Eva looksa little irritated as she sits on the edge of my bed, tapping her foot on the floor. “What’s so urgent that couldn’t wait?”
I raise a brow. “I apologize for interrupting your newlywed bliss, but I have something to come clean about to all of you.”
Camilla gives me an encouraging smile.
“Since winter formal, I’ve been sleeping with Elias.”
Adrianna gasps, eyes wide.
Eva, on the other hand, just looks at me like I told her it’s going to rain tomorrow. “About time,” she says.
Both Camilla and Adrianna gawp at her.
“What do you mean, about time?” Camilla asks, looking shocked at Eva’s flippant response.
She shakes her head. “No one could see it, but that boy is fucking head over heels for Nat.”
“He’s always treated her like trash,” Adrianna says.
Eva shrugs. “Haven’t you heard boys are always assholes to the girls they like?”
“Is that how Byrne roped you in?”
“It’s different,” Eva says flippantly. “They’ve known each other since they were teenagers.”
“How did it happen?” Adrianna asks, ignoring Eva’s opinion.
“At first it started with Elias blackmailing me. I can’t tell you what with.”
Adrianna and Eva nod.
“Since then, I don’t know. I kind of find I’m enjoying it, which may sound fucked up.”
Adrianna nods. “Have you forgotten how much of a dick he’s been to you over the years?”
“No,” I say, looking down at my hands in shame.
“Don’t shame her for how she feels,” Eva says, coming to my rescue. “It’s clear there’s more to their relationship than meets the eye.”
I’m thankful that Eva managed to make it here, and I get she’s less shocked because she hasn’t witnessed the things Elias has done to me over the years. He’s stabbed me, bruised me, tripped me countless times in front of people, as well as tormented me mentally. Not to mention, occasionally he’s locked me in classrooms in barely any clothes to be found by my teachers and students alike. He’s a dickhead. I know it more than anyone. So I shouldn’t even be entertaining the idea of forgiveness when it comes to him, and yet I can’t seem to shake the hold he has on me. As if his claws are in so deep now, they’ve become a permanent part of me.
How the hell do I explain that to the two friends here who have been by my side the longest?
I swallow hard, wondering what Giorgia would make of this. She also has seen what Elias put me through. It’s about time I give her call and find out. “I’m going to call Giorgia, see what she thinks.”
Camilla and Adrianna nod. “Good thinking! It’s been ages since we spoke to her,” Adrianna says.
Eva’s brow furrows. “Is that the girl who used to attend here?”
Camilla smiles, but it’s wistful. “Yeah, she got pulled out of the academy last year.” We all miss her.
I video call her and screen it onto my television screen on the wall, knowing that it’s late there in Italy. In fact, they’re seven hours ahead, so it’s like three in the morning.
Finally, she picks up and groans. “Do you realize it’s the middle of the night?” Her sleepy face comes onto the screen.
“Sorry, I just had to get your opinion on something.”
“Right, and it couldn’t wait until a more suitable time.”