Chapter 82: He's gone

"Okay, please tell me why you're wearing a guy's clothes," Miranda said, narrowing her eyes as she opened the door for Dorah, who simply walked in, her face unreadable, offering no explanation. Miranda frowned, watching her friend's retreating back. "Hello? Did you not hear me?" Just then, the doorbell rang again. "Oh my God, who's there now?" she muttered, clearly annoyed as she turned and made her way back to the door. She cracked it open and peeked out. "Ella? Prudence?" she called uncertainly, surprised to find her friends standing outside. "Hey," Prudence greeted with a small smile as they stepped inside. Emma, however, brushed past Miranda without a word, as though she hadn't been the one to open the door. Miranda blinked. 'What the heck are you all doing here?" she asked, bewildered, watching as her friends settled into the living room like it was a scheduled meeting. Only Dorah remained standing, nervously pacing around. "You guys need to tell me what's going on," Miranda said, planting herself in the middle of the room with her arms crossed. Dorah walked over to her bag and dug out her phone, her fingers trembling slightly as she scrolled through her messages. After a few seconds, she handed the screen to Miranda. Miranda's eyes scanned the message. 'He left?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion and rising panic. 'Yes. Mum sent this to me while I was still at Ronald's house," Dorah replied, her voice tight as if trying to hold back tears. 'I didn't know how else to say it." Miranda's face fell. 'Well, I already noticed something was off with him this morning when he dropped me off. His behavior... it was like he was saying goodbye. He even told me you've been ignoring him all this time." 'Why have you been ignoring him?" Emma suddenly asked, her voice cutting through the silence. Miranda's gaze dropped. Her voice came out small and broken. 'He told me he doesn't love me." Though she had spoken barely above a whisper, her words hit the room like thunder. She slowly sank into the nearest chair, her body trembling. 'He told me he loves Dorah, not me," she choked, the tears finally breaking free. 'What?!" Emma and Prudence gasped in unison. 'Shit," Dorah muttered, turning her face away. Miranda wiped her eyes but the tears kept coming. 'He said I can't be more than a best friend to him. I just couldn't help the jealousy. We even kissed…" Her voice cracked. 'And he called it a mistake. Am I...." 'What?!" Dorah interrupted, shocked. 'He called the kiss a mistake?" Miranda nodded miserably. Emma's face twisted in anger. 'Who does he think he is, playing with your heart like that?" 'He must be joking, right?" Prudence said, standing up with disbelief written all over her face. 'Okay, I know he was a total jerk for calling your kiss a mistake, but you shouldn't have avoided him," Dorah said gently, trying to balance the truth with comfort. 'Believe me, he's a mess without you." Prudence sat beside Miranda and gave her a side hug. 'You didn't deserve that. But you need to hear his side too." Emma scoffed. 'He deserves a beating. He started this. Let him stay miserable." 'He loves her," Dorah said suddenly. Miranda's head jerked up. 'Wha… what do you mean?" she asked, her voice shaking. Dorah took a deep breath. 'He admitted he loves you a few days after the school party." Miranda looked stunned. 'But… but he said he loves you…" 'He's just attracted to me. That's it. He clearly told me he loves you," Dorah assured her, nodding. Miranda's brows furrowed as realization dawned on her. 'Wait… is that why…" Her voice trailed off, and suddenly she bolted upstairs. The others exchanged confused looks. Moments later, she came back down, clutching her phone tightly. 'He called me around December 21, I think… but I didn't pick up. I turned my phone off right after that," she explained as she powered it on. 'You got a new phone just to avoid his calls?" Emma asked, incredulous. 'Yeah," Miranda admitted quietly. 'Jeez, you should've at least listened to what he had to say," Prudence murmured. As Miranda's phone turned on, it immediately buzzed with notification after notification. A flood of unread messages came in all from Jace. 'You two are hopeless," Emma sighed dramatically and headed for the kitchen. 'Where are the maids?" Prudence asked, following her. 'It's Christmas, babe," Miranda replied, a soft laugh slipping through her tears as she stared at Jace's messages. Dorah, watching silently, pulled out her phone and quickly typed a text to Jace: 'Make sure to do well. I'll bring Miranda to you before or after the show." She then snapped a quick picture of Miranda, still lost in the messages, and sent it to him with a caption: 'You must think of a way to pay me back." 'I shouldn't have turned off my phone," Miranda whispered, her fingers frozen over the screen. Suddenly, her eyes widened. 'Dorah… he loves me!" She threw herself at Dorah, hugging her tightly. 'It's fine, baby girl," Dorah whispered, patting her back gently. 'You two just needed clarity." Miranda pulled away slightly. 'Wait… can I go to him now? Will he be happy to see me? Does he still love me?" Dorah shook her head. 'You can't go now. But we'll meet him soon at his comeback." 'Comeback?" Miranda echoed. Just then, Emma and Prudence returned with cups of juice. 'Yeah, comeback," Dorah confirmed. 'Remember that masked singer I used to talk about years ago?" 'Oh yeah! The one who sang Just Like Magic, right?" Emma said, excited. 'Gosh, it's Just Like Magic," Prudence corrected with a playful eye roll. 'Whatever! But I thought he quit music?" Emma asked. 'Well, he did. But he's making a comeback now and this time, he's revealing his face. Guess what? The masked singer was Jace all along." 'Star?!" Miranda gasped. 'Yes," Dorah nodded. 'You guys need to see this. He's trending online," Miranda said as she quickly opened her browser. Her friends gathered around her, eyes wide. 'So… we're going?" Emma asked. 'Yeah," Dorah replied with a smile. 'We'll be leaving on the 30th of this month." 'Five days to go. I can't wait!" Miranda exclaimed. 'You sure can't wait," Prudence teased, nudging her shoulder. Miranda squealed softly and covered her face in embarrassment. 'Well, I can get us VIP tickets," Dorah said casually as she plopped onto the couch. 'You're paying, right?" Emma smirked. 'Me? Nope. Jace has us covered," Dorah said with a wink. 'Yeah, his babe is here," Prudence added, nudging Miranda again. 'You guys, stop it!" Miranda said shyly, hiding her face behind her hands again as they all burst into laughter.