COMPLICATED.

CHAPTER 7

THE TRUTH

"No, Emma, please! Let me explain everything!"
I wonder if he’s actually serious. Does he really have the nerve to step into my house uninvited? Nick glares at him with a look full of violent promises, forcing him to take a step back. Good move, idiot. You’ve realized the air has turned toxic. Now watch me burn down what’s left of us.
After staring at him for what feels like an eternity, I finally speak. My voice is unnaturally calm—the kind of quiet that precedes a storm.
"Really? I’m dying of curiosity. Explain to me how your mouth accidentally ended up on hers. Or how, by some pure twist of fate, both your clothes just happened to fall off. Better yet, explain how you accidentally slept with another girl who isn't your girlfriend!"
Both of them stare at me, stunned. Nick, after the initial shock, gives me a half-smile full of pride at my reaction. Leo, on the other hand, starts sobbing like a child who just broke his favorite toy. What a pathetic sight. My life has become a cliché from a B-list drama. God, how I wish this were just fiction. But this pain is far too real.
"I beg you, I didn't mean to, I didn't..."
"Leo, for once in your miserable life, tell the simple, pure truth instead of whining like a baby. My brother is ten years old and he's already more of a man than you."
Nick is even more shocked by my new attitude. I don’t know if he’s proud of me or scared, and honestly, I don't care. Right now, this icy contempt feels almost good.
Leo begins to stammer, his words tripping over one another.
"I-it wasn't my intention... I tried to avoid it, but she was persistent and I didn't know what to do. The two of us weren't getting along anymore; we were fighting every single day! She made me forget for a while that I was at odds with you, but a second later, I was right back to thinking about you. I realized what a mistake I was making every single time. Please, please, forgive me—you know I love you!"
I see the look of pure disgust on Nick’s face beside me. I feel the blood pulsing in my temples. He has crossed every line.
"Did you even think about what you were saying during that Oscar-worthy speech? Congratulations, I’ll give you the first-place trophy myself," I say with a drop of venom. "We never got along? We fought every day? 'Always at odds with you'? You have to be joking!"
"Do you even realize you're speaking in the plural for a situation you created all by yourself? And for no reason at all! All these years I’ve been by your side, I’ve supported you, I gave up making new friends just to be near you. I was your shadow, I gave you everything, and now you come here with this bullshit! You can't blame me for your own twisted thoughts. I don't even know why you've treated me like garbage these past few months. I’m truly curious to—"
"Because the two of us have been together for three years and we've never had sex! Do you have any idea what that means for me?!" he interrupts, raising his voice.
Nick is on the verge of exploding, ready to lay hands on him, but I silently plead with him not to. I am speechless. What were all those years for, then?
I don't know where I find the courage to answer him, and at this point, it’s my turn to stumble over my words.
"S-so... that’s all it ever was for you? A matter of sex? You felt nothing for me? It was all just to get me into bed?!"
He doesn't comment. He just stares at me. The silence is the most brutal confirmation I could receive. I wanted him to deny it, to say I was wrong. Instead, as he sees fresh tears start to fall, he begins to speak with a chilling clarity.
"The first year started as a goal to reach. Yes, I wanted to sleep with you, but after a few months, I got to know you and realized what a fantastic person you were—and are. The second year, I was totally in love with you. We were together and I respected your choice more and more because I didn't care about anything else. But this year, we weren't as close as before, and the doubts and worries piled up. I had to deal with my scholarship, and that pulled me away from you... until I met Sasha."
He stops to glare at Nick when he mentions her name, then continues, fixing his gaze back on me.
"She started throwing herself at me, promising me things that you couldn't give me yet, and so..."
"For how long?" I interrupt him, now crying uncontrollably. He can't even look me in the eye. "FOR HOW LONG?" I scream.
"For eight months..." he answers, terrified by my reaction.
Eight months. Eight months of him making me believe everything was fine. I feel like a fool, like I’ve been blind. But then, a thought strikes me. Why organize the date for her and Nick?
He reads my mind from the way I’m staring at him.
"The situation was becoming too obvious to too many people. So we decided together that it would be easier if Sasha went out with him—someone who didn't know anything, someone close to..."
"To me," I whisper, my voice barely audible.
Nick looks petrified. I feel like I no longer exist. Nick's phone has been ringing for who knows how long—it’s my father—but he doesn't have the heart to answer.
"Baby, I'm so sorry, I love you, I wanted to end things with her..."
"Don't you fucking dare! Don't you ever call me that again! Don't call me at all!" I scream, stepping closer and closer to him. "Get out of this house, get out of my life, don't ever show your face again!"
"But I lov—"
I don't even let him finish the sentence before my hand connects squarely with his cheek, delivering a stinging slap. That mark is going to stay there for a long time.
Leo’s pain transforms into rage. He grabs me by the arm, speaking in a calm but threatening tone.
"Listen to what I’m going to tell you, and hear it well. You will be alone for life, because you will never know how to give a man what he desires. You’ll stay alone and a virgin..."
Suddenly, I no longer feel his touch or hear his words.
Everything happens in a flash. Nick lunges at Leo and slams him to the ground, raining down punches and slaps over and over again. Leo screams in pain. Nick doesn't stop.
"Nick, stop! You’ll kill him!" I scream in a panic.
The "good guy" I’ve known forever has just transformed into something dark. Something I’ve never seen. Nick won't stop, and I can't stop my tears.
Suddenly, the door slams open and my father throws himself between them to pull them apart. My mother rushes over to hug me, and everything ends.
"You! You better be gone in ten seconds before I intervene personally. And don't you ever come near her again!" my father roars.
Nick’s nose and mouth are bleeding, but Leo looks far worse. He looks around, points a finger at me, and sneers.
"Remember the words I said!" he spits, and then he’s gone.
And I collapse completely. This is too much. I run toward my room, hearing Nick and my mother chasing after me, but I’ve already locked the door.
"EMMA! PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!" Nick screams.
I want to be alone. Away from everyone.
Leave me alone.
Alone, once again.