How Could This Be Real?

113. What's The Scoop?

David came back in our room after his talk with Tom and I agreed to give him a chance, numbing out my fears and emotions so I wouldn't get upset with him for doing this. Of course I didn't want Tom to be in the same house as us, but I knew David didn't either and that he was just doing this to try and help out his brother. That's all he'd ever wanted to do, and I knew deep down he wanted to believe that Tom had changed. I wanted to believe it too, but that wasn't going to change the fact that I was going to stay as far away from him as possible. At least until he'd proven to me that he was trustworthy.

I followed David downstairs after our talk and basically used him as a human shield, irrationally scared that Tom would jump out and try to grab me at any moment. I did feel guilty that I was judging him so much based on one interaction, but I just couldn't help it.

Some people were scared of spiders, some of sharks, some of thunder. Me? I was scared of being cornered and alone, and I thought I had pretty good reason for it. I mean it had happened three times before; the cab driver, Cole, and Tom who had been the one to start it all. But still, I was trying to have an open mind about this whole situation. After all, sometimes people really can change.

When we got to the kitchen, Netty and Amy were there getting dinner prepared.

"Hey you two!" Amy said with a grin as she tossed the salad. "How are you?"

David shrugged, "Definitely been better."

Before she could ask what he meant, Ash walked in and David's arms and shoulders instantly tensed. I gently touched his arm and he glanced back at me, that determined look in his eyes again.

"Please don't be mad at him," I murmured so the others wouldn't hear. Ash already had them laughing though so they probably wouldn't have heard either way.

"I'm just gonna talk to him for a minute," he reassured me and I gave him a skeptical look. He placed a kiss on my forehead, "We won't get in a fight, I promise."

I nodded reluctantly and he walked over to Ash, clapping a hand on his shoulder and gesturing his head to the patio, silently telling him to follow.

"Excuse us, girls," Ash said and they walked outside together.

I watched them for a minute before Netty asked, "You alright, Angel?"

I turned my attention to her and nodded, "Oh, yeah, fine." I gestured to all the food laid out on the island and asked, "Mind if I help?"

Amy smiled and nodded, "Please! We're short two hands anyway since Beth's busy tonight." The two of them shared a knowing look and giggled, earning a raised eyebrow from me.

"I'm guessing she's told you more than me?" I asked as I started cutting up some vegetables.

"Beth? No way, you're like her best friend here. But the guys have been talking to Stamps and they can't keep a secret for two seconds."

"Oh?" I asked curiously. "So what's the scoop?"

"Well," Netty said eagerly, "their anniversary is today ya know, and so Joe wanted to do something special, but he wanted it to be a surprise, so he's been pretending that he forgot."

"I knew he was faking!" I said with a laugh. "Aww, but poor Beth. She's been devastated that he forgot!"

"Oh, I know, it's been awful keeping this from her," Amy agreed as she got the drinks from the fridge.

Netty continued, "But anyways, everything was going to plan until Sqaishey told us that she was going to plan something since he forgot. So then we knew we had to intervene, so we told the guys to help Joe come up with a plan."