Chapter 27
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
FRANKIE
I didn’t drink the whiskey. Not at first. It was too damn much, but I held it like it might anchor me.
Like the condensation on the glass could trick my palm into thinking something was steady today.
That my friendships were absolutely detonating around me and that there was something worth salvaging.
I wasn’t so sure on any of these topics.
The truth was a knife in my ribs. Digging. Poking. Prodding. Leaving me to bleed out slowly.
Not because I was ashamed of sleeping with Mathieu— God, no. He had been amazing. That was mine. Ours. Private. It only came out with Jake because we’d been— Fuck I didn’t even know what we’d been about to do. He’d been wrapped around me, then kissing me and it felt so good and then…
Then he stormed out. Angry didn’t seem to even cover it. He’d barely said even two words to me since he left. Now, he took what I told him and turned it into some kind of punchline. A spectacle.
Rachel seemed to be watching me carefully, all sharp lines and silent support.
Archie, on the other hand, wore an expression that looked like he waged an internal debate on whether to say something comforting or scathing.
Honestly, he could probably do both in one laser-focused sentence.
Archie’s intelligence was matched only by the candid, sharp-witted nature of his often-biting commentary.
Frankly, it was a toss-up between Archie and Rachel who could land the most strategic verbal blows.
Mathieu moved closer, cautious as though I might shatter.
I hated that. I hated how small I felt. I’d fought past this all summer and one of the reasons I’d succeeded had been because of Mathieu.
Meeting him, getting to know him, and building this relationship…
it had done more than rebuild my confidence.
“Frankie,” he said in a low voice, his French accent softening each syllable. “I didn’t know he was going to?—”
“How could you?” I said quickly. Too quickly. When I told him about my confession to Jake, I hadn’t hid the circumstances and Mathieu had taken that so damn well. He owed me no apologies.
Jake might have been hurt, and possessive. He might even have been jealous and pissy, in the worst way. But I never would have expected him to attack me so publicly, not even to get at someone else.
“Was it mean?” I had to ask. “Or strategic?”
“What?” Rachel blinked even as Mathieu looked puzzled.
“Jake outing us,” I explained, locking my gaze on Archie’s. “Was it because he wanted to hurt me or was it about humiliating Mathieu?”
“ A little of column A,” Archie said grimly. “And a little of column B. Except… I don’t think he thought before he said it. I don’t think it was that simple. Maybe.”
“It’s not about simplicity,” I continued, not once looking away from Archie.
We didn’t lie to each other. Not when it mattered.
There were little lies, little mistruths about day-to-day stuff.
But the big things? Archie never lied, not when I asked him straight out and I’d done my damnedest to do the same thing.
It might be weird to the others, but it worked for me and Archie.
“It matters because if it was just about hurting me, then it was because Jake was angry.” Then I could deal with that.
Deal with Jake. “If it was about humiliating Mathieu and not giving a damn that I was collateral, then it’s a lot worse. ”
“They’re both bad, Frankie,” Rachel murmured in a voice that was both sympathetic and empathetic.
She wasn’t wrong except… “I know. But only one of those means he’s not done yet.”
Archie sighed and I read the answer right there in the anger in his eyes. It was definitely both. Jake had been— was —angry with me. But he also wanted to punish Mathieu. He was far from being done.
Disappointment was a living, breathing burn in my stomach. Mathieu brushed his hand against my shoulder, supportive. Present.
Before any of us could say anything further, the door to the study swung open again.
Jake stood there, jaw tight and expression unreadable. Coop hovered right behind him, his gray-green eyes were fixed on me and filled with apology. Bubba stood back, his arms folded and his expression grim. Neither of them wanted to be there with Jake. Not right now.
Probably didn’t want to be painted with the same brush.
Jake swept the room with a glance, pausing only when he got to me. His eyes cooled as he focused on me. He blew out a breath then his gaze dipped to the glass in my hand. “Really?” He sliced at me with one word. “You’re going for hard liquor now?”
“Watch it, Jake.” Rachel surged forward, getting between me and Jake like a lioness. “You already set fire to one bridge tonight. Maybe avoid torching whatever you have left.”
