{19} ✔️

Billie's POV

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Dahlia's hysterical laughter turned into hysterical sobbing and then back to hysterical laughter every few minutes for at least an hour until she went from that to falling asleep and then jolting awake and then falling asleep and then jolting awake.

After I'd gotten here, she'd explained everything after calming down. From the Facebook post to what she and her mom had said to each other today to what her mom had done to her and her siblings when they were younger to what her dad had said to her mom. I can't even begin to imagine going through any of that. It was overwhelming for me to even just sit there and listen. None of it sounded real, and it all sounded terrible.

Dahlia had been forced to tell her family about what was going on, and it was awkward and she was obviously very embarrassed and ashamed, but they were really understanding. She'd talked with her dad about the whole thing for a couple hours and that seemed to uplift her for a short time before she was back to crying hysterically.

Now we're in her room. 1:30 am, now officially Sunday. The walking dead playing on the tv, but neither of us are watching. Dahlia's too busy scrolling through all the comments on Kai's stupid post to pay attention to anything. I sighed as I leaned over to read with her.

Wow I had no idea she was gay!

You're really wrong for this, Kai. You shouldn't have outed her or posted this pic. Smh delete this.

Damn Billie beat yo fuckin ass up. I can't believe you were able to type after the way she stomped on ur head lmaooo

Yikes

At least her tits are nice ?

Literally why would you post something like this? Not only is it wrong for all the obvious reasons, but damn bitch yo whole family on Facebook. Weirdo shit.

How she gonna cheat on you like that? You're literally amazing.

The comments just went on and on, and Dahlia read every one. I wish she'd stop, but she refused.

"This has been the worst day of my life, probably." She mumbled after a while. I squeezed her tighter than I already was in response. "Billie, can I ask you something?"

"Of course." I nodded.

"I know this situation is already shitty and maybe I should just let everything calm down before I react but...If I knew a way to get back at Kai, would you help me?"

"Absolutely." I grinned.

"Well, when I think of one I'll definitely be letting you know."

***

Dahlia's POV

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I woke up around noon and Billie was still asleep so I decided to get up and take a shower. After grabbing a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, I went into the bathroom and turned the water on to let it heat up.

I feel pretty good today, actually. I feel like maybe I should still be really sad about everything that happened, but I'm honestly not that upset anymore.

Maybe it's because I'd finally talked to my family about what was happening and I know they support me, they're not judging me, and they've got my back. Maybe it's because I'd finally gotten to confront my mom and say everything I'd wanted to say to her, and maybe it's because my dad finally knew the truth about what she did to us. Maybe it's because Billie spent the night holding me. Every time I woke up she was there, squeezing me tightly and silently reminding me that I'm not alone.

My naked picture is still all over Facebook and I'm pretty sure everyone at my school has seen it, but...shit happens? I don't know, maybe I'm just ready to move on from this whole situation already.

I hopped in and out of the shower as quickly as I possibly could and then got changed into my new outfit, throwing the dirty one into the hamper on my way out. When I walked into my room, Billie was already up, snooping around. I leaned against the door as I watched her, a smirk resting on my face.

"Fucking Mario Kart?" She whispered to herself. "I wish I had Mario Kart. I wish I had a Wii."

"You can come over and play mine anytime you want." I giggled as she jumped and threw the game down, her cheeks turning red as she realized she'd just been caught.

"S-Sorry, I was bored."

"That's okay." I shrugged, plopping down on my bed.

"How are you doing today?" She questioned gently as she came to stand in front of me. I smiled, reaching out to grab her hand and pull her closer. "I actually feel a lot better. Yesterday was a lot, but I think it helped me release some of my stress. How are you feeling? I know this is a lot for you too."

"I'm feeling...Guilty as shit. Still. Obviously, if I had told you about the picture this might not have happened."

"Stop beating yourself up," I poked her side and then got up on my knees so that I could give her a peck on the lips. I wrapped my arms around her neck and sighed as I felt her put hers around my waist. "You were just trying to keep me from stressing about it. It was pretty dumb, but you didn't expect any of this to happen. It's okay."

She looked like she was about to argue, so I quickly leaned forward and gave her another kiss, this one longer than the last. God, she's a great kisser.

Once I pulled away, I bit my lip before smiling at her and then hopping off the bed. "So, what do you want to do today? I mean, do you need to get home or—"

"No, I can stay with you!" She interrupted quickly. "If you're up to it, I was thinking maybe we could spend the day together? You know, maybe go somewhere to eat and then maybe the mall since the last time we went we weren't exactly talking. And then we can do whatever else you want."

"Sounds really fun! I'll talk to my dad about it...Damn, I have to change..." I sighed as I looked down at my comfortable outfit. That didn't last very long.

She laughed and shook her head before lying down on the bed. "Let me know when you're ready to go."

She closed her eyes again and I stood in front of my room door, hating to leave. She looks so amazing and it's so effortless. She's mesmerizing, honestly. I shook my head before leaving the room to find my dad and ask him if we could go out today.

