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“It’s complicated, Cele.” I groan.
She walks over, placing our mugs on the coffee table, and sits on the opposite end of the tiny little loveseat.
“I’m not trying to upset you. I’m just trying to understand.”
I shift to sit up and grab my coffee, slowly sipping on the steaming piece of heaven. After a few moments of silence, I give her my truth.
“He used to be my best friend. I was young, naive, and trusted the boy with the ocean-blue eyes who lost his parents, too. The night my sister died, some things happened that I’d rather not get into tonight, but the short story is… I went to him for help, and instead of helping me, he betrayed me for his so-calledbrothers.He didn’t even think twice about it.”
I lean back and take a deep breath.
“Does he know? Like, does he know what happened to you?” she whispers her question, sincerity swimming in her eyes.
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. Does it make me a coward that I don’t really want to know? If he did… If they did…” My eyes close on their own accord.
The pain of just the idea of them knowing tears at my soul. I’ve done everything possible to forget the fact that they’re even tied to two of my tormentors. A secret that I still keep from Celeste.
But I haven’t forgotten.
The picture of my proof is still burning in my phone, but I haven’t had the balls to look at it again. I just want to pretend that I don’t know. So far, nothing has happened. I haven’t made my presence known to any of them. Maybe I can get through Stratham U without ever having to face them… just maybe.
“Of course not.” She leans back to join me and breathes deeply. “I know it’s none of my business, but I really think you should just talk to him. Tell him the truth and take it from there. You never know. He could be a completely different person than the boy you knew.”
“Or he could be exactly the same. He is a Knight, after all,” I reply.
Her head swings in my direction, never leaving the sofa. “I can see the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching. You care for him.”
I snicker at her comment. “No. I don’t.” But as soon as those three words leave my lips, I can feel the lie.
She continues to stare at me expectantly, and I’m the first one to look away.
I feel her sit up to reach for her mug as she chuckles. “I just can’t figure out whether you’re lying to me or to yourself.”
I let her words play in my head for a millisecond before I shut it down. Time for a new subject.
“Anyway…” I exaggerate the word. “So, Taylor. You sleeping with him yet?”
She chokes on the coffee she’s sipping. “What the fuck, Evelyn, seriously?”
I roll my eyes in smug satisfaction. “Ah, so you are.”
“Fuck off, asshole. The answer is no. It’s never gonna happen.”
I laugh out loud. “Now who’s lying?”
Celeste goes still, and I watch her face fall for the briefest of moments before shaking out of whatever thoughts haunt her.
“Hey… how are you doing, really?” I ask, realizing that it’s been exactly a year since she was assaulted, and she hasn’t mentioned anything.
Truth is, up until a second ago, she’s been acting closer to who she was before that night. I wonder if that’s what’s stopping her from going further with Taylor.
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Now it’s my turn to side eye her. “You know why. It’s Halloween. You gonna tell me you haven’t thought about it?”
“God, what I would give to forget,” she mumbles, and wraps her arms around herself.
“It’s okay, Cele. We don’t have to get into it tonight. I just want to know you’re okay.”
