“No.” The word comes immediately. “Don’t do that. You couldn’t help what happened.”
No point in responding. He’d just argue.
We stay like that for a while, letting the water wash over us. When we finally pull apart, neither of us says much.
My phone rings while we are toweling off. I quickly wrap the soft cotton around my waist and grab my phone from my shorts pocket, Ella’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hey, Ella,” I breathe into the phone, a little winded. I smirk at the rumpled bedspread, my ass deliciously sore.
“Hi! So I got rid of my parents for the day. Want to come over and hang out?”
My nerves prickle. Ella’s parents haven’t tried to reach out to my parents since the day they got into that fight. Even when I was in the hospital, they didn’t try to call. My mom has been torn up over it, her best friend of over twenty years just throwing everything away for rumors and misunderstandings. My dad hides it better, but I can see the sadness in his eyes whenever Ella is around.
Hadley and I used to be fixtures at the Hackford's. Their door was never something meant to keep us out, always open whenever we wanted to drop by.
Now it’s meant to keep me as far away as possible.
“Uh, Ella, I don’t know if that’s a good idea. What if your parents come back while I’m there? I don’t want you getting into trouble.”
And I don’t want to get screamed at again.
“Trust me, they won’t bother us. Please come? We’ve not been able to hang out much since you’ve been home.”
I can hear the plea in her voice. It’s not like I can stick around here at Cull’s much longer, anyway. He has to finish his list of chores before his mom gets home.
“Yeah, okay. Want me to swing by Melvin’s and grab some milkshakes?”
“Strawberry, please.”
“Okay, give me an hour. I’m at Cull’s.”
“Oh… okay.”
Then she hangs up.
I look down at my phone, confused at the lack of goodbye. I shrug it off and toss my phone on the bed.
Cull is stomping around his bedroom, throwing on clean clothes and shoving drawers shut. I wrap my arms around him from behind, pressing my cheek between his shoulder blades.
His heart hammers beneath my palm, my thumb tracing slow circles against his sternum. “I’m here when you’re ready.”
“I hate Ella.” He grits it out, almost like her name is a curse.
Well, that didn’t take much coaxing.
I exhale, my breath rippling his t-shirt. Cullen has never hidden his dislike for Ella, but I didn’t realize it ran that deep.
He pulls away from me to sit on his bed and shoves a clean pair of socks onto his feet. His cheeks are red, his irritation saturating the room.
“Cull, she’s my friend—”
He huffs, the sound dark. “Some fucking friend.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shakes his head but doesn’t explain. I kneel in front of him, the knot in my towel slipping loose. I grasp his hands and lock eyes with him. “Does me hanging out with her really bother you that much?”
Cull exhales, a slight tremor running through his hands. “She enables you.”
