table, its distracts Dawn's uttering just when she is ready to open her mouth again and quickly she picks it up, but first she leaves about the approximate of seven metres distance between her phone, checking the caller ID first and it reads; Hubby. She drags and for a little to answer, but right away she decides to push her thumb to the green icon.

Dawn: "Yes, Petro" She answers

Petro: "I'm on my way home. Where are you? Didn't you read my message?"

Dawn: "I told you, I will hang out at the Oceans restaurant with Adele. Is everything okay?"

Petro: "Don't tell me, you with your Seventeen-year-old friend of yours, who catfish older men for money? Are you?"

Dawn: "Petro..."

Petro: "I'm telling you Dawn, that girl is no good. Who does that to other people? Really, I don't trust her with you"

Dawn: Is–every–thing okay?"

Petro: Okay, keep defending her but know that your son is teething, his in so much pain, I'm thinking of coming so we can get the medicine.

(Dawn rolls her eyes over Petro's sentence)

Dawn: "Of course, the Nanny told you. Look..."

The phone conversation slowly becomes inaudible in Adele's ears. She's looking at how Dawn is bothered by someone who cares about her, checks up on her. In the meantime, this goes around her head while her straw is still pressed between her lips. She finds solace and a little comfort in drinking this smoothie. It delays her awful thoughts, making her clutch into hope that everything is going to be okay. Sorrow shakes her peace, she slowly places the smoothie on top of the table. She hasn't ordered proper food ever since she walked in to this fancy restaurant. Dawn makes the slightest laughter over the phone. As she looks at her, she realises she's on her own with this. Nobody will ever know how she really feels. Look how happy she is over the phone with her husband. She's living an honest, good life. She is loved and she's didn't have to pretend to be somebody else, just to be accepted. Dawn is unlike her, who's been faking her identity for almost a year now for someone who she vows to deeply love.

Tears frames in her almond hazel eyes, she turns on her left shoulder, next to Dawn's chair and she whispers "I'm going to the restroom" Dawn reads Adele's lips and sees her silently rising up from the seat, with a dress fabricated in a crocodiles skin, so shimmering in red, the lights in the restaurant, adds the shine in it and it blinds everyone. Did she just reported, she's going to the restroom? Quickly, she clutches Adele's left arm. This approach makes Petro's statements mute to her side, detaching her phone, a few centimetres away from her left ear. She looks up at Adele dearly, shaking her head. She, she cannot believe she decides to suddenly go. What has really gotten to her?! She silently questions and she sees Adele slowly coming back in her seat and instantly she promises to call Petro back and hung up the phone.

"What was that? We need to talk!" Dawn exclaims this while she briefly glances to the slot on her phone screen and she sees it's 8: 55 pm. Quickly her eyes Everts back to her seat, her gazes happen to pass by, Adele's other side of her shoulder, where there're a customer captivating view from the inside, and there's access to look at the road, the parking lot nearby the small pavement, you get to look all that, through the luxurious, tall windows shields that spreads shortly opposite their corner where their seats are situated. She fixates her gazes on Adele and she notices her face becoming broody.

"For how long are you going to pretend that you, Candice Swine? You hurting someone that you claim to care about here, every–day "

Dawn escorts these words, intently analysing her friend in front of her face. She hopes she finally sees a bigger picture in her low self-esteem mind, that she honestly doesn't understand where she's getting it. Adele glances, slowly leaves the table and rises to look at Dawn. Dawn tries to lock an eye contact with her for a little longer, she's desperate for answers and massive changes with this scary catfishing story, she's been hearing about for months but Adele's focus on her breaks so easily, silently she chooses to gaze at her caramel fingers, slightly dancing on the table.

"I'm still trying to think of something," Adele articulates.

"What are you afraid of, Adele?" Dawn sincerely asks this, while her droopy beautiful blue eyes, lays itself down more in each corner of her tender eyeballs, furrowing her brown eyebrows. She is deeply worried about this.

"I don't know!..... obviously the truth, I don't know" Adele stops staring at her fingers that has been tapping on the table for few seconds and sadly looks at her friend, "The truth will destroy him Dawn" Droplets of tears faints above her chubby, brown cheeks, curving downhill to hang at the cliff of her small chin, that is governed by her rounded, baby face.

"More reasons that you should come clean, Adele!" Dawn softly shakes her shoulder.

"Don't you think I don't know that? Do you think I'm doing a creepy laugh behind this depressed body?...." Her eyes caves more tears, she shakes her head looking far away from Dawn, even looking at the reception desk in this restaurant carries more life than the garbage that she feels right now, regardless she utters while is still morosely gazing "Because when all this comes out, he won't look at me twice, I'm just a kid" After declaring that statement briefly, she grasps a heavy amount of air within herself, reflecting on that alone also was just too suffocating, "I'm just a kid, in his eyes I'll be just a kid! Who lives in a small town surrounded by a farm, still stuck in Varsity"

"But you doing great in Varsity...."

"It doesn't matter that I'm doing great in Varsity, he'll still look at me like I'm this sick, pervert kid, who knows nothing about people's feelings but who toys him everyday behind the keyboard," Adele even points the air, furrowing muscles in her face, she's very emotional at this point.

"Adele..."

"How can I be so wicked Dawn?... He'll never forgive me.... I can't even put the images in my head on how he will look at me" Her tears pour out, rushing down her face like the river, galloping over the mountain rocks. Dawn quickly reaches out to Adele's hand underneath the table and brought it to her lap. She holds it so tightly, trying to console her before she loses her mind. Adele looks further away again, placing her elbow above the table, as she begins to lean at the palm of her hand, she gets lost in the clouds again, while trying to support her heavy head that weighs on her shoulders, filled with endless thoughts. She's thinking about all the good times she had with this guy and soon it'll be over.

