The Decuplets

Three Letters, Starts With an S, Ends With an X

Ella

Scarlett and I had been home for about two hours and I did nothing but cry. Absolutely bawled my eyes out. I kept saying over and over again, "I can't believe that he'd do this."

Scarlett did everything she could to take my mind off of it, but I spent most of the time staring at the ceiling, numb as tears trickled down my face.

After a while, I felt ready to talk about it. "I know why he did it," I sighed.

"What? Why?" Scarlett asked.

I tried to rest my chin on my palm but my skin was too slippery with tears. "He wanted to have sex a few days ago, and I said no." My voice shook, breaking out into sobs. "So he had sex with another girl."

"Oh my God," was all she said, "that's awful."

"I wasn't good enough to wait for," I sobbed.

"No, it's not you, Ella. He's an absolute idiot boy who can't go one fucking second without having sex. It couldn't be less of your fault, I promise." She took my hand in hers.

"Thanks, Scar," I said.

There was a knock on the door, and before we could say anything, Reece walked in. "Hey, is Ella—" Then my condition registered. "Oh my God," he asked, "what happened?"

"You're joking," I deadpanned.

"Um, no?" he laughed awkwardly.

"Let's go chat, shall we?" I offered with a sarcastic grin, trails of mascara still covering my under eyes.

"Yeah, okay," he agreed, following me out the door. I led him to his room and allowed him to open the door. "Sit down," he said, but I didn't.

"Can you really not deduce why we're here?" I asked.

"Nope," he said. I wanted to slap him. Was he really going to lie until the bitter end?

"Yes, you do. Don't play dumb with me, Reece."

"Ella, I don't understand what's going on."

"I'll give you a hint. Six letters, starts with a K and ends with an I. Or, if that doesn't help, three letters, starts with an S and ends with an X."

"Look, I—"

I started crying again, sitting finally and curling up now on the couch because I couldn't stand to be next to him. "Why, why, why did you do it?"

He lowered his voice. "I don't know."

"You have no reason at all? You did it 'cause you could? Because I wasn't there 'looking over your shoulder' or however you said it?"

"Well, you didn't want to have sex, and—"

"Then you should've just said 'this isn't going to work if we don't have sex' and we could've ended amicably and you wouldn't have had to hurt me! Do you even know how much you are hurting me, Reece?"

"You're right."

"I can't believe you would do this to me."

"I wish I hadn't, and I was drunk, and it will never happen again."

"There is no 'again'. It's over. I'm sick of waiting for you to change, and it's only been a month. A month! A month without sex! God forbid!"

"But can't you see that I'm a better person with you?" He looked distraught now, which gave me a little relief.

"You're not! You're all talk," I shouted. Tears were streaming down my face. "What happened to Mr. 'Ella is a great girl and someone will treat her better'? Or Mr. 'You make me so happy'? Or Mr. 'What was it like falling from Heaven'? Huh?"

"He's still there," he begged.

I ignored him, lamenting, "I just wish he were real. He doesn't exist. He's you, who you've always been." I paused, dabbing my eyes. "And for the record, you don't treat me better than Zach," I sneered.

"So that's what this is really about? Zach?" he growled.

"No, it's about you cheating on me!"

"No, I saw you two cuddling on the porch swing last night."

"Yeah, after you forgot to bring me water? You left me all alone, and someone had the decency to make sure I was alright. It's only your fault that he cares about me more than you do."

"Didn't he cheat on you, too?" Fair point.

"This is so different. You had sex with another girl when you know how much that means to me! I see it as something that's supposed to be special and you see it as something that's just fun."

"I guess I didn't really think of it that way."

"Then you don't really know me, do you?"

"Maybe not." Is he giving up? "Because I thought you weren't in love with Zach anymore."

"You're just deflecting what you did, but you obviously know you're in the wrong."

He shrugged.

"I never cared about my feelings for Zach, whether they were there or not. I just knew I liked you and I wanted to give us a shot. It was a mistake, obviously."

He shrugged again.

"God, I can't even get through to you. I'm leaving," I announced, storming out of his room. As I walked through the hallway, as if by fate, Zach opened his door.

"Ella, what happened?" he asked, rushing to my side.

"Uh, long story," I replied, wiping tears from my eyes.

"I guess it's not one of those things you want to tell only me, huh?" I laughed. You're the only person I can't tell. "Well, if you do want to talk about it, let me know."

Sniffling, I looked up at him and acknowledged the fact that my heart was beating right out of my chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him as close as possible. "Thanks, Zach."

"Of course, El."