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“What did your girl say?” I snarled at him.
Ali had never been afraid of me before, and it looked like he wasn’t about to start now. If there were two people in this world that I couldn’t use my intimidation on, it was him and Malia. Granted, I never needed a reason to try before now.
“Excuse you,” he said slowly, peeling my arm off his clavicle. “First of all, no. We aren’t doing this. Second, you can kindly back up and ask me in a nicer tone? Third, how freaking dare you accuse my girlfriend of something like that?”
I gagged at his use of girlfriend. Part of me wanted to keep pretending that Ali and Aria never happened. But when he threw that word around, it made me all itchy and freaked out.
Girlfriend meant commitment. It meant official. It meant someone taking over your life, leaving no time for besties anymore.
“You’ve seen the post?” I asked, taking a step back. He stopped glaring at me, his face turning more compassionate and maybe even a bit worried. If anyone would catch me when I was mid-freak out, it would be Ali. And he was one of the only that could probably talk me down.
“Yup. But you jumping to conclusion island with Aria is kinda pissing me off. What gives, Una?”
“Who else would could have told the Fairy Godmother? She was at your house the other night!” I threw my hands in the air and began pacing, my hand drumming on my thigh. I didn’t mean to take it out on him specifically. He just happened to be there.
Ali crossed his arms and rested against the lockers, propping up one untied boot. “What they said is true then?”
My head whipped around so fast, my own braids smacked me in the face. “What?”
He shrugged, but kept the look on his face neutral. It didn’t matter—I was already in a spiral of doom. “I know you. You wouldn’t be getting all worked up if it wasn’t true.”
I counted to five as I inhaled, trying to get oxygen to reach my lungs and calm my brain at the same time. “I’m not saying anything. Stop reading into things.”
Ali lifted his hands in front of his face, pinkies together, palms facing him as if he were looking at a book. Licking a finger, he pretended to turn the page, trailing the finger left to right until he pointed. “Ah, there it is. Reading into the truth, by Una Nielsen.” He snapped the fake book shut. “Who’s the guy?”
I didn’t answer.
Ali waited a beat, then dropped his arms, putting his hands back into his pockets and raising his shoulders a little, tucking into himself. “Why didn’t you tell me about him? Have you told Mal yet?”
I still didn’t answer him. Anything I said at this point would either be a lie or an excuse, and he deserved neither. Ali was one of my best friends in the world, and I had been hiding this massive secret from him.
At first, it didn’t matter. What I had with Charlie was a direct result of screwing with Ali and Aria, and therefore, no one had to know. It was a contract. A deal. Business.
Until… it wasn’t all business anymore.
I was going out of my mind lately. Was Charlie a deal or was he more? Should I tell Ali or keep it a secret? Did the contract end if I thought I might like Charlie? Did that mean I could spill the beans to my friends? Could Charlie?
There were so many unknowns right now, I couldn’t keep up. Throw the Fairy Godmother into the mix, and everything was getting out of control. And Ihatedfeeling like I wasn’t in control of my own life. I worked hard to cultivate everything just the way I wanted it, and when things went sideways, it threw me off completely.
All of this? Was more than sideways. It took a nosedive off a cliff.
“Una?” Ali said softly, pushing off the lockers and taking a step toward me.
Tears prickled at the side of my eyes. Was I… was I about tocry? I couldn’t remember the last time I cried. And over something stupid like Charlie?
He wasn’t stupid. That wasn’t what I meant. What was stupid was me getting upset people found out the truth and I couldn’t stop it.
Because itwastrue.
“I’ll see you later,” I whispered, pushing Ali away with one hand before bolting in the opposite direction. He called after me, but I didn’t stop.
I ran to my car, settling in the driver’s seat, but not moving.
What was happening to me? Why did I suddenly care so much? I used to live my life without caring about anyone, and now everything was all flipped upside down.
I took out my phone and instinctively swiped open to my messages. It was second nature to shoot off a text to someone when I was in crisis mode.
Usually, if it were a business issue, I messaged Flow or Jett.
