Page 33 of Vicious Titan

23

Elliot

Knocking on the bedroom door, I push it open to find Asher sitting on the edge of the bed. His phone in his hand as he looks up to me.

“Where’s Quinn?” I ask, stepping into the room and pushing the door shut behind me.

“She left last night.”

“Oh, I thought she would’ve stayed.”

“Nope.”

Great. He’s in a pissy mood because him and Quinn are fighting, which is more often than not. Either way, it’s past time to confess. Hopefully, his prickly demeanor doesn’t set the tone for the news of my overdue admission.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“What do you know?”

Asher tosses his phone on the bed, standing as he widens his stance, turning a heated look on me.

Not a good sign.

He cocks his head to the side as he says, “You know it’s never the lie that pisses me off. Big, small, or in between, I couldn’t give a fuck.” He takes a step towards me. “What really pisses me off is the person telling the lie believes I’m a big enough fucking idiot to buy the BS they’re feeding me. Repeatedly.”

He knows.

“It just happened. I didn’t mean for it. I didn’t plan for it or her, or to lie to you.”

“But you did. You also told her about the abuse my dad inflicted on me.”

“It slipped out. She was comparing me to him, and I lost it. Man, I’m so sorry. You’re my best friend. I didn’t want to lose our friendship, so I lied. But it’s not fair to you or her.”

“I suspected it. I did. But I didn’t want to think either of you were lying, making me out to be a moron. And maybe I’d feel differently if my best friend had told me. Instead, my suspicions were confirmed with a congratulatory high five from Wade … for my sister and my best friend hooking up.”

“It’s not like that.” I take in a deep breath, struggling to say it. I’ve only said the words out loud to her, and it didn’t go so well. “I’m in love with her. It’s not a fling. It’s not a joke. I care about her. I need her.”

“That’s worse.”

His words are a stab in the gut. I knew it wouldn’t go over with balloons and confetti, but damn.

“How is it worse?”

“Because it’s going to hurt her even more when you flake out.” His nonchalant words slice into me.

Even Asher knows I’m hopeless. He’s always been the person that I thought knows me best, but it’s not going to happen. Not again. I might need to muster every bit of strength inside me, but I won’t flake out on her. We belong together.

“That’s not going to happen. I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Hope not. For your sake.” He grabs his phone off the bed, walking past me.

“I knew you’d be pissed. I had a feeling you’d hate that I was with Victoria.”

He turns, looking to me. “I’m pissed you’ve been lying to me for who knows how long. I’m pissed because you didn’t tell me the fucking truth. But most of all, I’m pissed because I want you two dumbasses to be together and just be happy, especially with everything that’s happened. But the two of you can’t be in the same room without wanting to strangle each other. How the hell are y’all going to make this work?”

“I’ll do whatever it takes.” I have to.