by Laura Pavlov
“Hey, baby,” he answered on the first ring. His voice was raw and gravelly, making it clear he’d had a lot to drink last night. My stomach churned.
“Hi. Are you up yet?” I tried to act natural, but my heart was racing, and my hands started to sweat. I set the phone on the mattress and rubbed my palms on my thighs, trying to pull myself together.
“Yeah. Still waking up. How’d you sleep?”
“Fine. Did you go to bed early too?” I asked because I wanted to see if he’d tell me the truth.
“No. I got home after hanging out with you, and Ty came over and insisted I go to that party with him for a little bit. He knows I’ve been down about the last game and I think he wanted to cheer me up.”
Ivy shrugged and I pressed further. “Yeah? Did you have fun?”
“It was all right. Nothing special. You’re spending the day with the girls today, right?”
“Yep. We’re going to the diner for breakfast and then hanging out over here after. Did you see them last night?” I asked. He’d be stupid to lie about it as he knew they’d tell me.
“Yeah. I talked to them for a little bit and then they took off. I ended up helping Karina out with a little family problem. She was upset, so I talked to her for a little bit.” His voice got a little higher and I could tell he was nervous.
I licked my lips as my mouth went dry. “You talked to her at the party?”
“Yeah, yeah. We went up and talked in Britney’s room for a little bit. Her parents are going through something and she was pretty upset. She needed a friend, and I just listened.”
Coco shook her head with disgust, and Maura rolled her eyes. Ivy and Gigi listened intently.
“You were up in a room with her? Really?” Anger coursed through my veins as I pushed to my feet again, holding the phone in my hand.
“Come on, Addy. You don’t think anything went on, do you? I barely talk to the chick. Her parents might be divorcing, and she needed a friend. That’s all it was. I would never cheat on you. You know that,” he said adamantly.
Did I know that?
I nodded. “Okay. I don’t understand why she’s always coming to you. It’s hard enough that you two had your little fling, and it bothers me that you hang out with her.”
“Okay. You’ve never told me that before. I knew you didn’t care for her, but I didn’t know that if she came to me and was crying that you would want me to turn her away. If that’s how you feel, I will cut her off completely.”
Maura flipped him the bird with both hands, and everyone else shook their heads in disbelief.
“Don’t turn this on me, Alec. You wouldn’t like it if the tables were turned.”
“I definitely wouldn’t like it, baby. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking hungover right now. My dad has a list of chores for me to do today and I’m just in a bad mood. I’m sorry for talking to her. I won’t let it happen again. I love you so much, you know that, right?”
“Sure. Let’s talk later. I need to get in the shower.” I wanted to end this conversation. Everyone was listening, and he sounded awfully guilty, and I needed to process what was happening.
“Okay. I love you, Addy.”
“Yep,” I said before ending the call and dropping back down to sit on the bed.
“That fucker is guilty. Tell me you aren’t going to fall for his bullshit,” Coco hissed.
“I don’t know what to believe. I mean, you didn’t actually see anything. How the hell am I supposed to know what’s going on? He’s acting so off lately. I don’t know what the truth is.” A tear ran down my cheek and I swiped it away. I’d felt like something was up for a while. Alec had been ice cold after the whole homecoming king/queen debacle. He was pissed about that. Pissed about football. His grades were dropping. And I tried to talk to him so many times, but he always brushed it off.
“It’s okay. We’ll get to the bottom of it.” Maura pushed to her feet and paced the room.
“How are we going to do that?” I asked.
“I have PE last block with Karina.” Gigi looked up at the ceiling as if she were deep in thought.
“Okay?”
“You guys meet me in the locker room, and we’ll ask her. That girl can’t keep a secret, especially if we all question her. If she hooked up with him, she’ll be dying to tell us.” Gigi was on her feet now.
“And how will we know if she’s lying?” I asked.
“Oh, we’ll know. Karina James is not clever enough to lie. She’s all bark and no bite,” Ivy said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Come on. Jump in the shower. Let’s go get breakfast, and then we can bundle up and hang out by the lake today and take your mind off things. Tomorrow we’ll know if he’s telling the truth.” Coco walked to my closet and grabbed my robe and handed it to me. “We’ll watch a few episodes of Gossip Girl. You get ready.”
I walked into the bathroom and turned on the water, and a sick feeling settled in my stomach. Almost like a warning that the rug was about to be ripped out from under my feet.
Monday morning, I drove to school with the girls. For whatever reason, I rarely drove my car, as I usually caught a ride with Alec or Coco. Clem always got dropped off early by my dad because she had cross-country practice before school. Today, all five of us piled into Coco’s car, and my nerves were frazzled. I managed to avoid Alec most of the day. I told him I was meeting with Mrs. Cunningham during lunch, which was sort of true. She had an open-door policy and I asked her if I could sit in her classroom and do some work. I didn’t want to see him, because for the first time in my life—I didn’t know if I could trust Alec Taulson. The thought made me sick to my stomach. He was my best friend, my boyfriend, a part of my family, really. But my gut told me to talk to Karina. I couldn’t stand her, and I knew she would enjoy the doubt and insecurity that I was feeling.
