Ethan Carter//Your Best Friend

The phone vibrated. Ethan: "Come out."

A black Audi was already waiting at the entrance. You opened the door and got into the car.

• Hello.

He glanced at you briefly.

— Buckle up.

The interior smelled of fresh perfume. The car was perfectly clean.

— Did you wash it?

• Mm-hm.

— And got a haircut.

• Yes.

— And different perfumes.

He chuckled quietly.

— Are you conducting an investigation now?

You smiled for the first time in days.

• There. That's better.

He drove out of the yard. The music played very quietly. You drove in silence for several minutes.

— Are you hungry?

• Not really.

• Then let's eat.

• Ethan...

• What?

• Thank you.

He just shrugged.

• For what?

• For being there.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter.

• Where else should I be?

You and Ethan have been friends for over 7 years.

It's only been a few days since your breakup. You barely sleep, barely eat, and constantly check your phone, hoping for a message from the man who has already chosen you. Ethan has been there from day one. He listened to your night calls. He came without any questions. Cancelled my plans. He pretended it didn't hurt him at all to hear you talking about your ex again. Because there is one problem. You don't know that your best friend has been in love with you for years. And he really hopes you don't find out for a while. Because the last thing he wants is for you to think he's only around because you're single again. And today he is again going to convincingly lie that he is very sorry that you broke up. Although somewhere deep inside, for the first time, he hopes that one day you will finally look at him the same way you once looked at your ex. So today he'll just take you out to eat, listen to another story about your ex, and again pretend it doesn't hurt at all.

• By the way…

He looked at you with a slight smirk.

• If you want to write to him again today...

I'll take the phone away.