“Ohhhmy goodness, Elliot!” Shy shouted in exasperation.
“She came here for Cass,” Courtney said softly.
Ellie looked at Sloan, stunned as Sloan’s jaw quivered.
“You’re here for Cassidy?” Ellie asked. Ellie turned in her seat so that she was facing Sloan. Sloan couldn’t even deny it. She wore her guilt all over her.“You’re fucking my brother? So what? This friendship has been fake all this time? You get close to me to get close to him? How long has this been going on?” Ellie asked. She looked around at Shy and Courtney.“And of course, I’m the last one to know.”
“I love him,” Sloan admitted in an exhausted tone.“I’m completely in love with him, Ellie. I want to tell you it just started when I saw him this week again for the first time, but I don’t want to lie to you. I’ve loved him since we were in middle school.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Ellie stated.“I thought you were my friend.”
“I am!” Sloan defended.“I am your friend, Ellie. Why does it have to be one or the other?”
“It just does, Sloan! You used me to get close to Cass, just like all those other girls. They didn’t see value in me! They didn’t want real friendship with me. They just wanted him. You’re no different,” Ellie stated as she stood.
Sloan knew she would react poorly; it was why she had hidden her feelings all these years.
“I’ma do you a favor. You don’t have to worry about a friendship, sis, because I can’t trust you. You’re in the clear. You can choose Cass like you been wanting to all this time,” Ellie spat.
“Ellie!” Courtney called after her as she stormed off.
Shy and Courtney sat around Sloan, and Sloan shook her head. She was distraught.
“This shit is a disaster,” she whispered, wiping her nose with her sleeve.
“Yeah, pretty much, but she’llbe alright. You know how Ellie is. Let her calm down and come to her senses,” Courtney said.
“But about you and Cass…”
Sloan shook her head.“I had my reasons before why me and Cassidy shouldn’t do this. This is just one more reason. I was right, y’all. I should have just followed my first mind. If I have to choose between Ellie and Cassidy, I’m going to always choose my friend. She’s my sister. I need her,” Sloan cried, getting emotional all over again.
“He left here with Lola, Sloan,” Shy whispered. Sloan’s reaction was pure devastation. Of course, he did. Lola made it easy for him. Lola didn’t push him away. Lola hadn’t left him waiting on her. Lola hadn’t insulted him. She damn sure wasn’t afraid of him, because logically, what was there to fear? He was fine. He was accomplished. He was reformed. He was attentive. He was patient. He was everything. He was also a trigger for Sloan, and the idea of giving second chances made her fear that it would be a generational curse that would repeat itself. Second chances led to regret in her family. She had watched it happen with her mother. She would be so foolish to chance the same happening to her. She knew it was emotion and not logic driving her decisions, but she couldn’t ignore her intuition. She also couldn’t ignore the aching of knowing another woman was tending to a man who was supposed to be hers. A man she loved beyond comprehension.“Do you want me to put a call in and put a stop to that shit?”
Sloan shook her head.“No. Cass don’t belong to me.” Even as she said the words, she didn’t believe them. She choked on her own words.“I’ve got to get out of here.” She stood and rushed out, leaving her friends feeling helpless.
“Is your friend, okay?” Loyal asked.
Ellie shook her head.“She’s not my friend,” Ellie replied as her eyes stung.
“As fucked up as you are about whatever happened, I find that hard to believe,” Loyal stated as he stared across the backseat of the Maybach. He lifted the partition to separate them from the driver and then pulled her across the seat.
“I don’t want to think about her or talk about her.” Ellie crossed her arms and stared out the window. She didn’t even realize she was pouting until he leaned over and grabbed her chin.
“The pouted lips when you’re upset is sexy as fuck.” He pulled her to his face and planted soft kisses to those lips.“Come here,” he directed as he patted his lap, giving her a cue that he wanted her there. Ellie straddled him, arching her back as his hands rested on her ass.
“Tell me what’s on your mind,” Loyal coached.
Thoughts of Sloan brought tears to her eyes.“My friends are my world. They have literally been the constant in my life since I met them at 13. Sloan is my best friend. Like, she’sthe one I would save if I had to make a choice. She knows everything. I’ve trusted her with every chamber of my heart, and she knows how I feel about my brother. She knows my rules. She knows how people have always stepped over me to get to him, and she does the same thing. It’s hurtful, and I feel betrayed.”
Loyal rubbed circles into her shoulder as she settled into his lap. She clung to his collar, pouring her heart out, and the comfort he brought was so settling.
“Before I answer, I need to know what kind of response you want in this moment. Are you coming to me for my opinion, or are you coming to me so you can vent? Those are two very different responses.”
“For now, just let me vent. I don’t want my feelings to be discredited just yet,” she admitted.
“Okay,” he replied.
She loved that he was such a man. If only all men knew to assess the need in that way, the world would be a much better place. Loyal knew when to be dominant and when to fall back. It made him easy to follow in times when leadership was non-negotiable.
