16. James Versus The World #3
“No,” Mel said immediately, stepping forward. “That’s when we realized it was the wrong decision to bring them all back in one place and time.”
Silence.
“So we went back to the original plan after that,” Honey added. “Where we have them return one by one. But still carefully.”
“Carefully, huh?” I repeated.
“Just to talk,” Andi said. “That was the only rule.”
My eyes flickered to Andre.
He looked away first, because he knew what I was going to throw at him.
“And Kyle?” I said. “Was him fucking me and getting back together with me part of the plan?”
No one answered.
But they didn’t have to.
I let out a slow breath, shaking my head. “That’s why you kept popping up on Kyle’s notifications that night.”
Andre’s jaw tightened. “He wasn’t supposed to go that far.”
“But he did,” I said.
Silence again.
“He slept with me,” I continued, my voice flatter now. “We got back together. And then he broke my heart again.”
“I know,” Andre said, and for the first time, I saw him cry. “And I’m sorry, James. I told him off for it.”
“But you still brought him back into my life,” I shot back.
“That wasn’t the plan,” Andre said.
“But it happened,” I said, my voice rising. “Because of you.”
Another silence, but thicker now—and more dangerous.
I looked at all of them.
“You don’t get to decide how I heal,” I said, softer, but it landed harder than anything I’d said before. “You don’t get to reopen doors I already closed just because you think you know what’s best for me.”
“We weren’t trying to hurt you,” Honey said.
I know… and that was the worst part.
I really looked at them this time—my people, my constants—and felt something fracture in a way I couldn’t name.
“You just did,” I said.
Silence followed, but it didn’t settle anything. Instead, it cracked something open.
Andi let out a breath, shaking her head like she was done holding it in. “You want the truth, James?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “Apparently I haven’t been getting that from you.”
“Fine,” she said, stepping closer. “Watching this happen again is pathetic.”
That word landed harder than anything else had.
Honey’s head snapped toward her. “Andi—”
“No,” Andi cut in. “He needs to hear real shit.”
My chest tightened. “Excuse you?”
“You disappeared for months,” she went on. “You cried over someone you barely had for three months like he was the love of your life. That alone is pathetic!”
“You don’t get to decide how long I’m allowed to hurt,” I shot back.
“And. You don’t get to romanticize something that was destroying you,” she fired back.
“That’s not what this is—”
“Isn’t it?” she pressed. “Because from where we’re standing, you went right back to the same person who broke you, without asking for anything in return.”
“I didn’t ask because I didn’t need to,” I said, my voice strong and louder than normal. “Not everything has to be a transaction, Andi.”
“No,” she said. “But it should at least come with respect… for yourself.”
Andre stepped in, his voice lower, but heavier. “James. He didn’t even apologize.”
“I know.”
“And you’re okay with that?” he asked.
“I said I know!” I snapped.
“That’s not an answer,” Andre shot back, stepping closer. “That’s you avoiding it.”
“I’m not avoiding anything—”
“You are,” he cut in. “You’re acting like nothing happened because it’s easier than facing that fact that he chose to hurt you—and you’re still choosing him anyway.”
“That’s not fair,” I said, shaking my head.
“No,” Andre said, jaw tight. “What’s not fair is watching you go through the same thing again when he already had you up the first time.”
Silence.
Mel’s sobs echoed softly through the near-empty street as she stepped away, leaning against the post.
“We are not trying to be the enemy, James,” Andre continued, eyes glassy now. “Know that I will never ever let anyone hurt you.” He glanced at the others. “Not anyone of you.”
Tears streamed down my face at that, because I knew it was true.
“I didn’t ask you to fix me,” I said.
“No,” Andi said sharply. “But…” Her voice broke slightly. “But we watched our best friend fall apart.”
The words hit.
Hard.
At this, Mel looked away completely. Andre swallowed, looking off to the side. Honey crossed her arms, looking down.
“Andi,” I said, voice breaking a little. “I am your very first best friend, and you did this to me?”
Andi stepped forward, close enough that I couldn’t look away.
“I am your very first best friend,” she said, her voice steady and firm, “and that’s exactly why I did this to you.”
Silence fell.
Heavy and unavoidable.
“Because I know you,” she continued, softer now.
“I know how you love. I know how you give everything. And for the first time I watched you shrink yourself for someone who couldn’t meet you halfway.
So yeah, I stepped in. It wasn’t ideal. It wasn’t pretty.
But I wasn’t going to sit there and watch you lose yourself again. ”
“You didn’t step in,” I said, shaking my head, still holding my ground. “You took control.”
“Because you weren’t in control,” Andre said.
That did it.
Something in me snapped.
“I was healing,” I shot back.
“You were stuck,” Andi said.
“Someone had to make it, James!” Andre said bluntly.
“Not you!” I yelled.
The air shifted.
Passersby started to look our way.
Mel let out a loud sob by the post, covering her mouth.
“Please,” Honey said, moving between us now. “All of you—just breathe—”
“No,” I said. “Because apparently, I don’t get that choice either. I don’t get to feel things at my own pace. I don’t get to make my own mistakes. I don’t even get to decide who comes in and out of my life—because you already did that for me.”
“That’s not what we intended—” Honey said.
“But it is,” I cut in. “You made decisions for me. You played with real people. Real feelings. Mine included.”
Tears slipped down Honey’s face now.
I laughed—soft and bitter. “And the worst part? You thought you were helping.”
No one spoke, because, truth was, they believed they were. And that was what made it unbearable.
I looked at them, and suddenly, I didn’t know where I stood with them anymore.
“I would’ve listened,” I said quietly. “If you had just talked to me. I would’ve listened. But you didn’t trust me enough to do that.”
“James—” Honey reached out.
I stepped back.
Out of reach.
“I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “Not right now.”
And then I turned.
And this time, I didn’t stop.