“Ella. Wouldn’t surprise me after the shit she pulled,” Cull grumbles.
“What shit did Ella pull?” Matt and Archer practically say at the same time. They look at each other and chuckle.
I sigh and then delve into the story of everything Ella has done over the last few months.
“But she’s not my stalker,” I tell them. “I asked her and she said no.”
Cull scoffs. “Yeah, like you can take her at her word.”
“I agree with Cull,” Matt chimes in. “Besides, I never liked the chick.”
I look at Cullen, then to my two closest friends and frown. “Did none of y’all like Ella?”
Cullen has made his stance clear. I just didn’t know everyone else possibly felt the same way.
Archer looks guilty, but finally rolls his eyes and spits it out. “Fine. I wasn’t a fan, but only because of the pill thing. When youtwo were dating… or whatever it was y’all were doing, I didn’t say anything because I knew she was your friend before any of us.”
“How long did you know about her habit?”
Archer stares off, his eyes squinting. “Maybe since sophomore year? I watched her buy some heavy stuff from a senior at a football game one night. Apparently, kids steal their parents’ scripts and Ella pays them.” He finishes with a shrug.
“That… sucks,” I finally mutter. “I never knew any of that. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I even found out.”
Just goes to show you never really know someone.
Look who’s talking.
“Sorry, babe.” Cullen squeezes my shoulder, then continues on with the conversation, changing the subject back to Mason. “So if it isn’t Ella, then it’s definitely Mason.”
Cullen and Archer bounce theories off of each other while I just sit and listen.
Matt grabs his phone, his brows scrunched as he scrolls.
“You okay, man?” I ask him.
Matt’s head snaps up, his face confused for a moment before it smooths out. “Uh, yeah, sorry. Mom is nagging me to get home to cut the grass before it rains.” He stands and throws the twenty Archer just gave him down on the table. “I’ll see you guys later.”
I check the time on my phone. “We should get going, too. I wanted to stop by the mall.”
We stand, Cullen putting money down for our share of the bill, then head out into the parking lot.
“Hey, we never got around to that double date. What are you and Theo up to next week?” I ask Archer.
A date would be fun, and Theo seemed like a cool guy. The four of us could have a good time hanging out.
Cull nudges me in the ribs and gives me a look.
“Ow, what was that for?”
Archer’s gone pale, lips pressed tight.
“They broke up, Hud,” Cullen tells me.
“You what? Archer, dude, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
He shakes his head and shrugs. “Don’t apologize, Hud. He showed his true colors, and I wasn’t going to stay with someone like that. Especially someone who—you know what? Never mind. He’s not worth talking about.”
The tightness around Archer’s eyes betrays his true feelings, but I let the subject go.