***

My dad was fine with me and Billie spending the day out of the house, but after talking to him I honestly didn't want to. He was so obviously upset about what he'd found out yesterday. I could tell that he'd been up all night, probably crying, because he looked beyond tired and his face was all blotchy and his eyes red. I wanted to stay with him, talk to him, tell him that everything's okay now and that Valerie is officially out of our lives now so all is good, but he insisted that I go out and try to get my mind off of everything. He promised we'd talk about everything sometime in the near future, but for now, he wanted me to go out and enjoy myself.

After our short talk, I'd gone back to my room and changed into a new outfit. A nice, large shirt paired with my chunky white high heel boots.

I took a few minutes to straighten my hair and then put on some light makeup before grabbing my purse and running out to the car, an excited Billie not far behind me.

We had to drive back to her house before we could go eat because even though I'd offered to let her borrow some of my clothes, she'd insisted on getting some of her own to wear. "Your clothes are cute but too small."

We're about the same size, but Billie always has to wear her oversized clothes, ten rings, and twenty chains. Even my oversized clothing wasn't big enough, in her opinion.

After changing her clothes, we started to head to the nearest IHOP which happened to be twenty minutes away. She rolled the windows down and turned the radio up a little, and it was so peaceful. After a few minutes, I looked down at my phone and decided to reply to a few texts. Mostly just Caden and Cadence, updating them on some of the things that had happened and how I was feeling. I promised to fill them completely in on everything the next time we saw each other in person, but I didn't mention when that would be. They're my best friends and I know they've got my back and they just want to help me, but I'm not ready to face them. Right now the only people I want to see are my family and Billie.

I replied to some of the people who'd gotten my number because we're in clubs together, the ones who'd sent their apologies and tried to make me feel better. I ignored and deleted the texts from people who were just being rude.

By the time we got to IHOP, I was starving. I hadn't eaten anything at all yesterday, there'd been too much going on.

"I have no idea what to get," I muttered, staring at the menu with wide eyes. When I was younger, mom forced me and my siblings to go to church every Sunday and it was absolutely miserable, but my dad always took us to IHOP after to make it up to us. I'd practically forgotten about that until now. I don't think I've eaten here since a few months before they got divorced. It used to be my favorite—and after staring at this menu for just a few seconds, it's obvious why. "I used to love getting omelets...they're my favorite. But pancakes! And bacon! I don't know what to choose..."

Billie chuckled at me before calling the waitress over. "Yeah, so this is a big order. Can we get three chocolate chip pancakes, three blueberry pancakes, three original buttermilk pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese, a country style omelet, an English muffin with jam, three hash browns with avocado, grits, mixed fruit, a glass of orange juice, and a glass of apple juice?"

By the time Billie had finished ordering my mouth was practically on the ground. Not only was that a whole shit ton of food, but she'd actually ordered pretty much all my favorite things to eat here. How in the hell did she do that?

The waitress wrote it all down quickly and told us she'd have it out as soon as she could before walking away.

"What the fuck?" I whisper yelled as I stared at her smug face. "That's so much food, Billie, I'm gonna fuck around and spend all my money here—"

"Oh, you thought I was gonna let you spend a dime today?" She tilted her head and let out a small laugh. "Cute."

"Billie fucking Eilish I'm not gonna let you pay for every—"

"Nobody lets me do anything. I do what I want." She winked. "While you were talking to your dad I asked Denver where I should take you to eat and he told me you loved IHOP when you were younger and that all those foods I just ordered were your favorites..." she looked down and furrowed her brows as she counted on her fingers. "I hope I didn't leave anything off. I think he said you don't like oatmeal, right?"

I smiled softly, practically melting right on the spot. "Right." I confirmed quietly, staring into her beautiful blue orbs. I can't believe she remembered all that. I can't believe she'd even bothered to ask.

It took a while, but soon enough the waitress was bringing out our food. Billie hungrily grabbed her hash-browns, grits, fruit, and muffin and I stared at all the food she'd ordered me with wide eyes and a wider mouth. I didn't know what to touch first.

I decided I'd go ahead and dig into the pancakes. I moaned softly and closed my eyes as the first forkful fell into my mouth. The pancake was so damn soft...there was just enough butter on it and I'd slathered on a shit ton of syrup. The chocolate chips were melting on my tongue...Fuck, this is heaven.

I opened my eyes and blushed as I saw Billie staring at me as she pushed her fork around in her grits. "You keep making those sounds and we might have to go home early." She grinned.

I coughed a little after swallowing the pancake before I was ready. She laughed before shoving some of her own food in her mouth.

I tried to not look absolutely disgusting as I slyly shoveled food into my mouth, but I've always been a messy eater and I'm pretty sure today is no exception, especially with how hungry I am.

I was finishing up my fourth pancake and half my omelet before either of us said anything again. "Thank you so much for this, Billie. This is already a great day." I grinned.

"It's no problem. Anything for you, baby."