Devlin's Secret

An Experience

Andrea - The Past

Kay, obviously, did eventually find us. We weren't exactly secret about it, we just didn't exactly tell her about it either. 

The one day, I was off school ill. Kay didn't really care about you if you weren't in her presence, so the only person I'd spoken to that day was Devlin. Devlin had no responsibilities after school, so she offered to come over to keep me company. This wasn't unusual, although I spent a lot more time at her house than she did at mine. My dad had said she could stay for something to eat and, as he'd just been paid, sent us out to get a takeaway. 

It was as we rounded the corner at the end of my street that Kay seemed to appear out of nowhere. We looked up and there she was.

God knows where she'd been. She was all made up, hair done, dressed in a little green mini-dress. And - I couldn't help but notice - she was clearly wearing a push up bra.

She looked from me to Devlin and back again, pursing her lips. "This is problematic, isn't it?"

"Why is it?" said Devlin, her face a picture of indifference.

"You'll find out," Kay smiled with a look of satisfaction that made me really nervous. 

"Whatever," Devlin replied, frowning. She moved to walk past but Kay grabbed her by the wrist.

"Do you really think Andie wants to be friends with you?" said Kay. She looked Devlin straight in the eye and would not let her look away. I reached out for her to let her know I did want her friendship, but Kay gave me a look which would stop anyone in their tracks. "She doesn't even like you. She just hangs around with you 'cause she feels sorry for you. She's fake, just like you. You're both fake. See you when you're better, Andie," and she walked away from us.

I had no words. All I could do was stand there with the pizza boxes, slack-jawed, as she passed the end of the street. This wasn't unlike her, but it was so unexpected. 

A few moments passed in silence before a light breeze caused Devlin's hair to tickle my arm. "Come on, let's go," I said, and started to walk on. She didn't move. "Devlin, are you okay?"

She drew in a sudden breath, smiling and shaking her head. "Yeah, god, yeah, just a bit shocked." She walked over to me. "Do you want me to carry those?"

"Here, take one," I said, carefully sliding the box on top so that she could get hold of it.

We laughed about the situation for a minute and agreed that Kay was probably jealous about not being invited to hang out, ignoring any argument against it. But as we approached my house, I saw Devlin hastily use her sleeve to wipe at her cheek.

I paused. "You know she was lying, right? Just to get at us."

"Um, yeah," she dashed away another tear with a small laugh. "Obviously it worked a bit better than I first thought. I'll be fine."

I frowned at her but didn't say anything else as I unlocked the door.

We handed the pizzas over to my dad in the kitchen, who told us to be ready to eat in ten minutes, and went upstairs.

"What's wrong?" I asked when we reached my room. 

"Nothing," she said, but by this point tears were running down her face and she was unable to stifle her sobbing.

Instead of pushing her to tell me, I flung my arms around her neck and drew her into a tight hug. Up until this point, I had never seen Devlin cry. She had been cheerful and laid back, unaffected by any of Kay's nonsense. I never asked her why she was so upset on that day, and it wasn't until years later that she told me herself. She cried into my shoulder until my dad called us downstairs.

"I'm sorry," she said, wiping away the last of her tears. "I got my snot on your jacket."

I smiled. "It's okay, I'll just take it off."

I learnt that day that Devlin was very good at acting. All throughout dinner, she seemed as cheery as ever, even when my dad shamelessly chastised her for not choosing academic subjects at school. 

My dad wasn't ever subtle. If he thought something needed to be said, he'd say it without a second thought. He asked Devlin far too many questions about herself that evening, giving a disapproving look in response to every other answer. She took it all in her stride, never once faltering. It got to a point at which my brother, William, suddenly interjected to stop him.

Dad wasn't happy about that. He told William that if Devlin minded, she could say so herself. She didn't. After another forty five minutes of constant interrogation, Will interrupted again.

"Dad, I think that's enough now. It's not like she'll never come over again. She's clearly good friends with Andie."

At that moment, Devlin's mobile started ringing and she politely excused herself to answer it.

Dad looked at my brother and I calmly while we waited for her to come back. He asked me if I had anything to say about the evening's conversation, and I shook my head. William sighed.

I walked Devlin home a few minutes later and she hugged me at her front door before going inside. On my way back, I couldn't help but think about what Kay had said. Why was she trying to turn Devlin against me?