𝐈 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮

Althea

If my heart hadn't already been in my stomach it would have sunk. Jonesy was right. Aiden was in cahoots with Blake.
"Was any of our friendship real?" I couldn't hide the sob that muffled my words. There was no need to beat around the bush and ask him if the rumor was true. I knew it was and so did he. And now he knew I knew.
"Thea, I'm sorry. I didn't-" He started, his eyes falling to the floor. "There's no point in lying now and to say that I didn't mean to hurt you would be just that. A lie."
I drew my brows together, still standing my ground. I would not be intimidated by Blake's presence. This was the closest we had been in over a year but now instead of wanting to kiss her, I just wanted to hit her.
"But why? What did I do to deserve this?"
"You embarrassed me, not only when we broke up but while we were together."
I met his eyes. What on earth did he mean by "while we were together?" I didn't remember doing anything remotely embarrassing to him.
He continued. "Every time you and her were in the same room, it was as if I didn't exist. You didn't see me, you didn't hear me. You wouldn't even look at me. Everything always revolved around her." His eyes slid past me and I turned to see Jonesy standing behind me.
His stare turned cold when he looked back at me. "Do you know what that's like? To be completely irrelevant to the person you're dating?"
I didn't know what it was like. Davis had always given me his undivided attention and Jonesy practically worshiped the ground I walked on.
"And when you finally had the decency to put me out of my misery and end things, you ran straight to her. It was always her. My parents came to visit and they were so excited to meet and I had to tell them I had been left for another girl. Do you know how embarrassing that conversation was?"
He was angry now. I had never seen him like this; he had always been levelheaded and kind. He had never disrespected me or made me do anything I hadn't wanted to do.
He had always been Aiden. My Aiden. And now he was someone I didn't even recognize; he was cruel and mean and angry.
"I never meant to hurt you, Aiden. I just couldn't keep leading you on." I said softly, still holding his gaze. "You didn't deserve that, you deserve someone better than me. You wanted something I couldn't give to you, and for that I truly am sorry."
"You could've changed," he spat out through gritting teeth. "You could have pushed aside your feelings for her, just like you did with Blake."
With Blake? I shook my head. "What are you talking about?"
Blake finally spoke up. "You ended things with me so abruptly." She started. "I woke up one day and found my number had been blocked and learned that you had transferred schools states away. What we had was fun, I thought we would become something, but apparently that's not what you wanted."
I was so confused, the entire world was spinning. "What on earth are you talking about?" I repeated again. "I don't remember blocking your number, you blocked me."
Blake laughed. "I did not. I sent you message after message and none of them were ever answered or read."
I never received any messages from her. She had ghosted me and I had cried about it. Then I moved. Changing schools had always been part of my plan to escape my mother, it had nothing to do with her.
Someone must've taken my phone and gone through it and after seeing the previous messages between the two of us, they blocked her or did something like that.
My mother? No, her reaction to me coming out had been so raw and genuine, she couldn't have faked that. Vinny? No, she wouldn't do something like that; she had always known how I felt about girls. Matteo didn't have that kind of access to my things but...my dad did.
I remembered his face at dinner when I came out. While he had tried his best to stay neutral, he wasn't exactly surprised about it either. Had he done that to protect me from my mom? Was that how she never found out about Blake and I?
"I never meant to hurt either of you, please know that." I sputtered out, my throat tightening. "I am so sorry." I felt Jonesy's hand on my shoulder and I leaned back into her. My head hurt and I wanted to break down and cry. If it weren't for her, I definitely would have.
"How did the two of you even meet and come up with this idea? What was the end goal?" They owed me that much. I just need to know what they had expected to happen.
Aiden spoke this time, his voice low and casual as if this was a normal conversation. "I met Blake the night you broke up with me. I was still sitting in that booth, staring at your jacket and feeling bad about myself when she slid into your empty spot.
"She asked me what happened and said that she knew you. I told her everything; about how you made me feel during the time we were together and about how I would have to face my parents alone.
"She then told me about everything that had happened between you two and she made me feel better about my situation. It seemed as if you had a habit of breaking up with people after a short time, so we came up with a plan."
