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“I’m still not sure what he did, but fuck him,” Ellie said, being supportive despite knowing nothing about my past.
“I had a chosen mate,” I admitted. “We were inseparable. Came home and met my parents, won over all my friends.”
“What happened?” Ellie asked. I hated how gentle she was being... I wasn't fragile, not anymore. The entire encounter ensured I built thicker skin.
“Then his best friend, who wanted to fuck him, something we never saw eye to eye on, told a lie. She said I was cheating and he believed her without an ounce of hesitation. Didn’t let me explain myself, just kicked me out of our place and blocked me on everything,” I said bitterly. Okay, maybe Kat was right, I was holding onto just a little bit of resentment.
“It didn’t end there, they spent the rest of their school year bullying Serenity until she ended up just dropping out and coming home,” Kat said. My best friend sounded angry enough to kill them both.
“What the fuck?” Ellie bit out. “What a fucking twat. Sounds like they deserved each other.”
“They never got together.” Kat’s words had both Ellie and I blinking at her in surprise.
“Wait, what?” I demanded. Kat gave me an apologetic look.
“He hurt my best friend, so I stalk him all the time to make sure he’s miserable. If he’s not… well I find a way to make him that way.”
“What have you done?” Ellie asked, her laughter echoing through the phone.
“I posed as a past employer when he said he had a job interview. Reached out with some concerns about his morals,” she said. For a girl trying to sound innocent, she had an evil gleam in her eye. "Then when he had a flight, I flirted with a guy on the phone and got him to 'accidentally' cancel his flight altogether so when he got to the airport it was a shitshow. Those posts were hilarious to watch roll in."
"You're evil," Ellie said, barking out a laugh.
But I was stuck on the second part of this. That Malia never got with him after she got rid of me. I couldn't wrap my head around it.
“So, you’re telling me she just let it go after she got me out of the picture?” I asked.
“He never gave her a chance from the millions of vague posts she made,” Kat snorted. “She’s married to some corporate guy and looks picture perfect. That probably means she’s miserable and pining for her old bestie.”
“Fuck them,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t even care any more.”
“When you meet your real mates, it’s different. I’m not exactly a normal case because Bear ended up being a mix of the two thanks to his connection to Collin, but you won’t be able to resist them the same,” Ellie said. "Meet up with that private investigator one more time. You might regret it if you don't."
“Look, I’m tired. I’ve got to drive home. I’ll talk to you later.” Before either of them could protest I ended the call and dropped my phone in the front seat.
They were right… I knew it but there was no way I was admitting it. I knew it was irrational to hold onto any of the pain left behind from my past relationship, but I couldn’t seem to shake it.
At the end of the day, I never wanted to feel like that again. So, I kept my barriers in place and only let men get as far as a one night stand or first date.
My apartment was quiet when I walked in and I let out a long sigh. I hated coming back to this place. Or maybe I just hated being left alone with my thoughts. That was the exact reason why most nights that I didn’t have a girls’ night I’d fill it with a date or random hookup.
Dropping my things on the kitchen counter I went straight for my fridge, pulling out a fresh bottle of wine.
My phone was already buzzing but I ignored it as I sipped my wine. Kat was probably apologizing for pushing me too far and sweet Ellie was likely beside herself.
If I didn’t answer, my cousin would be here, demanding I call her back. He took his mate’s happiness seriously and I couldn’t fault him for that. Plus, I loved Ellie.
Finally, I answered the call. Kat’s eyes narrowed at me instead of giving me a greeting.
“We don’t hang up on each other,” she finally said when I didn’t give in, either.
“Untrue. You hung up on me when I asked if you liked Grant,” I said. She tried to hold onto her annoyance but ended up bursting into laughter.
“Just so we’re on the same page… you don’t ask about him, I don’t talk about the past?”
“Exactly,” I said, raising my wine glass to her and taking a sip. Ellie hopped on the call a moment later. Her emerald eyes were worried and I could tell she was near tears.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Ellie said quickly but I stopped her.
