Why Wait?

23

~~~tour bus~~~
"Are you going to be okay?" Austin asks me as I leave the bathroom.

I nod, pushing past him.

"Kelli," he says, holding the bridge of his nose. "How long are you going to avoid talking to me?"

I shrug, setting myself down on the couch, grabbing a blanket.

He stands in front of me. "Okay," he says. "No that you're already mad at me, I think it's the best time to tell you."

I narrow my eyes at him and wait for him to start talking.

"A few months ago, you were spending the weekend with Cody, remember? I was supposed to work on my new album so you left - except I thought you were with Sidney."

I lean my head against the pillow and nod. I remember.

He gulps, a motion that makes me slightly nervous. "She came over and we talked for a while - about you. She was really upset that you had chosen to stay with him and not your best friend."

I don't say anything, wondering why this has anything to do with me.

He seems to notice I'm no longer listening because he moves closer to where I'm laying down. "So that night,' he continues, "we wanted to get you mad. I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to doing this, Kelli. And I still feel bad about it now. Seeing as though you never even found out."

"What are you talking about, Austin?" I ask flatly.

He seems surprised that I actually talked to him but then recovers. "Um, Sidney and I hooked up that night," he says quietly.

The tour bus was extremely quiet except for my pounding heart. They hooked up. They lied to me. Sidney told me she didn't have any interest in anyone.

"At first we just pretended it never happened," he continues. "But I asked her out about a week later."

I didn't notice my hand was covering my face until I opened my eyes. So she just hangs out with me because of Austin?

He was looking at me with a slightly worried expression. "She didn't want to tell you because she knew you'd be upset with her."

"Upset," I repeat in a low voice. "That's an understatement."

Just then the tour bus door opens and the backstabber herself walks inside. "Is it over?"

I glare at her. "Its over," I snap.

She bits her lip. "Kelli, I wanted to tell you, I was scared that you would be mad at me."

"So you keep it a secret?" I demand.

"Speaking of secrets," Austin says, standing in between me and Sidney. "You never mentioned Cody hit you."

My mouth slightly drops open. "What?"

He nods, anger overtaking his features. "That's what I thought. How dare you sit here yelling at us when you are hiding tons of stuff yourself."

I go back to the last time it happened. About three weeks ago. There are still scars. I hadn't told anyone, not even Sidney.

"That's completely different," I say, my throat closing up. "It's not--"

He shakes his head at me. "I told you he was bad news, didn't I?"

I ignore him, including very well how mad he is.

"Answer me," he yells.

"You can't just turn it around like that. This isn't about me. It's about the fact that you slept with my best friend just to get me mad."