Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
HARLEY
I blearily shuffle down the hallway, needing to grab a coffee and go. I didn’t sleep much last night. How could I after everything? The whole damn situation keeps replaying in my mind, over and over and over again.
I really didn’t want to get out of bed and face reality, but unfortunately, life has to keep going. I have classes to get to and a maybe ex-girlfriend? Situationship? Definitely ex-enemy to avoid since she clearly wants space.
The sweet aroma hits my nostrils, and I sigh in relief. Thank fuck someone’s up before me to make a pot of coffee because I’m already running late as it is.
I quickly fill a to-go cup, adding cream and sugar before heading toward the door.
“Not so fast,” a voice sounds behind me. I flinch at the warning in Lana’s tone before slowly turning to face her.
Why did one of my best friends have to go and get into a relationship with someone so fucking terrifying?
It’s unnatural. I know the guys think I’m being dramatic, but seriously, there’s just something about the way she looks at me that makes me think she’d cut me up into itty-bitty pieces with a smile on her face.
I’m even more sure of it now I’ve seen how easily and efficiently she can get rid of a body.
I shudder and take a step toward her, knowing she’s not going to give me a choice in talking to her. Guess I’m going to be late for class.
“Everything okay?” I ask as I take a seat at the kitchen island, not knowing what else to say and not wanting to wait for her to start whatever conversation it is she wants to have. Knowing her, she’d just sit and stare into my soul until I withered away to ash.
“I don’t know Harley, is everything okay?”
Oh god, she’s going to kill me, isn’t she?
She’s going to flay the skin off my body and make me watch as she dumps it in a barrel of acid for everything I’ve done.
I gulp. Audibly.
Resting my shaking hands on my lap, I internally curse whatever demon put this girl in Cole’s path before pasting a smile on my face. It’s fake and shaky, and I’m pretty sure she knows that, though she doesn’t call me out on it.
“Look, I know you and I have never been close”—understatement of the century—“but I think we both care about the same people, so I wanted to tell you that while I think you probably already know this, you need to hear it from someone straight. Not everything is as it seems, Harley. Sometimes people have to do things that make them out to be a monster when in reality, they’re the ones doing good.
“Sometimes people do things they have no choice in, and sometimes people do things to protect those they care about. All I’m saying is, you need to take a closer look at the past and try to figure out how you can help in the future.”
Why the fuck is everyone so goddamn cryptic? I understand they’re trying to keep Savannah’s confidence, but fuck, the truth would be nice for once.
Things would be a hell of a lot easier if people would just come out and say exactly what they’re thinking instead of bouncing around the subject, playing guessing games with me.
“Noted,” I murmur, wanting to get out of here.
I’ve been oblivious about a lot of things over the last couple of years, too busy focusing on myself and my own pain, but no more.
“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Lana says, and shock hits me right in the chest. I honestly thought she’d hate me for what I’ve been doing to Savannah.
She smirks. “I get it, you thought I’d hate you, huh?
Well, I can’t hate you for having emotions, and I even understand them.
I get what you did and why you did it. You should know that not even Savannah blames you, but maybe now you’re on your way to having all the facts, you can ease up a bit, huh? ”
I nod silently and stand, ready to rush off to class, but she keeps speaking. God, will this ever end?
“By the way, she asked me last night if she needed to speak to the police about what happened, so I told her what we did. I didn’t go into details, but she knows the gist of it. She was… surprised, to say the least, but I thought you should know so you’re not blindsided if she asks you about it.”
“I—thanks, I think?” I stammer, more confused than I was before this entire interaction, and that’s before I even try to process what she said about Savannah not blaming me for what I did.
“Yes, yes.” She makes a shooing motion. “Better get to class and get those grades. Maybe now you can stop skipping statistics and then making me help you, huh?”
Oops.
Back before I realized how much of a fucking lunatic she is, she once found me skulking around the library and freaking out about failing my class, but what she didn’t know was that I’d not been going because I was trying to avoid Savannah.
She ended up helping with my coursework, though I’m sure it was to piss Cole off more than anything, especially since he lost his shit when he found us working together.
Now that I think about it, I still owe her a favor for helping me, but like fuck am I going to bring that up.
“You’re not as bad as I thought you were,” I say and head toward the door.
Just as I open it and take a step outside, I hear her chuckle and say, “Nah, I’m worse.”
My brain hurts with so much information and so little coffee, but I can’t keep hiding away anymore. Not from classes, not from Savannah, and not from the truth.
One way or another, I’m going to get to the bottom of whatever the fuck is going on.