Torture

"I hate him." Sophie turned her head to face her best friend, Pat, with a look of hatred in her flourescent blue eyes and repeated. "I hate him."

"You hate who?" Pat asked, looking up from his peanut-butter and banana sandwhich.

"I hate Drake. Look at him. Over there hitting on Melissa."

"Oh yeah," Pat said without looking up. "But I thought you liked him?"

"That was before."

"Before what?"

"Just before." Sophie looked down at her lunch and let her dark hair fall between her and Pat so that his view of her would become obstructed. She didn't want him to see the hurt forming on her face.

"Before you heard about him liking Melissa, you mean?" he asked, fingering her locks.

She looked at him. "Kinda." Sophie could feel the tears welling up. She loved Drake. Drake had been her first true love and it'd absolutely crushed her when he'd dumped her last summer. It hurt too much to watch him show interest in Melissa. Not after what she'd gone through to win his heart.

It wasn't fair.

"Look, Soph. You shouldn't be worried about guys like Drake. Guys like him are dicks."

"No, he's not. You don't know him the way I do. I loved him..." Sophie tightened the sash of her cashmere, Ella Moss cardigan and wrinkled her nose. She always did that when she was thinking hard about something."

"You have to help me back."

Pat scratched his shaggy, black hair and sighed. "I don't really want to get mixed up with you guys. I'd rather focus on my own love life."

"Pat!" Sophie cried, a tear running down her face. "You have to help me... I love him! I want to be with him forever. And I think you could help me."

Pat looked at her, not saying a word.

"Please, Pat. For me?"