Delete

Delia’s quivering hands were splayed across the keyboard.

Dear Anthony,

She began to type. She froze, a lump lingering in her throat. Tears began to well up in her deep brown eyes. She shook her head quickly and hastily held down the delete key. If only she could delete events in her life as easily as she could delete words on her computer screen. Then, she would delete the event of becoming friends with him.

NO, she firmly told herself. No, she knew that she still would have wanted to be friends with him. She would still have needed to be friends with him.

It was the falling in love with him that she would delete. Or the heartbreak that followed. The endless crying. The ruined makeup and forced smiles. The awkward friendship.

Delia, Anthony and Sarah had been inseparable since the fresh age of five. However, during their Freshman year at Fairview High, Sarah left the trio. Sarah was athletic and loved by most of the student body. Anthony and Delia were theatre geeks. Throughout their Freshman year, Delia and Anthony clung to each other. Same thing with Sophomore year. And then came Junior year. Or Armageddon, as Delia fondly remembered it.

Sarah miraculously remembered that Anthony and Delia existed and took an interest in them. By then, Delia had realized that she liked Anthony. As more than a friend. She was working up the courage to tell him when Sarah texted her:

“OMG, Ant iz such a hawty. And I think he lykz me, omg! Do u think so??”

Delia was shocked. Shy, nerdy Anthony was the polar opposite of Sarah’s last boy toy. Delia knew if she wanted to tell Anthony how she felt, she would have to act quickly.

That night, she called Anthony. She told him she had something important to tell him. He said that he did, too. Delia told him to go first.

“Sarah likes me back!” Anthony said happily.

Delia was speechless. She hadn’t known Anthony had liked Sarah in the first place. Before she could change her mind, Delia blurted out the five words she had been dying to say:

“I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!”

The silence that followed on the other line was deafening. Finally Anthony said the six words that had led her up to this point:

“I’VE NEVER FELT ANYTHING FOR YOU.”

Delia shook her head, banishing the memories. She looked at the computer screen, took a deep breath, and began to type.

Dear Anthony,

Five words can ruin someone’s life. Five words ruined mine
They weren’t anything terribly tragic, like: “Your father has just died.” They were five simple words that, quite often make someone’s life a whole lot better: “I’m in love with you.”

You said that you’ve never felt anything for me. Come on now, Anthony, we both know that’s a huge lie. We were best friends, Ants. You must have felt something for me. Maybe not in the romantic sense, but something. I know I felt so many emotions for you long before I fell in love with you.

And Ants… Sarah? Really? Ants, you could do so much better. Sure, she’s gorgeous, but that’s really her only good quality, if that even counts. She’s selfish, rude, mean, judgmental, dishonest, and that ‘s not even half of it. Oh, Ants. I only wish you could hear the lies she tells her friends about you. Then you would understand, Ants.

I’m so sorry, Ants. If I could take back everything I said that lead us up to this point, I would. Oh God, believe me. I would.

Love,
Deels.

Delia stared at the computer screen. She pressed the button. The email form went blank, showing that she had successfully deleted the email. She knew no matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried, there would be no happy ending for she and Anthony.

She had just deleted any chance of that.