For a moment, I considered the possibility that it might be completely made up, but I quickly discarded that idea, shaking my head. I mean, why would my friend do that?
But all the unanswered questions were driving me crazy.
I was too shaken up to think clearly.
“Selene, are you okay?” Bailey asked me, sounding concerned.
I just gave her a weak nod and then sat down next to her.
“I’m sorry,” Alyssa whispered.
“It’s not your fault. You’re welcome to stay here tonight,” I told her. It was the right thing to do. My mother would have no problem accommodating one of my friends.
“Thank you. You’re an angel,” she answered, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
“Well, now that everyone’s calmed down a bit, I need to bounce. It’s getting late,” Janel declared, standing up. “Ivan needs the car back that I stole from him.” She chuckled and fished the keys out of her jeans pocket and gave us a wicked grin.
“So petty,” I teased her.
“He’s gonna be piiiissed,” Bailey noted, following Janel to the door.
“Oh, I know exactly how to threaten him into silence,” Janel answered craftily. “By the way, he’s having a party tomorrow night. You should come,” she suggested, looking at all of us, even Alyssa, who would probably be back in New York by then.
I snorted. “You know parties aren’t my thing,” I pointed out. Plus, by that point I was even less in the mood to spend my Friday night with a bunch of drunk, high college students.
“Oh come on, don’t be a wet blanket. Ivan’s throwing it at the Delta Psi house, and you know how only the privileged few get to step foot in there.” She winked at me, and I made a face.
“What? Are you for real?” Bailey cut in.
Janel nodded enthusiastically. “Of course, I am,” she answered, fixing her black bob.
The Delta Psi house was less like a frat and more like a sacred temple forathletes at school. It was near the basketball facility on campus, and a lot of players were brothers, so it was a popular hangout spot for the sporty crowd. No one was allowed inside without express permission from a brother, and their parties were legendary. I had often heard about it but had never seen it in person.
Girls were always angling for an invite, but I’d never been particularly drawn to the place, only mildly curious.
“Oh my God! I can finally see my Tyler again!” Bailey clapped her hands in joy as I rolled my eyes.
“You haven’t stopped creeping on his Instagram, have you?” Janel asked, taking on a stern tone while Bailey bit her lip awkwardly, making the answer obvious. “Jesus, Bailey! When are you going to give it up? That guy just used you, plus he’s totally up his own ass and has zero respect for women. Move on already!” she lectured Bailey sternly, and Alyssa giggled, drawing my attention back to her. I was happy to see that she seemed more peaceful, but that feeling of relief vanished almost immediately, obliterated by the memory of what Neil had done to upset her in the first place.
I kept going back and forth between trying not to think about it at all and vividly imagining their kiss.
“All I said was that I’d see him at the party,” Bailey said defensively, distracting me from my miserable thoughts.
“For you, ‘seeing him’ means ‘drooling over him again.’ But you’re just holding me up here; let’s go,” Janel said impatiently as she walked over to the door and grabbed her coat, which she quickly shrugged on.
“Text me when you get there,” I called out to my friends without getting up from the sofa.
“Yeah, okay, Mom,” Janel teased. “I’ll see you tomorrow night. Pick you up at eight,” she decreed, not even giving me a chance to argue. She waved goodbye to both Alyssa and me before opening the door to leave. Bailey dashed back to give both of us a kiss on the cheek, proving again that she was the sweet one.
“Move your butt!” Janel yelled, and Bailey obeyed her, cursing under her breath.
“Your friends are awesome,” Alyssa said.
“Yeah. I’m really fortunate to have found them,” I answered before getting up and looking around for her bag, which I found sitting on the floor. “I’ll show you the guest room. You can get yourself settled in there, and then we can have dinner,” I informed her, picking up the bag.
“Actually, I think I’ll just take a shower and go to bed. I’m kind of wiped out,” she answered uneasily. All at once, the atmosphere was unbearably awkward. Usually, Alyssa and I laughed and joked together, but, just then, we both seemed to be struggling. Her eyes constantly avoided mine, and there was an uncontrollable hint of chill in my voice. I was upset. And I didn’t know whether it was because of the insane thing Neil had done or because Alyssa had told me about it and cratered my mood.
I tried to stifle yet another irrational idea.
