Page 14 of Tormented Kings
I roll my head to the side to see Alice’s narrowed eyes glaring down at Mia.
“No one,” Mia sighs, moving to sit up. She turns to face Alice. “But I’m going to be marrying a woman someday. I’m gay, remember?” She crawls out of the bed and walks into the bathroom across the hall.
Alice watches her go.
“Girl, you need to shape up before you lose her,” Emma sighs.
Alice’s gaze drifts down to Emma. “What are you talking about?”
Emma looks to the door as she sits up before leaning in to get close to Alice. “Are you blind?” she hisses. “That girl has been in love with you for years. But you're so hung up on getting dick you can’t see it. Or maybe you do, and you don’t feel the same way. And that’s fine, but give the girl a break and let her down if you don’t.”
“Emma,” I warn, eyes flicking to the door and back. “Shut up.”
“No,” Emma growls. “I’m done with all this dancing around. I love you both; you’re both my friend, and I hate seeing eitherof you hurt. I’m not stupid, Alice. I see the way you look at her, and you’re using guys to mask your feelings. It’s okay to want another woman; none of us care.”
Emma pulls the blankets off and storms out of the room.
Alice glares at Emma as she leaves, and my heart sinks as I see tears well in her eyes.
“Fuck her,” her voice cracks. “She doesn’t know anything.”
“Come here.” I move the blanket up, inviting her in to cuddle with me.
Alice wipes at her eyes angrily before moving to cuddle her back to my front. I wrap my arm around her.
“We’re here for you,” I murmur. “We got your back. You can always talk to us. Me or Emma, without Mia around.”
“I know,” she whispers. “You can do the same too, you know.”
I swallow hard. “I know.” My voice cracks. I need to tell them, I have to. Because every day that goes by that I have to keep my past bottled up, it eats at me more and more.
If I’m going to keep adding lies to the pile, I’m going to have to spill some truths to balance it out.
Yeah, Sadie, keep lying to yourself, too; it’s what you do best these days.
“Okay, spill,” Emma demands, leaning back in her chair as she crosses her arms and glares at me the moment I sit down for lunch.
“Spill what?”I blink in confusion as I look around at my best friends.
“You’ve been really weird this whole weekend. You don’t just get drunk for nothing. It’s not like you. Something is eating at you, and we want to know what. We’re your best friends, Dee.We love you beyond compare. We want to be there for you, but we can’t if you don’t talk to us,” Alice explains.
Licking my lips nervously, I look around. I can’t talk about something so serious in the lunchroom.
“Okay.” I nod, a knot growing in my belly. “But not here.”
The girls look at one another before gathering their lunches and standing up. As they follow me out of the cafeteria, we pass the Host Club room.
The door is open, and I risk casting a glance inside. I don’t see the guys, but I do see Tina and her little cronies laughing as they gossip.
Turning my attention away from the door, I quicken my steps until we’re outside.
“Sadie,” Mia says. “You're scaring us. What the hell do you need to tell us that you have to bring us all the way out here?” she asks as we head down the little hill near one of the many ponds on the property.
“Are you going to kill us and feed our bodies to the gators?” Alice asks.
“No.” I snort out a laugh, shaking my head. “We don’t have gators on the property. That’s a safety hazard."
“Shame. I could think of a few people I’d love to feed to a gator,” Emma grumbles.