Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

“Shall I go up and put in our orders?” I said, wanting to change the subject. This whole situation was weird enough without Annabelle interrogating Callum about his and Leanne’s relationship. I looked to Annabelle as I explained. “Ordering is self-service here.”

“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll get the vegan apple pie with cashew cream.”

Callum and Isaac both told me what they wanted, and I went over to put the order in. When I returned, Annabelle had somehow managed to sidle even closer to Callum and was peppering him with parkour-related questions. I slid back in next to Isaac as he bent to whisper in my ear, “I’m sorry to break it to you, but I think your girl has a thing for Callum.”

I stiffened and sighed. So, Afric had been right all along. She had to have been if Isaac had come to the same conclusion and he’d barely spent half an hour in Annabelle’s company.

“Yeah,” I replied in a quiet voice. “I think you might be right about that.”

Isaac shot me a commiserating grimace as I racked my brain for ways to make a clean break with Annabelle and also make things up to Afric. I never should’ve doubted her.

Afric

“I’m so jealous,” Yellowshoes complained. “You have no idea how much I wish I could join you guys this weekend.”

“I wish you could, too,” I replied. “We’ll meet in person one day, though. I promise.”

“If you’re so desperate, why don’t you book a last-minute flight?” TheBigSix suggested. “Life is all about being spontaneous.”

“I can’t. I have to work. If I didn’t, I might actually be tempted to book that flight, no matter how costly.”

A few weeks ago, there’d been a reported UFO sighting in a rural part of Cornwall. This weekend, me, TheBigSix, and several of our U.K.-based extra-terrestrial enthusiast online friends were going to travel down there, camp out for a night, and see if we could catch a glimpse of said UFO. I was glad for the distraction since Neil had been giving me nothing but radio silence for two days now. And sure, two days wasn’t long in the grand scheme of things, but it was when it came to Neil and me. I’d gotten far too attached to our constant communication, and I missed him like crazy. Though, admittedly, I was still hurt and upset that he didn’t believe me about Annabelle. That he’d chosen her. Maybe it was silly of me to think that whatever bond we’d built over the last few weeks could be more important to him than his precious Annabelle.

Okay, so I was harbouring some bitterness.

I guess sometimes people simply refused to see the truth even when all the signs were staring them right in the face. They wanted the lie far too desperately. It was probably why all those online romance scams managed to lure people in.

The thought of Neil desperately wanting a picture-perfect happy ending with Annabelle cut through me like the new sword TheBigSix had just won for himself after a wager with a ghoul in Greenforest Tavern. My minor crush had clearly transformed into something much, much more serious, and I was feeling particularly morose about it.

I chatted some more with TheBigSix about our planned trip to Cornwall, then logged off for the evening. I had a headache, and my mind was racing, which usually meant I needed some time offline to clear my head. I’d just hit play on my guided meditation app when there was a knock on my door, followed by Sarita announcing, “You have a visitor.”

I bolted upright in my bed. “Who is it?”

“It’s Neil,” came a voice I hadn’t heard in two days.

Just like that, my body filled with nervous energy as I forced myself to lie back down. Feigning nonchalance, I replied, “It’s okay, Sarita, you can send him in.”

“I’m not your butler,” she grumbled while I closed my eyes and followed the mediation, taking measured breaths in and out. I heard my door open and close a moment before Neil asked, “What are you doing?”

“I could ask you the same question,” I replied evenly.

I heard him emit a tired sigh before I felt a weight lower onto my bed. “I came to apologise. I was an idiot, and I’m prepared to grovel for forgiveness.”

Well, that was quite the statement.

I opened my eyes. Neil sat on the edge of my bed, his shoulders slumped. My phone continued to emit the sounds of a trickling stream, leaves rustling in the wind, and birds chirping in the distance.

“Oh?”

He looked like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. He’d clearly been agonising over something, our argument most likely, and I had to resist the urge to pull him into my arms and hug him tight. I hated seeing him so sad.

“You were right about Annabelle,” he said, looking forlorn.

By contrast, relief filled me, but I kept my composure.

“What brought you to this conclusion?”

His gaze finally met mine. I’d missed those brown eyes. “She came to the gym today to share lunch with me.”

A brief, sharp stab of jealousy went through me, but I tamped it down. Clearly, their lunch date hadn’t gone well, given the fact he was here now apologising.

“I designed it as a bit of a trap if I’m being honest. I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said about her using me to get close to Callum, so I decided to test the theory. I invited her to the gym for lunch, and things were going fine. Then, Callum and Isaac came out having just finished their training and invited us to join them at the café down the street. It was clear we’d already eaten, but Annabelle practically jumped at the chance, saying she was in the mood for dessert.”