"You're being cowards." He held up a hand as I started to protest. "I say that with love, man. But the longer you wait, the worse it's going to be when it comes out. And it will come out. Sebastian's already sniffing around."
"Sebastian can go fu..."
"Derek!" Ivy appeared, pulling me into a hug. "Love the costume. Very creative."
"Thanks. You look great." I meant it, the Greek goddess costume suited her.
"Have you seen Rosalie? She's been in the bathroom for like twenty minutes." Ivy's expression turned concerned. "I'm worried about her."
My chest tightened. "I'll check on her."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Max asked quietly, his arms around Ivy. Jealousy hit me straight to the core, and I hated it.
"I'm sure." I was already moving toward the stairs, fighting my way through the crowd. If my girl was upset, I needed to be there for her.
The upstairs bathroom door was closed, but I could hear soft crying from inside. My heart shattered from the sound of it.
I knocked gently. "Rosie? It's me."
The crying stopped, and after a long pause, she let out a weak "Go away" before sniffling.
"Not happening. Let me in."
"Derek, if someone sees you up here..." Her voice was full of concern and resignation.
"I don't care." And I meant it. Fuck the secret. Fuck being careful. The girl I loved was crying in a bathroom, and I was supposed to just walk away? "Please, Thorn. Let me in."
The lock clicked. I slipped inside quickly, locking the door behind me.
Rosie sat on the edge of the tub, her sparkly makeupstreaked with tears. She looked beautiful and broken, and I wanted to fix everything that was hurting her.
"Hey," I knelt in front of her, taking her hands. "Talk to me."
"I can't do this anymore," she whispered. "This lying, this sneaking around, this constant fear of getting caught. I thought I could handle it, but I can't."
"Okay." I squeezed her hands. "So we stop. We go downstairs right now and tell Aaron."
"You have a game in a couple of days," she reminded me. "Against Westpoint. The team that destroyed your knee. You need to focus, not deal with drama."
"You're not drama. You're everything." I reached up to wipe away her tears. "And I'd rather deal with Aaron being pissed than keep hurting you like this."
"But what if..."
A loud bang on the door made us both jump.
"Rosie? You okay in there?" Aaron's voice. Of course, it was Aaron. This night just kept getting better and better.
We stared at each other in panic. I was trapped in a bathroom with his sister at a party. There was no innocent explanation for this.
"I'm fine!" Rosie called out, her voice surprisingly steady. "Just fixing my makeup."
"Why's the door locked?"
"Because I'm changing tampons, Aaron. Do you really want to continue this conversation?"
I bit back a laugh. Even in a crisis, she was brilliant.
"Oh. Right. Sorry." Aaron's footsteps retreated.