He barely even paused on her, his gaze staying fixed on me. “Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“I did tell you,” I snapped. God, he made me so mad. “Or correction, I tried to tell you. Then you decided to be a bitch about it and tell everyone else.”
Jake flinched like I’d slapped him.
“But to be clear,” I continued. “It was my business. Mine and Mathieu’s. Not yours. Not yours to give permission or to pass judgment or to announce to everyone in the damn senior class. You want to flaunt your sexcapades, feel free. I know none of you are shy.”
Bubba winced and Coop’s mouth tightened. I couldn’t see Archie from where I faced Jake, but I could imagine his expression.
“So—you just decide to act like none of this affects me?”
I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth. “How do I say this?” A part of me wanted to make peace, to smooth this over, because that was better than fighting. I hated fighting. But when Jake snorted while glaring at me, I lost that particular battle. “I don’t care.”
Those three words slashed through the air between all of us.
“I don’t care how it affects you. Just like you didn’t give a damn about how you sleeping with Maria or Sharon or Laura or Patty or any of those girls affected me.”
“Bullshit—” It was Jake who snapped this time, stalking forward, but I was too damn angry to back off. Not now.
“Why?” I demanded, glaring at him. “Because I’m a girl ? Does that make the rules different for me?”
Jake clenched his hands into fists at his side. “You slept with him.” He practically spat out the words.
Mathieu took a slow, measured step forward until he was right at my side. Jake might outweigh him and have more muscle mass, but Mathieu didn’t back down at all. “You just wanted to make me look foolish.” It wasn’t a question. “It never occurred to you that it would hurt Frankie, did it?”
A muscle twitched in Jake’s jaw, but he didn’t answer.
“Guess we can take that a yes,” Rachel said with a sigh.
The pounding of my heart was a dull beat in my throat. It had slowed from anxious racing to just sick little thuds. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to slap Jake, punch him, throw my drink in his face, or just run away and cry.
Honestly, at the moment, it might have been all of the above. He looked at me again, something raw in his eyes now. Not rage. Not jealousy. Just a hollow realization. God, we were so shattered.
All of us.
He opened his mouth, then closed it. One harsh exhale later, he said, “I didn’t mean for it to go that far.”
Silence stripped us all bare.
“But you did,” I said, all the tears I didn’t want to shed clogging my throat. As much as I believed he didn’t mean to do it, didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. “You did.”
I held his gaze for another long moment.
He didn’t say anything else and I didn’t want to talk anymore.
Twisting, I handed Archie his drink back then stepped past Jake with Mathieu keeping pace with me.
He never stopped touching me. Never stopped supporting me.
Rachel followed us both as Coop then Bubba stepped aside.
Unspoken apologies lingered in the air already stinking with regret, testosterone, and too many bad damn decisions. Behind me, I heard Coop say, “Goddammit Jake, you need to fix this.”
Then the study door closed behind us. I didn’t stop walking until we were halfway down the hall again. The music from the party filtered through the windows, still thumping, still bright, like nothing had changed.
Except… everything had changed. I stopped and turned to Rachel and Mathieu.
“So what now?” Rachel asked.
“I’m going back out there.” I hadn’t even been sure of my answer before I actually said it. “Head high. Shoulders back. Let them look or talk or speculate or whatever the hell they want to do. I’m not ashamed of anything.”
Brow furrowed, Mathieu tipped his head. “Are you sure? You have nothing to prove to anyone.”
Except to myself. “I have nothing to hide.”
Rachel grinned, but the smile didn’t quite touch the grimness in her eyes. “You never did. Besides, maybe someone will say something stupid and I can smack a bitch.”
All at once, the knot in my chest loosened. “Rach?”
“Hmm?”
I clasped Mathieu’s hand, treading my fingers with his. “Thank you for being my friend.”
“You’re welcome.” She was so magnanimous. “I'm a treasure, never forget it.”
A real laugh broke out of me. “I wouldn’t dare.” When I held out my free hand to her, she clasped it and they moved with me back out to the party.