Despicable Desires

Episode 25

Adeline

I spent the worst night of my life. Impossible to sleep for more than a few hours without horrible images poisoning my mind. Those images? My best friend in the arms of the guy I fell in love with.

This morning I didn't have the courage to get up for breakfast, far too reluctant to cross paths with the object of my insomnia. I'm not even sure if he remembers anything from last night, but I can't pretend. Pretend we didn't kiss. Pretend he didn't confess to me what happened with my best friend. Pretend I have no feelings for him. Pretend that... He slept with Esther. My Esther. Lying on my bed, I've been brooding since morning, letting the hours pass before I decide to call Holly. I don't know if this affair was supposed to be a secret, but I think it concerns all of us, knowing that she's a close friend.

"You'll never guess what I just found out," I blurt out to her.

"Tell me, you've got me curious," I hear her sweet voice crackle, all excited at the idea of having something juicy to chew on.

"Esther slept with Jayden," I choke out.

The bomb is dropped and a deathly silence follows my confession. Short of breath, I struggle to catch my breath after what I've said.

The kiss we exchanged will have to wait...

"Holly?"

"You're not serious? How... I mean... Are you sure?" Her voice becomes distant, as if she's having trouble swallowing the news.

"Yes, Jayden told me."

"Jayden?" she repeats a little doubtfully.

"Yes. He came home drunk last night. So much so that he ended up incriminating himself."

"Oh my God."

Holly is obviously as surprised as I am and doesn't dare say a word. I can hear her breathing in the phone until she speaks again in a weak voice:

"Why didn't she tell us?"

"I don't know. I was going to see her today to talk to her."

And to have the most complicated conversation I've had since my breakup with Tyler...

I don't know why, but right now I feel the same thing: betrayal. This is the second time my heart has been trampled by someone I felt closest to. Twice for the same reason: a sex story.

"Are you okay?"

Let's see... I just kissed the last guy in the world I was supposed to kiss, right before learning that the same guy slept with the last person in the world I would have suspected... so no.

A lump in my throat, I swallow hard and try to catch my breath to calm the raging of my heart.

"I'm just disappointed that she never told us," I answer sincerely.

"I know," Holly reassures me. "It's really messed up."

***

"What did you do yesterday?" Esther asks after we have been sitting in her room for a good quarter of an hour and I still have not managed to speak.

"I spent some time on the internet looking for apartments," Holly says. "A quiet Saturday night. And you, Adeline?"

With a quick glance, she gives me the opportunity to start and gently nudges me to do so. With the eyes of my two friends fixed on me, I take a deep breath before speaking.

"I was lounging in front of the TV and..." I pause, then carefully continue, "On my way to bed, I ran into Jayden."

Saying his name made me look at Esther, who remained unmoved. My teeth are clenched and I try to relax and get some distance from the situation. Not to rush her, not to attack her, not to scold her.