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Nobody says anything for a few minutes; all of us too lost in our own thoughts.
He’s right, of course.
Serena is tough; she’s had to learn to be in order to survive, and we made sure to help her however we could. In doing so, we might have become her weakness—the same way she became ours.
“Ugh, well, it doesn’t matter much now. Harlow is the least of our concerns now that you’ve cut ties to the Ashwood pack,” Lyle says, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he continues to pace.
“He never fucked her, if that helps,” Storm says, making all our heads snap to look at him. “What? It’s true,” he says, turning to Pike for backup when he sees our clear disbelief.
There’s no way he can really believe that, right? He’s heard it, the same way the rest of us have for the last few years. We’ve seen them disappear at parties and even after class. I know they have some kind of relationship or friends-with-benefits thing going on, but there’s no way he can believe that… Right?
“Pike?”
The question is clear in Lyle’s voice. Despite that, Pike doesn’t answer right away, too busy giving Storm a death glare. Storm doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about it, though.
“Gods, you’re annoying,” he says with a sigh, turning back to Lyle, who hasn’t stopped staring at him since Storm made his random declaration.
“No, I never slept with her, but that doesn’t really matter. Either way, I hurt Serena. Does it matter how I did it?”
“Yes,” Blair says before any of us have a chance. “It’ll matter to her.”
I see both sides—Blair’s right. To Serena, that little bit of information would matter a whole lot, and I think Pike knows it, too.
“That doesn’t make sense. We’ve heard you. And if you weren’t fucking her, why act like you were? Why let us give you so much shit for years when you not only didn’t have a choice, but you weren’t fucking her?” Lyle says as he towers over Pike, demanding answers.
Before Pike can answer, something clicks, and I answer for him.
“Because he felt like he deserved it.”
All eyes turn to me, including Pike’s, and I see the truth of my words in his eyes.
I know Pike. We know Pike.
He’s always been afraid of losing us, of not being able to live up to impossible expectations set by his asshole of a father. To anyone but us, he doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s going to inherit his father’s company and pack. He’s good-looking and great at just about anything he does, from sports to academics, and the girls fall in line for him. He’s funny, charming, confident, and loyal.
From the outside, Pike’s got it all.
But it’s a lie. A carefully constructed mask that he hides behind so that nobody sees what we do.
He’s afraid.
He’s been under his father’s thumb all his life, doing what he’s told, wanting to be good enough. He doesn’t see that he already is, that he always has been for us. Victor filled his head with lies so early on that Pike believes them. He can’t possibly imagine a life where his father’s fucked up words aren’t the truth.
None of us are shocked that his father could use him like this, not really. If anything, we’re probably more upset that we didn’t see it for what it really was before. At least I am.
“He knew no matter what he did, he was hurting Serena, so he let us believe he was fucking Harlow and took our shit as his own form of punishment. Right?” I ask, even though I really don’t need to. I’m almost positive I’m right, but I know the others might need confirmation.
“Yes, no, I don’t know, all right!”
Pike stands abruptly, looking like he might book for a second, before he paces to the end of the couch, and his fist hits the wall.
It goes right through the plaster, and I hear a few pictures hit the ground, the glass shattering. I don’t care to look around and see the damage, though. I'm more worried about our friend, who seems to be falling apart before our eyes.
Pike isn’t violent, not really.
He's protective to a fault and loyal, but he’s not the type to lash out like this. Lyle, Storm, and hell, even Blair, if he were giving an asshole a warning, but this kind of behavior isn’t Pike.
Whatever is going on, I have a feeling it’s been building for a long time.
