AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My heart pinched. “I just…don’t understand. Why?”
She shrugged and looked away. “Barrett was great after the accident. When I first moved here we had a lot of fun sailing and snorkeling.”
Was snorkeling code for fucking? “You cared about him.”
“So? It was never going to be more than a fun fling.”
That didn’t sound like my typically confident friend. “How do you know?”
“Because he’s Barrett, Rayne. Look at the life he leads.”
I worried a lot about his lifestyle when they first started fooling around, but then they started to make sense together and now it just seemed like a wasted opportunity. Plus, Barrett didn’t want this. He wanted Elle. “I thought you were falling in love with him.”
“I’m not stupid, Ray.”
“I never said you were.”
“Then why are you questioning my judgment?”
“I’m not! I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on with you.”
“Stop saying that!”
“Saying what?”
“What’s going on with me. It sounds like I have a problem. There is no problem. Sometimes relationships simply have a shelf life.”
I wondered if ours did, because I didn’t understand any of this. While we were discussing her breakup with Barrett I couldn’t ignore the fact that it felt like she was also breaking up with me. The distance between us was spreading, even when we were standing right next to each other I could feel her putting up boundaries and using half-truths to push me away.
“Elle, Barrett seems pretty banged up over this.”
She laughed. “I doubt that.”
“I’m serious. He?—”
“He’s just sulking. Soon enough he’ll have his tongue down someone else’s throat.”
She had him figured out there. But a rebound didn’t guarantee getting over someone. This would make much more sense if she just admitted to having a relationship with mysterious Paul. Maybe I should just confess I knew there was another guy.
I didn’t know what to do. Her lies made me feel like I should lie, when I was always much more comfortable with honesty.
Unsure how to proceed, I opted to take a break and collect my thoughts. “I have to pee.”
I left her to her workout and chucked my smoothie cup. Then I bought a bottle of water at the vending machines because it gave me a chance to nose around in the lobby of the gym where Elle now spent all of her time. I don’t know what I was looking for, maybe a bulletin board that showed all the employees’ pictures by name.
Elle’s shady behavior was starting to really piss me off. As much as I hated confrontation, I loved Elle more, so I knew what I needed to do.
I went back to wipe off my machine and she was still going. “I feel like you’re not telling me something.”
She looked at me, appearing stunned that I was still on the topic of her love life. “Why are you being like this?”
“Like what?”
“Nosey.”
I drew back. Was she kidding? I was only being nosey because she was being secretive. How did my concern make me the bad guy?
Fuck this shit. “I didn’t realize taking an interest in my best friend’s life was so intrusive. Forget I asked.”
