“I slept with Archer’s best friend,” she blurts out.
“Oooooh-ha.” I cross my arms over my chest, smiling. “That’s precious. That’s the boy you don’t remember the night with? Damn, girl.”
“Well, it’s complicated.” She goes quiet, and my patience is gone.
“You know—” I start backing away up the path because I am done with this bullshit. I learned that bullshit and half-stories get you in trouble and create exactly the shit this girl ended up in. “I’m off. Done.” I raise my hands in the air and wipe them against each other as I keep backing away. “Keep your fucking secrets, Callie. Be—”
“It’s Kai,” she blurts out.
I stop.
At first, I don’t understand where Kai comes into place.
She purses her lips. “The boy I spent a night with when I dated Archer. It’s Kai.”
I can’t stop a smile from spreading on my lips as I gape at her. Her arms wrap around her torso, hugging it. She won’t look at me as if I am some fucking moral judge.
“It’s Kai,” she says barely audibly and stares at her feet as she digs the ground with the tip of her foot like she can dig herself out of this story.
I approach slowly. This is five-star soap opera right here. “All right. You can’t tell me a story and omit parts of it.” I won’t deal with bullshit. “You are not eighteen,” I say, knowing that my voice is harsh. “You are a fucking grownup, Callie. And if you want me to stick around for a while, I wanna hear all of it. It’s important, considering, well, that your two ex-boys are in enemy camps. So spill.”
And she starts talking.
I listen.
When she stalls, I ask questions.
When she hesitates, I press on. Because that’s how interrogations work. That’s how you get the full story. I need every detail.
Hers is a story of young elite students getting fucked by mind games and feelings and rivalry and this stupid “oh, he/she can’t possibly like me, so I’m just gonna hang out with her/his best friend.” That’s how you ruin your best years.
And holy shit is it stupid. Like they don’t have common sense.
But she talks.
And talks.
And I let her.
“So he didn’t spike and rape you after all,” I confirm after she is done.
She shakes her head.
“Are you sure?”
Her eyes snap at me, and she gapes.
This doll doesn’t even know what a dick is or where to find it.
“Chill. I’m just making sure,” I calm her. “You like him, huh? Kai?”
“Yeah.” She exhales heavily, but I can tell it’s easier for her to talk now.
“In love?” This question is for me. Others’ love stories are exciting.
She bows her head and doesn’t answer.
Precious.