We were having dinner at Mia's today; it was something we usually all did as a group, like a tradition.
I was eating a poorly salted egg and a flourless cake that tasted like sand. Mia said it was going to help us—"everyone except herself, of course"—lose a few pounds.
"This cake tastes really nice; you would barely notice there isn't any flour or sugar in it, don't you agree Jess?" Stacy said
"The best thing ever" I lied smiling and scooping up some of the tasteless eggs.
"Doctor Newbyrn said that it would make you lose fat just like that," Mia said, snapping her fingers.
"Jess, have you been following the diet? It seems like you have gained a few pounds," Mia said, and I paused my eating for a moment to look at her.
"Yes, I have," I gritted out, hoping my voice didn't give my embarrassment away.
"Good! I will send in more plans we should follow. Everyone is supposed to send a picture of their meals just to make sure everybody is strict about theirs," Mia said, glaring at me directly while others giggled.
Mia reached out to my plate, cutting my cake in half and putting it onto another plate.
"Hey, I need food to function at work," I whined, and she rolled her eyes.
"There is a difference between needing something and just gluttony," Mia said.
"Can we please stop talking about my weight?" I said through my annoyed smile, and she huffed, throwing her hair back.
"I am sorry for trying to get you to be the best version of yourself," Mia said, toying with her fork now, sulking.
She does this every time.
"Hey, Mia is just trying to help; be nice," Stacy said, rubbing Mia's arm and glaring at me.
"I didn't mean to offend her or anything..." I muttered under my breath, stabbing the remaining egg and throwing it into my mouth.
We continued to eat in silence, none of us saying anything for minutes. I found that really odd considering the fact that my boyfriend was caught cheating, and it aired on national television.
I mean, it was fake and all, but they didn't know that.
I cleared my throat loudly, and they peeled their eyes from their phones, except Mia, of course, who was still sulking because I snapped at her.
"Did you guys see the news about, um..." I started, for some reason stuttering at the end, and they all looked at me in confusion, Angie being the first to understand what I was trying to get at.
"We saw; Brad is a fucking asshole. We saw it on the news; it was disgusting," Angie shuddering.
"Men are pigs sometimes," Stacy said and Angie scoffed rolling her eyes.
"Men are pigs all the time" Angie corrected
"Why didn't you call us?" Stacy asked. "We would have been there to comfort you," she said.
I wanted to retort, "I am sorry my heartbroken self didn't call you guys for comfort," but instead, I put the glass of orange juice to my lips and took a sip.
Sometimes I craved normalcy—a normal friendship where I didn't have to ask to be provided for.
"Brad didn't deserve you anyway. If it makes you feel any better, I never liked Brad," Stacy said, and Angie rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, Stacy; you liked Brad, always talking about..."
"God, shut up, Angie; I take it all back," Stacy said. "Jess deserves better than a cheating motherfucker anyway," Stacy said, and they all nodded in agreement.
"Speaking of boyfriends, Damien has been acting a little weird lately," Mia said.
I haven't seen Damien since my assassination; it was a miracle he didn't tell Mia about the assassination.
He surprisingly kept his mouth shut, and that's what confused me the most. Why did he want to be involved in this? Involved with me?
"I don't know; he has been really distant lately, like, I don't know, he just seems off," Mia said.
"Do you think he is cheating?" Stacy joked, and Mia rolled her eyes.
"Damien isn't Brad; Damien would never cheat on me," she said matter-of-factly, waving her off.
"I am sure it's nothing," I said, trying to call a truce for whatever she was mad at me for.
"He invited me to an art exhibition tomorrow night; I was wondering if you guys could come. He said to invite you all," Mia said.
I swirled the juice in my mouth, afraid to swallow for whatever reason.
"Aww, that's so romantic; of course, we would be there, M's," Angie said.
I glanced at my watch, my eyes almost bulging out of their sockets at the time. I am almost late for that meeting I have with that donor today.
I kicked back my chair, obviously startling everyone.
"Oh my God, I am late for work," I said, slightly wincing at the pain from my stitches—I still haven't healed.
I looked around the table, but no one noticed anything. Thank God.
"Bye, Jess; have a wonderful day at work," Stacy said, and I blew her a kiss.
"Bye, Jess..." Mia said, narrowing her eyes and studying me.
I swear, if she makes a comment about my weight, I am going to snap.
"Where's your necklace?" Mia asked, and I touched my neck.
Mia made a sapphire necklace for me on my sixteenth birthday, and I have always worn it every day. I have never taken it off.
Until the morning after my assassination, I realized that it was gone. Hopefully, it didn't get lost in Damien's house.
"Jess?" Mia said, bringing me back to reality.
"Umm... yes," I said, steadying my voice.
I could just make this less of a big secret and tell Mia and the rest of my friends, but I just couldn't. For whatever reason, I just couldn't bring myself to say it.
"I asked about your necklace," Mia said, eyeing me curiously; they all were.
"I took it off," I said, giving a nonchalant shrug.
"Why did you suddenly take it off? You love that necklace; I was convinced you wore it as a lucky charm or something like that," Mia said.
I awkwardly laughed, smoothing my dress.
"I took it off, okay? It's not a big deal," I said, waving her off. She opened her mouth to say something again, and I just dashed towards the door.
"Interrogate me when I am back from work. Love you guys," I said.
I heard the faint voices of "love you too" before I slammed the door shut and let out a breath.
I really hope Damien doesn't have my necklace, because if Mia finds it before I do, I am done for.