We join the rest of our team in the locker room, and I do my best to shake off my irritation. We just won against CPU. We should all be riding high. Instead, all I feel is a looming sensation of dread.
12GABRIEL
Spotting Adriana in the halls as she exits her class Monday morning, I make a beeline straight for her. “What game are you playing at?” I call out as soon as I’m within hearing distance.
Dark brown eyes lift to meet mine. I’d almost forgotten how dark her gaze was. A shade of brown that’s damn near black. “Hello, Adriana,” she retorts. “How are you, Adriana? Long time no see, Adriana.” There’s a bite of annoyance in her words, but I’m not in the fucking mood.
“I’m serious, A.” I snap, reverting to the nickname I used for her back when we were in high school. Pressing my arm against the wall, I block her exit when she moves to brush past me. “What’s your angle with Cecilia? Why are you all of a sudden hanging out and being nice to her?” She fucked Allie over back when we were friends. I’m not going to stand by and watch her burn Cecilia, too.
“I am nice,” she bites out, nostrils flaring.
Interesting. If I was less pissed, I’d take the time to analyze her reaction. Instead, I fold my arms over my chest and raise a brow. I don’t have time to beat around the bush.
“Really? We must have different definitions of the word because fucking your best friend’s boyfriend isn’t something I’d considernice.”
Her jaw tightens, but beyond that small display, she’s keeping her emotions locked tight. Typical Adriana. I swear, sometimes I wonder if the girl even has any. She’s always been cold. Borderline frigid. Nothing ever seems to ruffle her feathers. Not unless Julio is involved, at least. Bro dodged a fucking bullet though, if you ask me.
“I fucked up. It was three years ago. You don’t need to keep throwing it in my face. Move on.”
Hold on. Is the ice queen taking responsibility for once? This is new. Back in high school, she was so fucking flippant about it. It’s why everyone in our friend group took Allie’s side and dropped her. There was no remorse. Not really. She didn’t like that she’d been caught. But she wasn’t sorry for hurting Alejandra. For being Ryker’s side chick for who the hell knows how long.
Adriana pretended like she didn’t understand why the rest of us were pissed on Allie’s behalf. It was fucking infuriating for all of us. Julio most of all. He was the closest to her in our group. He’s always been sorta like the girl's big brother. And Adriana’s betrayal, it came out of left field.
We were ride or die.Familiato the bitter end. We would have forgiven her mistakes back then if she’d shown even an ounceof remorse. That’s how important she was to our group. Our family.
But she made her choice. Too late to go back now.
“I’m not throwing anything in your face. I’m just reminding you of your proven track record and how un-nice you really are. Cecilia’s been through a lot. She doesn’t deserve whatever?—”
She holds her hand up. “Enough. It’s been years, Gabriel. Three long years. Get over it. Everyone else has.”
Bullshit.
She shoulder-checks me and storms past, but I follow, my longer stride easily keeping pace with her. “I’m serious, A. You don’t know the kind of shit Cecilia’s been through. If you hurt her, Adriana, so help me?—”
She stops abruptly and spins to face me. “You’ll what?”
My jaw tightens, and I glare down at her pint-sized frame. “She’s important to me,” I admit. “I don’t want to see her get hurt. So if you’re using her to get back at me or?—”
“And your feelings should matter to me, why?”
“Because we were like family before,” I bite out.
Adriana throws her head back and laughs. But the sound is empty and unnatural. “Family? We were never family.” She stabs her finger into my chest. “Families don't turn their backs on one another. That’s what you always told me.” She digs her finger deeper into me. “Family forgives. They have your back.” She shakes her head. “So no, Gabe. I don’t think so. You and I, we were never family.”
I blink at the bite in her tone. For a second there, it almost sounds like she’s …hurt.But Adriana doesn’t do hurt. Shit always just slides right off her back. “You and everyone else threw me away. I don’t care if Cecilia is important to you. That’s not why I’m being nice to her. You aren’t even part of the equation.”
“Then why?—”
“Because I like her,” she snaps. “It has nothing to do with you. I like her. I was a shitty friend to Allie. I admit that. But I’m being a better one to Cecilia. Or at least, I’m trying to. So back the fuck off. I’m not doing this to get back at you or hurt you or whatever bullshit reason you’ve dreamed up in your head. I’m doing this for me.” She sucks on her teeth and stares over my shoulder, refusing to meet my gaze when she mutters, “When I saw her, she looked like someone who could use a friend. And if I’m being honest with myself, so can I. There isn’t anything more to it. So, you can go away now, safe with the knowledge that I’m not going to fuck this up.”
I search her expression, allowing her words to sink in. She’s not wrong. Cecilia can use a friend, it’s just … I don’t trust her.
What’s to keep Adriana from turning her back on Cecilia if it suits her?
“You have her back?” I don’t know how much her words are worth these days but I need to hear her say it out loud.
She nods. “I already shoved some asshole in the pool who was harassing her.” She crosses her arms over her chest and flicks her narrow eyes back toward mine. “So yes. I have her back. You don’t need to question that.”
