The Forgotten Gilmore

Chapter Seventy-Six: On Their Own Terms

Alessia lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, her mind spinning. She had seen Beau and Riley together, a moment so intimate it had caught her completely off guard. Beau, her friend since high school, and Riley, her roommate for the past year-together. She felt a mix of confusion, hurt, and something she couldn't quite name. They hadn't told her. And for some reason, that stung more than she wanted to admit.

The knock on her door was soft but insistent.

"Al?" Beau's voice came through, hesitant. "Can we talk?"

She clenched her jaw, staying silent. The knock came again, this time more insistent.

"Alessia, please."

Alessia closed her eyes for a second, debating whether or not to answer. When she finally opened the door, Beau stood there, his expression uncertain. Behind him, Riley hovered, arms crossed and clearly uncomfortable.

Alessia stepped back, letting them in, but didn't say a word. She folded her arms across her chest, waiting for one of them to start.

Beau rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess you saw..."

"Yeah," Alessia said flatly. "I saw."

Riley shifted, leaning against the door frame, his usual sarcastic energy absent. He glanced at Beau, then back at Alessia, as if deciding whether to speak or let Beau handle it.

"We weren't trying to keep it from you," Beau said, taking a step forward, his voice soft but sincere. "We're just-"

"Figuring things out," Riley finished, his voice firmer. He met Alessia's eyes directly, not shying away from the tension in the room. "It wasn't about hiding it from you. It's our thing. We weren't ready to talk about it with anyone yet."

Alessia frowned, her arms tightening around herself. "But we're friends, Beau. You didn't think I'd want to know?"

Beau looked torn, his eyes flicking to Riley for support. "Alessia, it's not that we don't trust you-"

"You don't owe her an explanation," Riley interrupted, his tone cool but not unkind. He took a step forward, his gaze steady. "It's our relationship. It's not about you."

Alessia blinked, caught off guard by the bluntness of his words. Her instinct was to argue, to push back, but something in Riley's expression made her pause.

Beau nodded, though his tone remained gentle. "Riley's right. It's not that we didn't want to tell you, but we weren't obligated to. We're allowed to keep things private until we're ready."

Alessia's heart sank at those words, but she knew they were true. It wasn't about her-this wasn't some personal slight. Still, it hurt to realize she had been left out, especially when it came to someone as close to her as Beau.

"I just thought..." she started, her voice quieter now, "I thought we were closer than that."

Beau stepped toward her, his face softening. "We are close, Alessia. You're one of my best friends, and I don't want you to feel like I'm shutting you out. But this-" he glanced at Riley-"this is something Riley and I needed to handle in our own time."

Riley's gaze didn't waver. "It's not about excluding you. But not everything is up for discussion just because we're friends. We didn't feel like we had to tell anyone until we were ready."

Alessia bit her lip, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. She knew they were right. They didn't owe her anything. But it still felt like she had been left in the dark about something important.

"So, you just weren't ready?" she asked, more to Beau than Riley.

Beau nodded. "Yeah. We weren't trying to hide it to hurt you. We just wanted to take things slow, without feeling like we had to explain ourselves."

Alessia let out a slow breath, some of the tension in her shoulders easing. "Okay. I get that."

Riley relaxed a little, though his expression remained serious. "Good. Because we didn't keep it from you to make you feel excluded. It's just...personal."

Alessia met his gaze, understanding now what he was saying. It wasn't about trust or friendship. It was about boundaries, about privacy, about being allowed to figure things out without the pressure of explaining themselves to anyone-even someone as close as she was to Beau.

She nodded, finally breaking the silence. "Alright. I get it."

Beau gave her a small smile, relief in his eyes. "Thanks, Al. And I promise, it wasn't personal."

Riley shrugged, his usual smirk returning slightly. "Sometimes it just takes a while to figure stuff out, you know?"

Alessia managed a faint smile at that. "Yeah, I get it. I'm just... I'm glad you told me now."

"On our own terms," Riley added, his voice still firm but less sharp now.

"On your own terms," Alessia agreed. The knot in her chest finally loosened, the sting of the moment fading. It wasn't that they hadn't trusted her. They had just needed time. And she could respect that.

As the boys turned to leave, Beau paused at the door, glancing back at her. "We're good, right?"

Alessia smiled softly. "Yeah, we're good."

Beau grinned, looking visibly relieved. Riley gave her a quick nod, and then they were gone, leaving Alessia alone with her thoughts.

She sat back down on her bed, her heart finally feeling a little lighter. It wasn't the resolution she had expected, but it was the one she needed. They were right-they didn't owe her every detail of their lives. And that didn't make them any less her friends.

It just made them human, figuring things out in their own time, on their own terms.