I knew my best friend, and I knew a guilty face when I saw one.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said quickly. Too quickly.
“Something is clearly up. It’s all over your face.” I snatched a sandwich, pulling a piece of paper towel off from the holder by the sink and setting it underneath to catch my crumbs.
“No plate?” West lifted his brows. “Hazel really is getting to you.”
“What’s wrong?” I repeated, refusing to allow him to change the subject.
He sighed and slung his head back. “It’s nothing, seriously. At least Ithinkit’s nothing.”
“Tell me and I’ll be the judge of that.”
He shook his head, eyeing the floor. “I might have put my foot in my mouth last night and said something stupid to Hazel.”
I froze mid-bite before glaring at my best friend. “What did you say?”
He wiped a hand over his eyes. “Oh, man. It was stupid. I didn’t mean it as a negative.”
I dropped the sandwich, standing up. “West, tell me now.”
He took up a defensive stance, holding up his hands in front of his chest. “It really isn’t a big deal. But Imighthave mentioned you saying she was a mess and didn’t have her life together.”
“What!” Now I was raging.
“Like, in an offhand way! I meant it like, you two didn’t seem like a match at first, but she was bringing out this funside of you—I don’t know. It’s true! She’s not who I pictured you with, but I like you two together.”
I dragged a hand over my face, my heart going a mile a minute. “Are you fucking serious? You told my girl that I thought she was a mess? How could you possibly think that was a good idea?”
He winced. “I kind of realized it wasn’t as soon as I saw her face fall.”
“Shit,” I breathed, my mind racing. Hazel had to be upset with me. This was the reason she’d run off last night. The worst part was, West wasn’t even lying. I had said that about Hazel to downplay things, so that my family would stay out of my business. I hadn’t meant it, though. Or I guess I had, but not in the way she was probably thinking.
Ilovedher chaos. I loved her.
Fuck…
Was that seriously what was running through my head right now? It was too soon, way too soon, but once the thought landed, it refused to leave. I’d been pushing it down for a while now, pretending it wasn’t real. And now the girl I was in love with was avoiding me.
“Why did you say that to her?” I groaned, slipping back onto the chair.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.” He looked at me sheepishly. “I felt like a dick for saying it, hence the apology sandwiches.”
“The apology sandwiches she isn’t even here to accept, because she can’t even face me right now.”
I was pissed at West for saying that to Hazel, but at least now I knew. If that was the reason she took off last night, it wasn’t because she thought my family was too much, or because she was second-guessing me. She was hurt. Which gutted me to think about, but at least I could fix this. I could explain, tell her what she meant to me, tell her that without a doubt I wanted her in my life. She’d look past a few stupid words, right? She had to. The Hazel I knew was understanding. Quick to forgive.
But she was also lonely and scared of being abandoned.
Crap, I really needed to talk to her.
I picked up my phone, but before I could text Hazel, the notifications from my group chat distracted me.
Armchair_Detective: The security company responded!
WhiteKnight31: IS IT THE VIDEO!?
