𝕞𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕓𝕖𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕟 || 𝚅𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛

33. "that's why you were crying, right?"

"He actually brought up us dancing. He compared us to them." I recall in disbelief. It's the fifth time I've mentioned it, but just like me, Ryland still seems to be amused by that.

"Wait, what did he say again? After you told him fuck him for making you paranoid?" Ryland asks, already knowing the answer, but just wanting to repeat my words. After I said that to Vinnie, I made it clear I was done talking and I turned my whole body to the window. He got the hint. Or maybe he just knew there was nothing he could say.

"Ry, I literally hate you right now. I was under the influence!" I hit him with one of his pillows. I try to anyways. He catches it and drops it back neatly on his bed. His room isn't very organized and there are a bunch of things lying on the floor, but he keeps the mess away from his bed.

"No, but that was actually great. If I was Vinnie, I'd feel so guilty." Ryland is the easiest person to talk to about this. Well, the best person to talk to about this. He's friends with Vinnie so he knows Vinnie, but he talks so objectively about Vinnie, like he only knows what I say about him. He says he doesn't really know what Vinnie thinks about our situation. I told him not to talk about it with Vinnie because he said they've never really talked about girls together so I knew it would be too obvious.

"Do you actually think Vinnie is jealous of us?" Ryland, who had his head rested on his headboard and legs stretched out in front of him, tilts his head forward and crosses his legs.

"I don't think so. He just thought I was stupid enough to be gaslit. He actually wanted to make me believe it was the same thing. He thought I was that stupid. How fucked up is that?" Or maybe he is jealous, but that would just be absurd. Considering the way he behaves with Amira, I didn't peg him as the jealous type.

"Do you actually think Amira is a threat?"

I pause for the longest time. I do see them together. It's not that hard since they already act like they're together. But also I don't think Vinnie would do that to me. Although Amira and I are closer, I guess, I see her doing that to me more than Vinnie. I see her coming up with some story about how it just happened. It's ironic because Vinnie thinks I'm not that mad at Amira and I really like her, but I just always want to be mad at him meanwhile I'm here, believing more in him than in Amira.

"I don't know." I sigh in defeat. "I don't know, Ry!" I say much more exasperated, falling back on the bed. I seem to be humoring him, because he laughs at me. "You seem to be finding entertainment in my pain."

"I promise I don't. You're just funny. Like both of you. You are playing in circles with yourselves. This could be so much less complicated."

"What do you suggest I do?" I turn my stomach to the bed to look directly at him and let my legs wave in the air.

"I say you tell Amira about your doubts. If she's a good friend she won't get mad. She'll explain. And, being a good friend, she will tell you the truth and it will all click. Then you and Vinnie can be good, right? I mean, that's the only unsolved mistery."

When he puts it like that, it sounds like there isn't even a problem, just a tiny misunderstanding that can be settled with communication. Am I being dramatic?

"But being realistic, Ry, what sensible explanation could they be other than them hooking up?"

"Let's give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they're secretly siblings or something." Ryland shrugs. I look at him, waiting for him to break into a smile or start laughing. He doesn't. He looks at me like it could be a possibility.

"Ok, I know I didn't grow up with brothers so I don't know how that dynamic works, but I don't think I'd let my brother put their hands on my hips like that when we're just talking." I say sincerely.