Agony(Entangled Hearts Duet #1) - Kaylee Ryan Page 0,15
which is why I didn’t know. I’d prefer to not have the imagery of her with anyone else in my head. I can’t have her, but neither can they. I know my thought process is fucked. I’m fully aware. She’s going to hate my answer, but I give it to her anyway. “Janie.” I clear my throat. “Senior prom.” She nods like she had a good idea, but I can see the hurt in her eyes.
“You’re up,” she says, standing from her chair. “I’ll be right back. I need to use the restroom.” Her steps are hurried as she walks away, and I didn’t miss the crack in her voice.
“You fucked up,” Levi says.
“I wasn’t going to lie to her.”
“It should have been her,” Hank chimes in, ever so helpful.
“She’s my best friend.”
“Then go after her,” Tessa says, none too kindly.
“Yeah, I’m skipping my turn,” I say, standing and heading toward the house. I block out anything else they might say as I go in search of Reese. She’s not anywhere downstairs, and her car is still parked out front. Not that I thought she would leave. She’s smart enough not to drink and drive. Taking the steps two at a time, I check the bathroom, but she’s not there. Slowly, I push open my bedroom door to find her curled up in a ball on my bed. Her legs are hidden under my sweatshirt, as tears from her eyes coat my pillow.
My heart lurches in my chest. I hate that my actions, my truth caused her tears. Agony. That’s what I feel watching her swipe at her tears.
“Go away, Coop.”
“No.” I step into the room, close the door, and turn the lock. I don’t need anyone coming in here and making this any worse than I’ve already done on my own. I need some privacy to talk to her about this. No matter how badly I just want to ignore it and wish that we could erase the last fifteen minutes and make it disappear.
I kick off my shoes and climb into the bed beside her. “Reese,” I whisper.
“I’m fine, Cooper. Just give me a few minutes.”
“No. You’re hurting because of me, and I won’t leave you like this.”
“I was there. I knew that you took her to prom.”
“I’m sorry.” I don’t know what else to say. “It was pretty much like you and Joey.” I swallow hard, even thinking about my friend and her together causes me pain. “It was a means to an end. We were both curious and wanted to see what the hype was about. That’s it. Joey was my friend,” I say was because I’m not sure I can forgive him for this.
When she rolls over, her red-rimmed eyes find mine. “I’m sorry too. I have no right to be upset. I guess I just assumed that it didn’t happen. I mean, Janie never said a word about it. She went on her merry way, acting as if life was normal.”
“We weren’t together. She was my date, Joey was yours. It was just something that happened.”
“We all stayed at my house that night. How did I not know?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” If I would have known that she and Joey were doing… that, I would have stopped him. Stopped them. I don’t know how, but I know that the thought of her with him kills me. Not because Joey’s a bad guy. No. In fact, I suggested he ask her. I knew that he would be good to her. If I only knew then what I know now.
“Did he hurt you?”
“What? No. Of course not. Why would you ask me that?”
“Because the thought of him or anyone forcing themselves on you makes me cagey.” I give her wide eyes, trying to lighten the mood.
A small smile pulls at her lips. “Yeah, I know the feeling. Janie?” she asks.
“It was nothing.”
She nods. “Yeah, that’s pretty much how it was with us too. Afterward, we both looked at each other and started laughing. We were both super nervous, but he was… good to me.”
“I wish you would have told me,” we both say at the same time.
“It’s weird, you know? Talking to you about it. That’s not really what we do.” She gives me a look that I can’t describe. If I didn’t know better, I would call it yearning.
“Yeah, I guess we can agree to not discuss these things in the future. Just promise me something.”