Blake cut in, her eyes holding traces of pain mixed with anger. "When I found out you were dating Claypoole, my rival, I wanted a way to not only hurt you but to try and mess with her head as well. I thought if things ended badly between you two, maybe it would fuck her up enough so she wouldn't be on her A game this season and my team could bring home the trophy.
"I remembered seeing your parents around Priestley and knowing the kind of pressure they put on you; I thought that if they found out you were focusing on your relationship more than your studies they would force you apart.
"Someone from your family reached out to me and asked about your relationship and I was more than happy to tell them." A smile flashed across her face for a second. "Aiden kept me informed of your relationship and I relayed that information back to them. When Claypoole kissed you back in December, I felt as if everything was finally coming together."
She laughed. "The look on both of your faces was absolutely priceless and worth it." Her smile faded. "And then you guys got back together; I tried reaching out to whoever it was from your family to tell them I had more information, but the account was gone and I knew then, I had lost."
Matteo. He had kept his word after all.
My throat was dry and it was painful to swallow. My head was still spinning and my stomach ached. "You went through all of that just to get back at me?" It seemed like so much effort over something as stupid as miscommunication.
Blake took a defensive step forward and I felt Jonesy move out from behind me, her face hard with anger. I could see her hands fold themselves into fists, she was ready to hit Blake if she came any closer.
"It might have started as just being petty revenge, but when Claypoole was benched, it seemed as if I might actually have a chance of helping my team win. It wasn't just about you in the end"
I didn't care about all of that, my question hadn't even been directed towards her. I stared at Aiden who still refused to look at me.
"Look at me," I demanded. He shook his head and I tried again. "Aiden, look at me. You owe me this." He finally met my gaze and I noticed the puffy redness around them.
He hurt me and he was fucking crying?
"You pretended to be my friend for months, I confided in you...we-we're skate partners for fuck's sake! And this whole time you've been harboring anger, hatred, and resentment towards me?"
He shook his head. "I never hated you, Thea. I was just so consumed with anger and Blake's plan sounded as if it would work."
I laughed in disbelief. "What did you think would happen after all of this? After your plan successfully worked? Did you think I would go back to you?"
He shrugged lightly, his hair falling over his forehead. "I had hoped, yes."
I stared at him incredulously. He didn't get it, after everything he still did not understand. "Don't you get it? I'm gay! It was never going to be you, Aiden. And-and I'm sorry to hurt you, but I could never feel that way for you."
I jabbed a hand into my chest. "I can't change who I am. I couldn't change for my parents and I wouldn't have for you."
No one said anything for several long minutes; we just stared at each other in the thick silence. I wanted to cry. I wanted to punch something. I wanted to slap that stupid smug look off Blake's face. I wanted to go home.
But I was stuck standing there, staring at two people I thought I could trust.
"Why do people keep pretending to be my friend?" I finally cried out, the sob in my throat finally breaking free. I was so, so tired of this. I was tired of the lying, tired of this game. I didn't want to play anymore.
A flash of movement to my right caught my eye and it wasn't until Blake was on the floor did I realize Daria was even here. She tackled Blake and despite being several pounds lighter and quite a few inches shorter, she surprised everyone and completely knocked the other girl to the ground.
There was a collective gasp from everyone as Daria's fists came in contact with Blake's face over and over again. She was yelling in Spanish, the way she always did when she was angry.
Jonesy lept out from beside me and ran towards her friend, yelling at her to stop and pulled her off Blake who was now a crumpled bloody mess on the floor. Daria kicked and struggled against Jonesy's hold, still screaming curses at Blake.
"That's for my friend, you fucking bitch! Althea won't hit you but don't ever think I won't do it for her."
It was probably wrong for me to smile but it really warmed my heart to hear her finally admit we were friends.
"C'mon on, guys." I sniffled and wiped my face with my sleeve. "We're done here." I glared at Blake as she struggled to sit up before turning my eyes to Aiden. "We're done, don't bother coming to the rink tomorrow. If I were you, I would look for another partner; we both know you're a shitty solo skater."
Aiden nodded and ducked out the door, not even offering Blake a hand up. No one was there for her, not even Aiden. Not even her minions. She had tried to ruin my life and take my friends from me only to end up bloody and beaten on the floor.
Completely alone. I really loved the irony of that.