"I should have taken your first advice, to block his numbers and disappear.... what was I thinking that I'll date someone like him? His rich, he has money, his dead gorgeous and I am nothing "

"Jesus! Adele, if this relationship makes you suffer like this and makes you have this low self-esteem in you, that we don't know about, then this is not a right union for you... I don't know this person in front of me right now"

Dawn's voice suddenly goes off tune. Quickly she reaches out to her brown and black leopard purse, to grab the tissue that she remembers she has kept with her cosmetics and swiftly she wipes her peeking wetness over her lashes.

"God, damnit I'm no cry baby Adele but...."

Dawn wipes the waters in her nose, taking her time to iron her throat, even her oval face is becoming all red for these emotions,

"Living like this is like driving a truck, pretending you on the right track," She wipes her nose again, and sadly looks at her friend, her eyes has gotten sadder than ever "But you not....you keep driving for hours aiming to reach your destination but everyday you wake up in bed and realise, you still stuck in the same highway, with no one to help you but lies"

Adele's lips yields to shake, but she presses her Dunlop, bowing her head to her thighs.

"Feeding in his texts won't help you"

"I'm scared"

"Don't"

Adele bows her head to her lap again. Her chubby, baby face cheeks begin to shake, at the extent they start showing dimples of a strained face, making her look like a little toddler who just dropped her candy in sand.

"You are such a beautiful girl Adele, doubting that is not even in the top list of your worries, you have a talent to bring people together, you smart, you have a wisdom for old women.... this Is not my friend," Dawn softly declares this, and their hands got tighter, holding on to each other, those words really lifted a smile in a saddened face to Adele.

"Ahh...God, I remember I was at the cliff, of filing for a divorce, Petro has always been an asshole but you made me see the best in him and...you saved...you saved my marriage with just ...." Right behind that unfinished sentence, Dawn instantly lashes out in tears and covers her face with a tissue pressing it above the bridge of her nose and Adele hurries to hold her. Dawn holds her back and for more than twenty seconds when they were still passionately hugging each other, Dawn speaks over her right shoulder and says "Tell him the truth Adele.... believe in the impact that you made in his life, like the one you have made to me" It was like the nail hit inside, Adele's coffin. She has never heard the words hitting a thousand times, piercing like needles at the seed of her conscience, coming from her friend's mouth. Rapidly she bows to bury her face over Dawn's shoulder and she just cries.

She pets Adele's shoulder, to speed her recovery from sobbing, but quickly Adele quickly gets her grip and raises her head up to wipe the tears rushing on her face and softly Dawn strokes her ginger natural hair, giving her sometime to spare herself.

"That's it, we've wept enough. We need to get to the airport, " Dawn articulates, wiping her tears once more at the corners of her eyes, and Adele does the same. Dawn reaches out to her purse, remembering the bill. "We don't have time to debate Adele, we don't have time," Dawn murmurs, returning with a few handsome dollars in her hand. "Don't worry, I got it," Adele speaks, already. Her contribution was in her hand. "No, I–got–this" her friend assures her, and places a $50 inside the bill book.

Adele tightly holds the plane ticket that will rewrite her destination back to the Bahamas, from where she is originated. By uplifting her eyes to the building high ceiling, looking at the flight indicators on the screen afar and noting countless of people moving around to join the Queue to book their flights, she realises that this was really it.

Her delicate toes curls in her maroon Stilettos, that has belts around her feet and ankles, this is how she reacts when she's nervous and overwhelmed. She's about to fly back to her hometown, after attending such a historical event, that she'll never forget, yes it was an epic failure but it always ends unforgettable.

Miles doesn't know that she has attended most of his ever celebrated events in his life, ever since they started dating over social media. This made it easier because Dawn has a Funding organisation for special children and Cancer patients in Miles hospital and therefore when she funded the hospital, it is systematic to invite her every time every time when there's another event they hosting, to be part of the family among doctors who saves lives like her. Adele will be brought along to be her plus one, but no one has ever spoken to her, or ask her name because she'll spend the entire night locked in the bathroom, dealing with jitters of seeing Miles face to face.

She turns around and hugs her best friend wholeheartedly. after sometime they let go of each other and no words were able to come out in their mouths, except looking at each other warmly and deadly. Right there, Dawn hands out Adele's birthday gift. She makes her friend promise she'll open it at home and Adele shakes this small box that is approximately of Ten centimetres. After trying to navigate what was in there, she gives up, realising she has no idea. They hug dearly again and as soon as Adele lets go; she knows there is no turning back from now on. She tightly grips the arm of her pink school bag tighter, over her shoulder, fast walking as she sadly waves on her way.

"Goodbye!" Dawn endlessly waves, watching Adele rushing to join the Queue.

"Bye!" Adele keeps watching over her shoulder, waving.

"Good luck!...." Good luck! With the confession!" Dawn blesses her with a louder voice. She even tries to stand with her toes, seeing Adele getting missing among full of moving people. That was the best gesture from her, to make sure they keep seeing each other. When Adele grasps those blessing, her eyes wet, and instantly. That and she blows kisses.

Dawn looks at this interesting:… seventeen-year-old that is turning eighteen tomorrow. disappears into the crowd. She has never met anyone this soft-hearted and prioritising as this dear friend. She might have catfished him with photos, names and sometimes locations, but she never catfished him about her true feelings. It's close to 10 pm, but Dawn remained still, giving herself one last moment to have enough closure that she needs, before she heads back to her home. Later she walks outside the doors of New York international airport, her brown leopard dress, blows by the evening air, the silky fabric hugging her vanilla long legs, like the air blowing her friend back to the Bahamas, leaving them kilometres away as friends.