The Silence Between Us

"She smiled, and I could see in her eyes, how fake her smile was..."

“Do you have a spare minute so we can talk?” Debs asked me on my way to class. I knew she had been trying to catch up to me for a while now, and I was in no mood for whatever it was she wanted to say.

“A spare minute? I don’t have one because, as you can see I’m about to come down with a headache,” I said, dismissing her quickly.

“Whatever you want to say to me can be said to Anita, Deborah.” I walked away with my head held high, feeling proud, as though I had just done something great.

I knew this day would come.

Debs and I have been friends for a long time. We were called the twin flames in school because everyone thought we were inseparable. We did everything together and went everywhere together. For a minute, there was a rumor going around that we were lovers—which I’m guessing was how we got the “twin flame” title. What they didn’t know was that, amid our closeness to everyone outside, our friendship was hanging by a thread.

Somewhere deep down, I knew we had been walking on eggshells for a long time. I can’t remember when or how it started, but it was there. So when we eventually went our separate ways, it wasn’t shocking.

I had grown tired of the fake smiles we plastered on for everyone to see—like we wanted to show the world our perfect friendship couldn’t be broken, no matter what people said. I was exhausted by the silence that filled the room when we were alone, the effort it took to start a conversation or ask for a favor. Talking to each other felt like a chore. It was like the love we had shared had run its course and disappeared, leaving behind mild hatred and pain.

I did try to fix things once. And the response I got left me broken.

“Can we talk about us?” I asked her that day.

The response I got was silence but I knew Debs. I wanted to believe she was lost in thought, or maybe buried in one of her romance novels on her phone.

I walked up to her and sat on her bed, giving her a little tap, hoping to bring her back to reality if she was indeed lost in thought, but I got the same response.

Silence.

I knew then that she was ignoring me intentionally, she knew how much I hated being ignored. I pushed further and kept on talking after confirming that she was here in the present.

“Can we talk about us, please? We need to figure out how to fix this issue we’re having.”

She didn’t respond.

“We can’t keep pretending there’s no problem. I don’t know where everything went wrong but if this is about Kels, whatever you heard isn’t true. I hope you know I never kissed him. I need you to believe me. I would never do that to you.” I pushed further, hoping this would get her to talk.

And it did.

She sat up on her bed and placed her phone gently beside her—like she was scared it would break if she threw it down in anger. I watched her, searching her face, trying to pick what must be going on in her mind, and if there was any hope for this friendship, even though deep down, I knew it was over.

She finally looked at me, after taking her time, her expression strained like she had summoned every ounce of tolerance just to acknowledge my presence. She smiled, and I could see in her eyes, how fake her smile was. It hurt because I knew then I would never see that bright, genuine smile on her face again, for me. A smile that always made my day brighter.

“You know, people have always said you’re the most self-righteous, fake bitch in this school,” her voice low but laced with venom. “I never believed them because I thought I knew you, but turns out I didn’t.”

I froze.

“You want me to believe you didn’t kiss Kels when everyone saw you did?” She spat the words at me, her eyes filled with anger. “You’re the worst human I’ve ever met. You knew I liked him and still went ahead to kiss him. You disgust me. Every time I see your face, I want to throw up. I hate you so much, Ada. This is why no one likes you, why your mum would rather chew stones than come back to your life.”

Then she picked up her phone and went back to what she was doing, like she didn’t just say the most painful words unimaginable to me.

I sat there, stunned. I hadn’t realized how deeply she resented me. I’d suspected something was wrong, but this level of bitterness blindsided me.

Yes, Kels had tried to kiss me—but I pushed him away. If she had just listened, she’d have known that.

I stood up and walked to my bed, our self-contained hostel room suddenly feeling too cramped. The weight of her distrust pressed heavily on my chest.

I hated that she didn’t trust me.

I hated that she hadn’t asked for my side of the story.

I hated that the guy she liked was a douchebag. I hated that I couldn’t tell her Kels had told me he never liked her. Or wanted anything to do with her. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened that day.

I hated that she had let this guy, who just recently transferred to our school come between us.

But most of all, I hated that she used my trauma against me.

I grabbed my things and left the room, fearing I’d lose control and scream at her if I stayed one more minute. I’ve never been one to scream— I’ve always been in touch with my emotions and only reacted to things that interest me.

Maybe she was right. Maybe no one liked me. I mean, I knew people didn’t like me in this school and I never cared about it. I never gave anyone the time of my day except if it was for something important. Everyone was always so loud and gossipy and I didn’t like that. Debs was the friendly one. She was nice to everyone, and everyone loved her. We balanced each other out. Maybe that was why we worked so well together.

Or so I thought.

I tried to ignore the aching feeling in my chest as I walked out. I could feel my heart breaking and I hated that. It reminded me of the pain I felt when my mum left, how much I had cried as a kid, begging her not to go. I remember how sick I had gotten, hoping she would hear of my illness and come back home, but she never did, and since then, I’d guarded my heart, not letting anyone in until I met Debs.

“People would leave eventually. They always do!” I repeated those words to myself every time someone tried getting close to me.

On my way out, I bumped into Anita. She and Debs have been hanging out a lot recently and I couldn’t stand her. Apart from the fact I knew she was stealing my best friend away from me, she had this nasty spirit around her. One I couldn’t quite place my fingers on.

“Watch where you’re going” she snapped, glaring at me with those eyes that if given the chance, I would pluck out.

I held my lips together, swallowing the urge to say something nasty to her.

I knew she was part of the reason for the crack in my friendship with Debs, but it didn’t matter anymore. Debs had already given up on us.

I turned and walked away, accepting the sour feeling in my chest that my friendship with Debs was over, and hating the fact that it was over a man.

-———-

So why is Debs trying to talk to me now after two months of us living like strangers? Two months of pain I had to go through watching my supposed best friend hang out with the snarky Anita and playing girlfriend with the douchebag Kels—who, by the way, was still throwing glances at me.

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Okay, so I’ve been playing around and writing short stories for a while, and this is the one I decided to close eye and publish✋🏽

A bit cheesy, but I’m testing to see if my love for writing short stories is still there hehe

If you enjoyed it, comment, and maybe, I’ll write a part two with Debs's POV, and when I say comment, I mean comment here because I know some of you will go and DM me privately, I’ll block you!🫵🏽