My Purgatory Hell

Chapter 5

"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies"

- Anonymous

Corwin? Hayley? My stomach dropped, and my skin felt like it was suddenly on fire. I wanted to scream or leave, but my feet held me where I stood.

The two makig out finally realized they had company. Hayley jumped off the bed clumsily, wiping her lips. "Let me explain," she slurred, glancing back and forth between Corwin and me. Corwin ran a hand through his thick and unruly dark curls with an uncomfortable expression plastered on his face. I didn't actually hear the words that came from Hayley's lips when she spoke. Instead, I was blinded by the betrayal of my best friend--she knew I had feelings for him. I flat out told her a while back, so she couldn't play dumb. Yet, she goes and does this?

The bedroom felt like it was shrinking around me. I knew I needed to get out of here, except I needed my things. I pushed past Hayley, who was blocking my path, and grabbed the items I brought in--I will have to change later. I averted my gaze from Corwin and Hayley. The image of them kissing was already ingrained in my mind, but I didn't need to add fuel to that fire.

"Please talk to me," Hayley pleaded. She caught my arm with her hand as I was about to head out of the bedroom door.

I took a deep breath and looked at her. No, look wasn't the right word--I glared at her. "What do you want me to say? You knew I liked him!" I jabbed my finger towards Corwin to make it blatantly obvious. "Yet you go and do this?" I shook my head. "I thought you were my friend!" The words seemed to have the impact I wanted, because Hayley flinched and her expression afterward looked like I had punched her.

"I am your friend," she whispered quietly with hurt laced in her voice. She was so quiet that I could barely hear the words that escaped her lips. Hayley let go of my arm and hugged herself as she watched me with sad eyes. Tears were starting to stream down her face, but I wasn't about to fall for this--I couldn't fall for this.

"If you were my friend," I stated, "you wouldn't have done this." I pushed my way past her.

While Hayley and I were hashing our argument out, Corwin had gotten up and stood in the front of the bedroom door. "Move, Winnie." My tone of voice was so harsh, the words even made me flinch. I had to give Corwin some credit, because he didn't budge or flinch at my words. It was also infuriating, because he was blocking my way.

"No," Corwin said firmly. "You like me?" After a moment, his face had become lost and confused. Of course it would. Guys tend to be so oblivious when it comes to things like emotion. Girl's feelings were foreign and unpredictable to them.

"Liked. Now please let me go," I said, a little impatiently.

Corwin ignored my plea. "When?" he asked. His eyebrows furrowed as he tried concentrating through the alcohol he had consumed. How much he consumed, I wasn't sure. If I wasn't feeling so hurt and angry, I would actually have found this moment comical.

"Since forever?" The words slipped out of my mouth before I could edit them, but there was no point in denying anything at this point. I hoped that if I had answered his questions, he'd surely let me go. I wanted to leave the room and this feeling of embarrassment behind. I felt exposed, and that wasn't welcome.

"I...." Corwin was at a loss for words. I knew he would be. Guys like him would never go for someone like me, and they, without fail, would become dumbstruck if they found out a woman had a crush on them. No matter because they would stumble over the right way to reject that someone. And Hayley? Hayley was probably just a fling in his mind, but to me it was the ultimate betrayal. More so on her end, even if she had the intention of only sleeping with him as a fling. Friends don't sleep with other friends' crushes. It doesn't work like that. There is no acceptable excuse in the world for this.