Alec didn’t question why I was avoiding him, which made me even more nervous. Like he was aware I was onto him and didn’t know how to proceed. I couldn’t believe these thoughts were running through my head. I never in a million years thought I would be in this position… doubting the boy I thought I knew better than anyone.
Just before the last bell rang, I asked my chemistry teacher, Mr. Wyatt, if I could leave a few minutes early for an appointment. Obviously, I didn’t have one, but he didn’t question me. We’d all planned to meet in the locker room before Karina left school for the day. My stomach twisted. I wondered if she would lie. If I would know if she were telling the truth. If all of this could just be a big misunderstanding that I had allowed myself to blow out of proportion.
Ivy and Maura met me in the hallway, and we found Coco outside of the locker room.
“Let’s do this,” Ivy said, pushing the double doors open as a few girls started to walk out.
The last bell rang just as we stepped inside and found Gigi talking to Karina.
“Oh my god, really, Gigi? You’re ambushing me?” Karina hissed when she saw us.
“We aren’t ambushing you. We just want to talk to you.” Gigi placed her hands on her hips and shrugged.
“What is this even about?” Karina tossed her PE clothes in her locker and slammed the metal door closed, the sound echoed through the large space.
“It’s about Alec,” I said, hating the way my voice shook when I spoke.
Karina squared her shoulders and faced me. “Just because your daddy is the mayor and your mama thinks she’s the queen of this town does not mean you get to corner me and force me to speak to you. I mean, who the hell do you think you are?”
“We’re the Magic Willows, bitch,” Ivy snarled as she stepped in front of me, and we all startled.
Karina took a step back and shook her head before Coco moved in front of Ivy. “Relax, mother of dragons,” Coco said, as she often referred to Ivy as Khaleesi whenever she got worked up. “Listen, Karina, Addy need
s to know, girl to girl—are you sleeping with her boyfriend? Is something going on? If you are, he’s being really unfair to her. We don’t blame you—we blame him. But help a girl out.”
Ivy huffed behind Coco, probably angry that she was being nice to Karina. But Coco knew how to get what she wanted from people, and you could catch more bees with honey, right?
Karina glanced over her shoulder to see if anyone was around. “Alec and I are friends, obviously.”
I moved forward, meeting her gaze. “That’s fair. He told me you guys were in the room talking because your parents are going through a tough time. So that was it? You just talked?”
My stomach twisted with guilt. What if Alec had been telling the truth and I’d doubted him?
She gawked at my question. “Is that what he told you? That pisses me off.”
“He didn’t tell me any details about your parents, just that you needed a friend,” I said.
She shook her head. “Wow. He’s brilliant. That’s not what happened. I don’t know why I’m protecting him after all this time.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest, desperate to shield myself from what I knew in my gut was coming.
“It means that it isn’t my parents going through a hard time, it’s Alec’s parents who are at odds. We weren’t talking in that bedroom. Alec and I hooked up again. He’s going through something and I was there for him. Just like I always am.” She shrugged.
My stomach wrenched at her words. What the actual hell was going on?
“Can you be a little more specific?” Coco asked, glancing over at me, and shaking her head.
“We slept together.” Karina shrugged.
I took a step back. I thought I was prepared to hear it, but I wasn’t. I put a hand over my mouth to keep the sob threatening to escape at bay.
“Is this the first time, since, you know… the other first time?” Maura asked. Her voice was calm and cool.
“Umm, no. There were two other times. If it makes you feel better, Addy, he told me you two talked about it. But that he didn’t think you were ready, and he didn’t want to push you.” Karina’s voice cracked at the end of her statement, as if she felt bad for me.
I hated pity almost as much as I hated liars.
And Alec Taulson was a liar.
I nodded. “So, while you’re sleeping with my boyfriend, you two discuss me? That’s a bit twisted, even for you guys.”
“It’s not like that. We’ve been there for one another. He’s always been honest that he’s going to end up with you long-term, you know, because of your history. So, this thing with us can’t go anywhere. And I’m okay with it.”
This was so twisted.
“You’re all right with sleeping with someone else’s boyfriend?” Ivy hissed.
“I’m all right with sleeping with Adelaide Edington’s boyfriend—yes. Looks like life isn’t so perfect anymore, is it, Addy?” Karina’s ice-blue eyes met mine, and a chill ran down my spine. I knew we weren’t friends, but I hadn’t realized the depths of her hatred.
“What did I ever do to you?” I asked as a tear ran down my cheek.
“Oh, I don’t know. You’ve got your hooks in the guy I’ve crushed on since middle school. Your family thinks their shit doesn’t stink and your mama has been a royal bitch to my mom. Coach Hansen has always favored you. Hell, every teacher at this school favors you. And you know what? I don’t think you’re all that great. So yeah, I banged your boyfriend multiple times, and it feels damn good to see you get knocked down a few notches.”
Ivy lunged forward and shoved Karina into the lockers.
I reached for her shoulder and tugged her back. “Leave her alone. She isn’t worth it.”
My friends turned to look at me, and I shrugged. “You can have Alec. He’s all yours, Karina.”
I stormed out of the locker room with the girls in tow.
