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Ashen sits back the entire time, arms crossed and a smug grin on his face. This is all hilarious to him, and nothing but embarrassing for me. Still, I humor her. Maybe because part of me feels sorry for her. Yes, I want her miserable. I’m not heartless though. Not entirely.
Even though she’s laughing right now, acting way too fucking happy, beneath it all, I can see how deeply wounded she is. There’s something in her eyes that gives her away. A flicker of pain she’s trying to bury under that soft smile.
Sumner is good at pretending. Most people wouldn’t catch it.
It’s all I can see.
And if I had to guess, I’d say this whole thing—birthdays, celebrations, whatever—means something different to her. Something heavier.
So, no. I don’t need to be the one to hurt her now, not when she’s already hurting herself.
When the sun begins to fall, my brother calls it a night, leaving me alone with Sumner again. We sit quietly for a while, finishing the last of our celebratory food across from each other on the back deck.
“How did you end up liking the Centennial?” I ask. It was my intention not to bring it up, but it’s been gnawing at me. The whole time Ashen was here, he kept looking up at her, and she’d glanced his way too, on more than one occasion. And where the fuck were they all night? Neither one of them came back inside after stepping out to “get some air.”
“It was fine.”
“And after the party?”
“More enjoyable than the party itself.”
Does every answer need to be so damn vague? “Why?”
“What’s with the sudden interest in my life?”
“Only curious as to why you never came back.”
“You’re keeping tabs on me now?”
“It was just a little hard not to notice you pasted to my best friend.”
“Ashen came up to me,” she says, her tone defensive. “And I don’t see how that should matter to you anyway.”
“A guy comes up to you, so you take him home ten minutes later? Feels a little desperate is all.”
She lets out a laugh, shaking her head. “Are you trying to insinuate something?”
“I don’t know. Is there something to insinuate?”
“You wanna know if I slept with your friend? Is that it? If I left with him for the full purpose of spreading my legs?”
I take in a deep breath. “Did you?”
Her anger is at full force now, shining through her earlier soft eyes. There’s a crease between her brows, a frown staining her lips. “Why don’t you ask him what happened?” She stands up, ready to leave, but stops to look at me once more. “And what if I did hook up with him? My sex life isn’t any of your business.” She turns toward her house, mumbling, “Yours should keep you busy enough,” under her breath.
“The fuck does that mean?”
“It’s not like you weren’t three seconds from screwing blue hair against the wall for the world to see. I’ve gotta tell ya, I didn’t want to see it the first time, sure as hell didn’t need another visual.”
“If you’re referring to when I asked you to come over, I’ve already told you, I didn’t know you were going to be here that early. I wasn’t intending for you to see anything.”
“I don’t care, Rhenn. I don’t care about you or your perfect girlfriend or any of your asshole friends.”
“Then why did you do all this today?”
“Because I’m tired of fighting. It’s exhausting dealing with you guys. There’s no break, because you’re all everywhere. At the cove, at the store, where I freaking sleep. It’s constant, and I just wanted it to be over. I thought if I tried, maybe you would too.”
Her cheeks flush pink. Even her breathing shifts. Sumner looks like she’s holding back tears.
