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"Which decision?" Ela asked.
Anver's eyes swept over everyone at the table. "Us. Friendships and forgiveness. Guys, we all heard what she said. I promise that I had no idea she'd set me up. I actually believed that Ciella had bullied her. I mean, she'd been the one to call rape when Ciella grabbed my dick in the hall. It made Ciella have to take those consent courses!"
"I remember that," I said. "I also never saw Tishlie and Ciella together. I didn't think they were friends."
"No one did," Ela promised. "But Tishlie's the kind of person who probably wished they were. All it would've taken was Ciella having some brilliant idea to screw us over, needing help, and Tishlie offering. Then it explains their friendship now."
"But I should've seen something," Anver said. "I spent so much time with Tish. I should've known she was using me like that, and I never did. I made mistake after mistake, and the truth is that only half of them were her fault. The rest?" He looked over at me. "I screwed up."
"We were kids," I reminded him.
"But it still hurt. For both of us. All of us!" He sighed and looked down to push some food across his plate. "Zeal said he doesn't want to make any of us feel like wehaveto work together because of him. That whether you forgive me or not is entirely your decision, and he said he's learned to stay out of it, basically." Anver chuckled. "I think humans confuse him a little, but yeah. It, um, kinda took me a bit to get up the nerve to come say something. I just feel like an idiot, and I couldn't figure out how to start."
"But you're here now," Ela told him. "I've missed you, Anver."
"I missed all of you too," he said. "When I knocked on the door and no one answered? I thought you were brushing me off, refusing to even talk to me. I mean, I get it. That session wasn't good, and I'm pretty sure we all walked away from it with a lot on our minds."
"Yeah, that I was stupid," I said. "I mean, that was the part that hurt the most, that I thought you didn't even try to talk to me. It felt like you'd found Tishlie and just threw the rest of us away, and it was so out of character for you."
"But none of us," Wraythe added, "realized what she was doing. We never saw Tishlie try to keep you from us. It always felt likeyoupullingheraway."
"Because she's not stupid," Anver said. Then he grunted. "Ok, she is stupid, but not completely. She knows how to use people. She knows how to play naive and innocent, and she uses that to her advantage. With all that said, sheisdumb, though, and we all knew that, so we assumed she couldn't do something like this."
"But Ciella was helping," Ela said. "That was the piece we all missed. Ciella helped her set it up, and that bitch is devious and conniving. Anver, I don't blame you."
"I don't either," I added. "I was so hurt, but it wasn't your fault. I just... I got hurt, and then I got mad."
"And I got protective," Wraythe added. "It was easier to be mad at you than worried about you."
Talin, sitting at the end, said nothing. He hadn't been there. He'd only heard our side of things, but he was watching us all as if he was ready to step in if things got out of hand. From the way he looked at Anver, I got the feeling Talin liked the guy. As a friend, at least. Or maybe it was a bit of respect? Either way, it was neither hate nor disgust.
Anver just pushed out a breath. "But I still messed up," he said. "Trust me, I've replayed those days over and over. I should've demanded to know what I'd done wrong. I should've said that I wasn't comfortable with what you were doing. I should've done something, and I didn't. I'm not saying it was all my fault. I'm saying that I'm not without guilt, and I know it."
"Neither are we," I reminded him. "How many times were we short with you, cut you out, or made you feel unwelcome because you'd been gone too long? We all made mistakes, but I'm honestly sorry. I missed you, and..." I looked at Ela, then Wraythe. "I think we all have. I know we can't just go back to how things were, but where do we go from here?"
"Friends?" Anver asked. "I think that's a good place to start, and I don't give a shit whether or not Tish likes it. Come over if you want. Doesn't matter if that's to study, to talk, or anything else."
"That goes both ways," I said. "Besides, we do have the nicer rooms."
"Yeah, you do," he laughed. "It's still too small for the four of you, though. I can't even imagine how you get any rest packed onto that bed."
Talin chuckled. "Well, Wraythe likes to cuddle. If he didn't, someone would be sleeping on the couch, but he does, so it works."
"We try to mix it up, too," Wraythe explained. "Whoever sleeps next to Nari one night takes the edge the next. Thankfully, Ela's the only one who kisses in his sleep."
"You like it," Ela teased. "Just be glad I haven't tried to hump you in my sleep."
"Just when you're awake?" Anver joked.
Ela winked at him. "Pretty much."
"He was drunk," Wraythe explained. "Well, usually. There wasn't exactly an isolated incident."
"And you?" Anver asked Talin.
"Oh, after Ela grabbed me by the ring the first day, I learned to let him have his way." He paused, his eyes narrowing. "You do know Ela and I are, um..."
"Close," Anver said, giving him a safe enough word to use in public. "I guessed," he added. "The way those two swap guardians meant there had to be a little cross connection. I know Wraythe loves her. That means you and Ela needed to have some kind of relationship. I would've said you're meaner, but after last weekend, I'm not sure that's true anymore."
