Chapter 48

Chapter 48

Harper

“I think I'm going to be sick,” I say to Sadie the second she answers her

phone.

“Why? What's going on?”

I'm huddled on my bed, looking out my window to the backyard where

the boys are all sitting around the table, smoking weed.

Everyone except for Easton.

After he told me to go back in my room, a few minutes later I heard his

engine rev and I watched him drive away and he hasn't returned. And

now Blake is sitting next to Ryan, the seat Easton had been in.

But I've still been watching, waiting, hoping he comes back.

“Blake saw us,” I whisper, even though none of the boys can hear me.

“Saw who?"

“Me and Easton, kissing in the doorway of my bedroom.”

“Whoa.”

“And Easton and Blake got into it and Blake asked me who I liked

kissing more.”

"What did you say?”

I run my hand over my forehead, my pick so obvious to both of us.

“Nothing, Easton saved me before I had to answer. Sadie, this is a total

nightmare.”

“No, a nightmare will be if Blake tells Ryan. Do you think he’s going to?”

The thought has been haunting me and I don't know what to do about

it. I definitely can't go downstairs and ask Blake, that'll just be weird.

And I don't want to ask my

brother to come upstairs so we can talk, that will be even weirder.

When Ryan hears I've made out with both of his best friends, he's going

to kill me.

"Oh God," I groan, rocking over my bed. “I hope not.”

“What's happening now? Where are the boys?” I fill her in on the

logistics of everyone, and then she asks, “How long has Easton been

gone?”

1 glance at the screen of my phone to check the time. “About twenty

minutes. Maybe a little more.”

“You need to call Easton and find out what happened once the boys

went downstairs. Before you get into Ryan's car tomorrow morning for

school, you need to know what you're walking into-whether he’s

oblivious or pissed out of his mind.”

My heart is pounding so loud, I can hear it.

I can also hear the choice of words my brother is going to scream at me

when the time finally comes. Blake or Easton-I don’t know which one

he'll be angrier about.

“You're right,” I tell her. “I'm going to call him right now.”

“Call me back the second you hang up with him.”

“Okay,”

“Wait.”

I freeze, my stomach lurching at the thought that there might be more.

I hold my breath and say softly, “What?”

“Who's at your house?”

In case anything has changed in the last few minutes, I gently lift the

curtain to take another peek outside. “Just the boys-Blake, Ryan, and

the usual crew. Why?”

I could hear her smiling. “Just checking, you know, for stalker

purposes.”

I'm having a mental breakdown and my best friend is concerned there

might be a girl here, vying for Ryan's attention.

I can't even with her.

“I wish you could see how hard I'm rolling my eyes.” I make sure my

voice shows how annoyed I am. “I'll call you in a sec. Bye.”

I disconnect our call and find Easton in my Contacts, holding the phone

to my face as it rings.

“Why am I not surprised to see Miss Desperate is calling,” a girl says

into the phone. “How many times a day do you call Easton? A

hundred?”

I check my screen to make sure I've called the right number. My

stomach drops when I see that I have.

“God, you're so pathetic, Harper,” she continues, “you'll do anything for

attention, won't you?”

I don't need to ask who it is.

I know.

And now that my stomach has lowered as far as it will go, it starts to

churn.

“Aisha, why are you answering Easton's phone?”

My chest aches as every possibility begins to run through my head

He was just at my house

and now, he’s with her?

Like a switch, he just keeps flipping between us.

Each time, my heart breaks a little more.

“Easton is"-she giggles so loudly, "tied up at the moment. Or, should I

say, I've tied him up. But his mouth is far too busy to speak to you.”

His . mouth?

The same one that was between my legs tonight.

The same one that made me come so hard, I saw stars.

And now ... he's licking her?

I really am going to be sick.

“Ahhh,” she moans. It's the same sound I made when he was going

down on me. “Easton, oh my God, that feels so good. Don't stop.”

I can't believe I'm hearing this.

I can't believe he's doing that to her.

I can't believe he let her answer his phone while they're in the middle of

hooking up.

My entire body starts to shake.

“Miss Desperate ...” She pauses to release these tiny bursts of air, the

same way! do when he’s sucking my nipples. “I'm going to have his

mouth tied up for a very long time, so don't hold your breath, it may be

a while before he calls you back.”

Tears fill my eyes

My mouth waters.

And the phone goes dead.

I can't remember anything ever hurting this badly. Not the words that

were spray painted on my locker or on the cars. Not even seeing Easton

and Aisha in the hallway together.

This is a burning that shoots fire through every part of me.

Why would he do this to me?

Why do I let him continuously hurt me?

Over and over again?

With trembling hands, I call Sadie, the tears really flowing by the time

she answers and says, “What did he say?”

My breath quivers through my lips. “I d-didn't get to t-talk to him-m.” I

wipe the

bottoms of my cheeks before the drips fall onto my chest.

“Babe, why are you crying? What happened?”

“He,” I begin, but swallow as a wave of nausea comes over me, “was

eating 0-out Aisha and s-she’s the one who answered.”

"He was WHAT?"

I bend my knees and hold them against my chest, wrapping an arm

around them. I bury my face and close my eyes, trying my best to

breathe. “I hate him,” I cry. “I hate him more than anything in this

world.”

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