Unfaithful✔️

Friendship Meant More Than The Truth

Friendship meant more to her than the truth.
She stood outside, the crisp air creeping up onto her exposed shoulders and right down her back. If she weren't so torn apart right then, she would have shivered and rubbed her hands together for some warmth. But the truth was, she was hurting and this conversation would only make her hurt even more. All her emotions took over that night, her body felt as if it was only a vessel, she had no physical feeling, only mental strain.

"What the fuck are we doing out here? Do you want June to get suspicious? Do you want everyone in that room to get suspicious?" his anger sparked through his words. She could tell he thought this was the wrong decision to even agree to be out here alone with her but she had something to say and it couldn't be said anywhere else.

"I'm going to tell June." She cut to the chase and once she looked up from the ground after finishing her sentence, she noticed the look of horror on his face.

"You can't."

"Can't you see what this is doing to me? It's killing me, I can't take it anymore. June is my best friend and she needs to know what we did."

The guilt,

It was becoming too much for her to deal with.

"It only happened once." He said, as if justifying their silence. Little did he know, she had already made her mind up that night, there was going to be nothing that could stop her.

"One time too many." She muttered, causing his head to jerk up and look directly at her.

"I'm not very happy about the whole thing either. You weren't worth it."

"Thanks." She spit sarcastically at him before crossing her hands.

Maybe there was a small part of her that felt jealous of her best friend's relationship with this man standing right in front of her, maybe that was one of the reasons behind her sudden realisation that the truth needed to come out. June would never forgive him for what he did but she would surely get over him.

The truth,

It would ruin June.

But only for a little while.

"The only reason you want to tell her is to get back at me. Maybe if there were good reasons behind your actions, you wouldn't have to consult me about this. You'll feel guilty if you stay silent but you'll also feel guilty if you talk." He knew exactly how she was feeling, it surprised her how accurate his words were but she would never admit that to him.

She had been so split in two ever since that night. Months had passed and yet he was burned into her brain. The weight of everything fell onto her shoulders, her posture slumped a little as she crossed her arms and turned her gaze back to the ground as if that was where all the answers lay. Of course, she regretted it, they both did. It was a huge mistake.

He vowed to never slip up again,

He needed June.

And if keeping her meant lying, that was surely more important than telling the truth.

"If I wanted to get back at you, that would mean I care- which I don't."

"Oh come on, you know no one would ever suspect a thing if we didn't tell anyone. We've both hated each other since June introduced us. Wouldn't it just be easier to pretend it never happened. Then no one gets hurt." His reasoning seemed to calm her down a little, his words wrapped themselves around the knot in her stomach to untie it gently but then the guilt took over again and his words meant nothing.

How much longer could she take carrying all of this around?

She was weak, she was a terrible friend, she was appallingly dishonest and cowardly. June didn't need to have friends like her in her life, but just like June's boyfriend, her best friend needed her too. The aftermath of admitting her wrong was another thing she needed to take into consideration. June was her best friend, she had been for years, through all their teenage years and now into their twenties. Sometimes friendships like theirs did not last, they were the make or break ones. Because friends either grow apart or grow together, and the latter was what had happened with June and her best friend.

She vowed to never slip up again,

She needed June.

But if keeping her meant lying, she didn't think she could deal with the guilt.

"I wish I could go back to that night. I'd do so many things differently." He could see from the look on her face that she was at battle with herself in her own mind.

"Well you can't. We both made a huge mistake and to tell June would be an even bigger mistake. It would ruin everything. Staying quiet is what's best for all three of us. I love her and I can't lose her. She's your best friend and I'm sure you don't want to lose her too." He spoke with great confidence.

"No. I've made up my mind, I need to tell her. You don't deserve her after what you did."

"And you think you deserve a friend like her?" He scoffed at the finality in her town. Deep down, she felt like even after telling the truth, June would forgive her before she would ever forgive him.

"Maybe we won't be as close as we are now but-"

"I think you're forgetting a huge part of that night, or maybe you're just being delirious."

"What part do you think that might be?" she challenged him.

"You tell June and I'll make sure she knows who made the first move. I'll be sure to inform her how persistent you were."

"I was drunk."

"We both were, do you think that's going to be a good enough excuse to get you out of this but not me?"

Silence.

She did not need to speak.

It answered his question clearly.

Shame weighed her down again when she went through the events of that night. His words were correct. She was the one who had put the idea in his head, although that did not take away from what he did either- the pair of them were both wrong. But that specific detail would surely not be overlooked by June.

Months of trying to think things through had brought her there to that exact moment. Instead of fighting against him, she decided to be on his side. Her reason?

Friendship.

It meant more to her than the truth.