“Jesus. This is worse than I thought,” Coco said when we huddled outside the locker room.
“I’m so sorry, Addy,” Maura said.
“I’m totally down to get suspended for a few days just to punch that smug smile off her face,” Ivy snarled.
I swiped at my tears. “Don’t. She wants us to react. Let’s not give it to her. Karina and I have never been friends, so this isn’t on her. She’s not the bad guy in this scenario. Do I like her? No. I can’t stand her. But Alec is the one who betrayed me.”
“What are you going to do?” Gigi asked, as she reached in the front pocket of her backpack and handed me a tissue.
“I’m going to confront him. He has basketball practice now. I need to catch him off guard before Karina gives him a heads-up. I need to do this on my own. You guys can go. I’ll call you after.”
“Call me if you need me to come back and give you a ride home,” Coco said. “And don’t take his shit. The dude is a liar. He’s been suspect for a while, and now he’s showed his true colors. Believe it, Addy. Don’t try to fix this.”
I nodded. “I won’t. I’ll call you if I need a ride. I may want to walk.”
I took in their sad faces, and it made my chest squeeze. We’d always had one another’s backs. We’d always felt the hurt for the other when one of us was upset. It had been that way for as long as I could remember.
They each hugged me before stepping out the door. I sent a text to Alec.
Me ~ Hey. I’m outside of the locker room. I need to talk to you real quick.
Alec ~ Be right out, baby.
Baby? Had he no shame? He’d been sleeping with someone behind my back and was going to act like we were fine?
“Hey, what are you doing here? I figured you went home already?” Alec’s blond hair was cut close to his head, blue eyes with hints of green landed on mine.
“You want to tell me about Karina? Don’t you think I deserve the truth? The truth about your parents and the fact that you’ve had sex with her three times since we’ve been back together? The last time being just this past weekend when you were ‘just talking?’”
His face paled, and I knew in that moment that she’d been telling the truth. He moved toward me, and I stepped back. “Listen, Addy. I’ve got so much shit going on. I fucked up, and I didn’t know how to tell you.”
I slapped his hand away when he put it on my shoulder. “You fucked up? No, Alec, you fucked someone else. There’s a difference. Fucking up is forgetting to call or flaking on plans, not putting your dick in someone else.”
His jaw dropped at my words. I was done being polite. I’d planned my entire life around him and what he wanted, putting my own wants on the back burner, and I was suddenly raging in a way I’d never experienced. Anger engulfed me and I didn’t know how to move past it.
“Addy, please. I love you. I’m an idiot.”
His words were empty. I’d gotten what I’d come for. He’d cheated on me. We were done. I turned on my heels and walked out the door.
“Adelaide. Stop.” Alec was on my heels and he grabbed my arm. “Baby. Please.”
I shook him off and started to run toward the parking lot. I didn’t have a ride or a plan. I just wanted to get away from him.
Away from everyone.
Chapter Eight
Jett
I’d just finished my meeting with Coach Stephens to discuss my college offers and go over the pros and cons of each one. I was definitely leaning toward signing with Texas University, as it had always been my number one choice. They’d verbally offered me a four-year, full ride with housing, and I couldn’t ask for more than that.
I climbed on my bike, helmet in hand, as I heard shouting and looked up to see Adelaide Edington running toward me with tears streaming down her face. Her dipshit boyfriend was chasing her, and I glanced around to see if anyone else was seeing this. No one was around at the moment, and she called my name.
Fuck.
I didn’t want to get involved in their drama.
“Jett. Can you give me a ride? Please.” The desperation in her voice cut me deep, and I nodded.
“What the fuck are you doing, Addy?” Alec shouted, still several feet away as she climbed on the back of my bike.
I handed her my helmet and pushed back, turning my head to speak to her. “Hold on.”
Her hands wrapped around my middle, and she rested her face against my back. Alec approached just as I gunned it and pulled out of the parking lot. I saw him in my rearview mirror flailing his arms and shouting.
We were a few blocks away when I stopped at a light and spoke over my shoulder. “Am I taking you home?”
I knew where Adelaide lived. Hell, everyone knew where the Edingtons lived. They had the largest house on the lake.
“No, I can’t go home. Just go wherever you were going, and I’ll figure it out from there.”
I pulled away and her little hands fisted my shirt on my stomach and my dick twitched. Damn traitor. Adelaide was not someone I would allow myself to react to. She was as off-limits as it got. And we were friends again after all these years, and I didn’t mind it. Didn’t mind anything about her, which was saying a lot because most people bugged the fuck out of me.
Her chest vibrated against my back, and I knew she was crying. I had no idea what was going on, but Taulson was an asshole, so I wasn’t completely surprised that she’d finally caught on. I pulled down the dirt road toward the spot I’d come to call my own near the water. I’d never brought anyone out here, but for whatever reason, I didn’t have the heart to drop her anywhere else when I knew she was upset.
I parked my bike and waited for her to climb off first, before I slipped off and she unbuckled the strap and handed me my helmet.
“What is this place?” she asked, glancing around at the small beach area, the beat-up hammock I’d made out of some rope and some netting hanging between two large trees.