Johnny’s Silence: Margaret Questions Their Friendship in Chapter 6
Margaret couldn’t shake the conversation with David. His doubts had triggered something she hadn’t anticipated—a lingering unease that followed her for days. She had always been confident that her relationship with Johnny was strictly platonic, but now, she wasn’t so sure. Was David right? Had she missed something?
A week passed, and still no word from Johnny. Normally, his texts were consistent, even if just a quick hello or a funny meme. But this silence stretched longer than she liked. Margaret found herself staring at her phone, wondering if she should be the one to reach out. Yet, a strange tension held her back. Maybe David was right, and there was more beneath the surface. Maybe Johnny had feelings he wasn’t ready to admit, and her constant talk about David had hurt him.
One afternoon, as the thought gnawed at her, she grabbed her phone and typed out a message.
“Hey, Johnny. Been a while—everything okay?”
The minutes ticked by without a reply. She tried to busy herself with work, but her mind kept wandering back to Johnny. What if something was wrong?
That evening, she sat in her living room, the city’s lights flickering outside her window. Her phone buzzed, and she nearly jumped out of her seat. It was Johnny.
“Yeah, just been busy. All good here. How about you?”
Margaret stared at the screen, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. His response felt off—distant, like he was holding something back. She typed out a few different replies, deleting each one before finally settling on something neutral.
“Same here. Busy with work and stuff. Miss hanging out though!”
The message hung there, unread, as the seconds turned into minutes. Margaret tapped her foot anxiously, wondering why his replies had been so brief lately. When he finally responded, it was another short message.
“Yeah, same. Maybe we’ll catch up soon.”
That was it. No warmth, no suggestion of plans, just an empty promise. Margaret frowned, realizing how much the tone of their conversations had changed. The easy, familiar banter was gone, replaced with stiff, formal exchanges.
As she sat there, a thought crossed her mind—was Johnny pulling away? And if so, why?
Margaret thought back to the times they’d spent together, how close they had been. She had always believed it was just friendship, but what if David was right? What if Johnny had been hiding feelings all this time, and now that she had moved on with someone else, he couldn’t bear to be around her?
She sighed, setting her phone aside. A knot formed in her chest, one that wouldn’t unravel no matter how hard she tried to brush it off. Maybe it was time to have a real conversation with Johnny—no more vague texts or casual catch-ups. She needed to know if something had shifted between them. Because if it had, she owed it to both Johnny and David to figure out where her heart truly lay.
To be continued…
Stay tuned for the next chapter as Margaret grapples with Johnny’s distance and her own emotional confusion. Will they confront the truth, or will their friendship drift further apart?
