Head Over Leather #Wattys2017

XII. Truth be told

As I make my way over to Ethan, he slides down the lockers to sit on the floor and I feel my heart rate quicken at the thought of him wanting to talk. Who knows what he'll find out once I start.

"How is it that you can talk to Mia of all people and not me?" He asks, genuine curiosity gracing his gestures. My eyes bore into his and it seems that we're engaging in a stare off until the other breaks.

"What's wrong with Mia?" I feel myself getting defensive over the little blonde. Despite her stand-offish appearance and conversations sometimes lasting less than a few syllables, all she'd ever been to me was kind.

"Nothing, except for the fact that the first year I met her, she said less 10 words to me. Now it's moved up to at least 15." Ethan jokes, as I smack his arm lightly.

"But all jokes aside, I want you to be able to trust me." There wasn't even the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice despite our short time together.

And that's all it took. I explained the situation with my dad and how abandoned I felt and how I wasn't sure if my mother cooked so much because it made her happy or if it made her forget. Like I said, they just fell out of love, but I don't think it made it hurt any less. The first few months, I noticed the growing dark circles under her eyes and she seemed to be growing more grey hairs than plucking out.

"We could go see your dad. I mean, I know he's the one who usually visits but why don't you go see him?" It was a simple question really, one that I had asked myself over and over again.

"I feel like with me, I put out a welcome mat and some homemade pie. With him, there's nothing. I don't know if I'm allowed to enter or even knock. It's like I'm intruding." I try to explain, hands performing gestures I'm not even sure makes sense.

My gaze returns to Ethan, who's eyebrows are furrowed and lips slightly parted, trying to interpret what I've said. He breathes in, turning to me and reaches out, taking my hand in his. "You're his fucking daughter. Intrude, rob him for Christ's sakes. You deserve.. something." He breathes out, fingers stroking my knuckles.

I feel a smile tugging at my lips, before I pull him towards me, enveloping him in a tight embrace. His arms snake around me, allowing me to get a whiff of his strong cologne.

"I'm so getting double points right now."

"Shut up, Ethan."

"Do you love me yet?"

"Shut up, Ethan."

"Make me, sexy kitten."

I groan, pulling away from him and standing up, hearing him scrambling to do the same. Ethan brushes himself off, before throwing an arm around my shoulder and smirking.

"Can I come over today?"

"You know we've spent pretty much every day together since this game started." I remark, gaze trailing along his jawline and mouth as I look up at him. He responds with a blank stare and shrug, as if to say 'what's wrong with that?'

"I'm going to Derek's today to start our project."

"Oh cool. Meet you there." I give him a puzzled look, but he continues walking to the newsroom without any elaboration to his statement.

***

"So nice room." I move around the room awkwardly, tracing the picture frames Derek has lined up on his mahogany desk that suffered from incomprehensible carvings on the edges.

"Look, Jess told me you know about what happened. So you don't need to tiptoe around me." Derek leans against his door with his arms crossed, muscles protruding in the process. His expression is unreadable, but the way his mouth purses into a thin line tells me that he's not in the mood for bullshitting.

"I just find it funny that not even less than 2 weeks ago you were boning your best friend's girlfriend and now my best friend." I blurt out, crossing my arms in the same defensive fashion, hair swinging as I do so.

Derek tilts his head in amusement, letting out a bitter chuckle much to my dismay. "I never slept with Eva. We kind of, I don't know man. We just had an attraction. Did we sneak around? Yes, but I never did more than that with her during their relationship."

"Then why did she say so?"

"How much crueler can you get besides that?"

I shrug wearily, as he holds my gaze for a moment, before breaking it to move to his desk. He pulls out his laptop, taking a seat on one of the chairs, before turning to me expectantly.

"What about Ethan?"

"What about him?"

I arch my eyebrow pointedly and he lets out a defeated sigh, running a hand through his dusty blond hair. "Ethan's my best friend, but I fell for Eva. Underneath all that hardcore, 'I'm a bitch' exterior, she's got a heart."

"But what about Jess?" I can't help but feel my heart clench at his confession. I didn't want him playing my best friend.

"I like Jess, I do. But I'd be lying to myself if I said I was willing to completely stop things with Eva. I need to see where it goes. I need to." I can make out a glazed expression on his face, almost as if he's unsure of his own decision.

Scoffing, I take a seat beside him, pulling out my own laptop, along with my notebook. I flip through the pages, stopping at the work plan I created for us. "Ethan said you were a handful." He mumbles under his breath, eyes scanning over the information.

I give him a stern look and he quiets down, leaving me to work in silence. I don't even spare him another glance until the doorbell rings an hour later. As I jog down the stairs behind him, I can't help but take notice of the photos hanging along the staircase. Most were of Ethan and Derek in their pubescent days, while some were family portraits. The one that caught my attention, however, was the slightly cracked frame holding a crinkled picture of Derek, Ethan, and Eva in freshman year I assume. Eva sat in the middle, a bright smile on her lips, but eyes distant and secretive, while the two boys were on either side of her, gaze disregarding the camera and instead focused on her. Funny. It looks like the triangle started way before either of them knew.

I hear Derek open the door and quickly make it down the remaining steps, to stand beside him only to be met by the faces of (our?) friends. Ethan, Eva, Riley, Ryder, Mia, and..Jess.

"Told you I'd meet you here. Sorry, we're a little late." Ethan smirks, earning a glare from me, to which he responds with throwing an arm around Eva beside him.

How do I manage to get myself into these situations?

***
So we've learned the truth about Eva and Derek! What do you guys think? Why did they all show up at his house? Why is Jess there?