The thoughts ran so fast, I could barely keep track of them, not sure which direction to run in first. But then, I settled on one. “You knew?” It was all I could focus on. It was all I could manage without screaming my head off—that Lara was involved too. “You knew, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I’m so sorry, Syd. I—”
“Why? Why would you do that? Why would you keep this from me only to tell me now?” I stood from my seat on her bed.
“I don’t know—”
“Was the guilt finally too much for you? Was it finally too hard to look me in the face and pretend you didn’t lie to me about my best friend sleeping with my boyfriend for six months?”
I threw the binder onto the floor and slid my fingers into my hair, gripping it tight. My head was spinning. Lara continued to sob.
“I’m so sorry, Sydney. I wanted to tell you, I did! It was the hardest place to be in. Please, you have to understand—”
I put my hands out in front of me to stop her. “Don’t. Don’t, Lara. I can’t right now, and I really don’t care.”
She sobbed again, and I took a deep, jagged breath. Anger, betrayal, and a murderous rage were swimming in my mind at that moment, and I had no way to slow the current.
I paced back and forth in her room as I tried to gather my thoughts. My blood was boiling. I could feel the heat of it rippling off me and swirling in my lost mind. In my anger, one thing became clear. I took a steady breath and stood up straight. “Call Kasey.”
“What?” Lara's brows knit, and her lip lifted in almost a snarl. She couldn’t understand my request, but I was sure of my next move. Surer than I’d ever been of anything in my whole life. The dark, steady pace of my voice showed it.
“Call Kasey. Call her and tell her to meet us at the park. Right now.”
“But—”
“Lara. You owe me,” I said, looking down at her. “Call Kasey.”
And like the guilt-ridden friend she was, she did.
Fifteen minutes later, Kasey showed up at the park, giddy as ever, skipping over to us like she was damn Goldilocks herself. The second she reached us, I balled my fist with the force of every betrayed cell in my body, and punched her directly in the face. And it feltgood.
Blood poured out of her nose as she fell on her back with a yelp. “What the hell, Sydney?!”
I leaned over her and took her shirt in my fists, my eyes full of fury. “Next time you decide to sleep with myboyfriend, don’t write about it, you stupid bitch,” I snarled. I didn’t recognize my voice, and it almost disturbed me how low and calm it was, considering the whirlpool raging inside me.
The shock that hit her eyes fueled my pride all the more. I’d been embarrassed, manipulated, and taken advantage of. I was going to leave this revolting situation on top, if it was the last thing I did.
I let go of her shirt, and she fell the few inches I had lifted her to the ground. She rested there on her elbows, stunned, unsure if she should move or not. It was better that she didn’t.
I looked at Lara then, standing tall and firm. “Anything else you want to tell me?”
“No. That’s it. That’s everything.” She said with wide, worried eyes. She was a nervous wreck, and she deserved to be.
I looked between the two of them, my stance so strong that I probably looked like Sarah Connor from the secondTerminator. I am sure as hell I felt like her.
“Who else knows about this? Just you two and Enzo, I’m assuming?”
“Yes. Of course,” Lara answered, and I was satisfied. At least if I had to look like a complete jackass, it was only to these three assholes. A roll of thunder roared, and I turned my back to them as I started to leave. Her next two words stopped me.
“…And E,” she added.
And my whole world came crumbling down.
E knew?E knew, and he didn’t tell me? How could he do that? E was my best friend, the closest person I had. Theone who knew me more than anyone. The one who… And he lied to me? He kept this from me, knowing I would never have stayed with Enzo had I known. Knowing Enzo treated me horribly, and this would have been enough to finally leave him? He let me stay in that without even a word?How. Could. He.
My heart was broken more by the betrayal of E than anyone else in the situation. Because it was him. It wasus. It was my whole heart, ripped out from inside me, and spat on.
I walked home in a straight line, grabbed the keys to my dad’s Jeep, and jetted out the door, driving straight to E’s. I didn’t know if he’d be home, but I didn’t care. I’d find him. I had to find him.
