"Where the hell were you at last night? You didn't come back to the room until like three." Vic asked over frozen yogurt the next night. The two of us were sitting in one of the dining rooms and looking out at the water.
"I was hanging out with Matt." I said.
"Hanging out." He scoffed.
"Shut up, okay? He's nice." I rolled my eyes.
"He seems great. Running with the big dogs, aren't you? Assistant cruise director's girlfriend." He said.
"I'm most definitely not his girlfriend, you great idiot." I said.
"Yeah, 'cause he kind of lives on a giant boat."
I sighed. "Don't remind me."
Vic raised his eyebrows. "Do you mean you actually want something with Matt after we get off the ship?"
"That's not going to happen."
"That's not what I asked."
I bit my lip. "It's so hard, Vic. Seeing him with her and knowing that he's happy. Seeing them together laughing and smiling and kissing. That feeling whenever she insults me and I know that he doesn't care. It-" my voice broke. "It hurts."
"I know Mike better than anyone," Vic said slowly, "and he's not happy, Charley. He hasn't been happy since he lost you. I'm not saying that to make you feel better; it's the truth."
"You want to know what happened that night." It wasn't a question. I knew that I could trust Vic more than most people. Slowly I spilled about everything; more than even Mike knew. About who Luke really was and why I couldn't tell Mike, the irony of the whole situation, and the past that continued to haunt me.
"God damn it, Charley! Why didn't you just tell him?" Vic cried.
"He's going to hate me. He'll think I'm pathetic." I shook my head fervently.
"You have to. I hate seeing the both of you so unhappy." He begged.
"He's happy with her. Don't you get it? I'm not the type to ruin someone else's relationship." I sighed.
"If you really believe that he loves her then you're not as smart as I thought you were." He said.
"Why do you want us back together so badly?"
Vic was silent for a moment. "I know you're not like any other girl he's been with. You haven't known him as long as I have either. He was so happy when he was with you. One night he came home, and he said to me, 'That girl is something else, Vic'. And the night we all went out, when we first met you, we took you home and then Mike got back in the car and he said 'She's different' in this dazed voice. He lov-"
"Stop." I snapped, interrupting him.
"-ves you." Vic finished.
I glared at him. "Just stop, okay? Mike and I had a fun run but it didn't last. Get over it."
"You'll thank me one day, Charley Brown." He shrugged, standing up. "You just wait."

Notes

Matt is actually based on this guy I met when I went on a cruise last week. That's also when I started writing this lol. Next update is Friday night. c: