Free Boy Crazy by Shay Kassa Page A

girlfriend.
    “Hey Carla, Andy’s just getting ready, you want to come in for a sec and wait?”
    “Actually -”
    He emerged from his bedroom without his socks or shoes on. Carla stood in the hallway with Joe, playing nervously with the strap of her bag. She was dressed in her usual baggy pants and cutoff top, not the party dress he expected.
    “Hey baby, you’re early,” he said. “Something wrong?”
    “Uh… yeah. Yeah, there’s something wrong. Could we talk in private for a while?” She glanced at Joe.
    His roommate gave Andy a look and snagged his keys from the small table by the door. “I’m just gonna go get something from the store. I’ll be back in a while.”
    As soon as Joe had left, Carla took his arm and led him into their small living room. They sat down on the couch.
    “This isn’t really easy for me to say,” she began, and it suddenly dawned on Andy what was wrong.
    “Are you breaking up with me?”
    She took his hand gently and looked sympathetic. “Andy, this isn’t working out. I think you’re a great guy, but I’m just not feeling it. I mean, we have fun together, but we don’t really talk and you’re not ready for a commitment.”
    This couldn’t be real. It didn’t feel real. They’d been going out for almost two years, give or take - wasn’t that too early to talk about commitments? Andy pulled his hand away.
    “What don’t we talk about?” he implored. “What the hell is this really about, Carla? You can’t just dump me like this and not give me a real reason!”
    “This IS a real reason.”
    “Is there someone else?”
    “There doesn’t have to be someone else, for god’s sake,” she snapped. “This isn’t easy for me, okay? I just know that I’m not the one who can make you happy, and I figure the best way for you to find that person is if I’m out of the picture.” She took a deep breath, composing herself, and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and it’s not fair on either of us, Andy. I like you, you’re a great guy, but I don’t love you. And I’m pretty sure you don’t love me.”
    He felt like his world was about to collapse. Andy stared at the floor, completely silenced by disbelief. Carla searched through her bag quickly, and put the concert ticket into his hand.
    “You should still go,” she said gently. “Maybe you’ll meet someone there. I’d really like if we could stay friends, but… I’ll understand if you don’t want to.” She patted his arm. “I should go. Call me tomorrow if you want to talk.”
    Carla slipped away from him. Andy was barely conscious of her leaving.
    It felt completely unreal. Him and Carla were… they were… She would come over and have dinner with him. And they’d drink beer and have sex. They’d go out and meet friends and dance. He brought her to a fun fair for her birthday and won her a big fluffy teddy bear.
    He wouldn’t get to do any of that anymore.
    Two years of being part of something really fun and awesome, gone - no more cuddles, no more sex, no more sleeping over at her place when her roommate was out.
    But… not no more talking.
    Oh god, she was right. They didn’t really talk. He tossed the ticket onto the floor and slumped on the couch, feeling like he’d been punched repeatedly in the guts.
    Andy jumped at the sound of the door opening again, and for one fleeting second he wanted it to be Carla, coming to tell him that it was all just a mistake. But those heavy footsteps would never have passed for his girlfriend - his ex-girlfriend - and Joe appeared with a six-pack in each hand.
    “Uh, hey man. Is it what I think it is?” he asked.
    “Yeah,” Andy said, hating the shaky sound of his voice. “She’s gone. She broke up with me.”
    Joe sat gingerly beside him, in the spot that Carla had so recently vacated, and handed him a beer. “I kinda thought it wasn’t gonna be good. Here, I think you need this.”
    “God, this sucks,”