Stay With Me (She's With Me #2) - Jessica Cunsolo Page 0,66

her hands, putting her feet on the bed and resting her head on her knees. Aiden and Noah both look at me, silently pleading with me to take control of the situation.

I throw them a bone. “Why don’t you guys go see where everyone else is?”

The boys don’t hesitate to run out of the room as fast as they possibly can, closing the door behind them and barely giving us a second glance. Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at their ridiculousness, I sit down beside Charlotte and put my arm around her. I don’t say anything, I just let her cry and feel whatever emotions she needs to feel.

“I’m a horrible friend,” she says once she calms down a bit.

“You’re not a horrible friend, Char.”

She puts her feet back on the floor and shifts on the bed to face me. “But I am! Chase is my best friend and he’s never going to even be able to look at me again. He hates me now.”

I always thought Charlotte was oblivious to Chase’s feelings for her. Did she always know?

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” I reassure her as she wipes the tears off her face. “Why do you think that?”

“He walked in on me and Noah. And the way he reacted …” She sighs. “He has feelings for me, doesn’t he?” she finishes in a small voice, looking down at her hands in her lap.

A small part of my brain wants to yell Duh! but the other part says I shouldn’t be a hypocrite. Apparently, everyone knew that Mason was in love with me and I had no idea, or maybe I just didn’t want to accept it, so I can’t blame Charlotte for not knowing about Chase.

“Did you really have no idea?” I ask her gently.

“No? I mean yes?” She huffs out an agitated breath. “Maybe?”

A corner of my lip turns up. “Maybe?”

“Well, I don’t know! Sometimes Drunk Chase says things, but we all know Drunk Chase is a different person. It was never confirmed. It still isn’t.”

“That wasn’t confirmation enough?” I tease.

“I guess I’ll have to have a real conversation with him when he gets back from wherever he went off to,” she says.

What they’ll talk about and what she’ll tell him, I’m not sure.

“What about Noah?” I ask.

“I don’t know.”

She doesn’t know? She was ready to fool around with him and she doesn’t know how she feels about him?

“I know you’re dying to ask, but no, we haven’t slept together before. If Chase didn’t walk in that probably would’ve been our first time together.”

She tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, still looking down at her lap. It’s so weird seeing Charlotte like this. She’s usually so happy and cheery and filled with life. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look this sad or conflicted.

“It wasn’t planned. It just kind of happened.” She pauses. “Okay, I guess nothing really happened, but you know what I mean.”

I nod. Everyone knows you don’t need to be in love with someone to have some fun with them, as long as everyone consents.

“Do you think Noah has any feelings for you?” I can’t stop myself from asking. I never thought Noah had feelings for Charlotte, but then again, I never thought to look.

She sighs. “I don’t think so? I think we were just having some fun, and one thing led to another. But now Chase’s feelings are hurt. What am I going to say to him?”

I don’t know what to say to make her feel better, if there even is something I can say to make her feel better. I settle for what I think is best.

“You’ll figure out what you want eventually. It may be bad right now, but everything will settle down. Chase won’t stay mad forever. Just follow your heart.”

She’s not looking at me, but I look away from her so she can’t see the hypocrisy in my eyes. If only I could take my own advice. I still have the weight of telling Mason about our parents and telling Aiden about my leaving hanging over my head, but I’m not planning on doing either of those anytime soon.

16

My grumbling stomach wakes me up earlier than I would like the morning after the whole Chase and Noah thing. Everyone is still sleeping as I tiptoe down the stairs to fix some breakfast, the early morning sun streaming through the windows lighting my way.

When I get to the bottom of the stairs I pause. There’s a form