Page 46 of Sure, Pal

21

Sienna

Evan had every right to be upset with me, and he was stressed out of his mind. It would be hopelessly naive of me to think that he wouldn’t lash out at me while he watched his father die.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on in his head right now, and while his words had sliced straight through me, inflicting a ridiculous amount of pain, I couldn’t hold them against him. He was angry and terrified, and when he was falling, I wasn’t the soft place to land that he needed. I was another bed of thorns.

Because I was selfish about all the wrong things.

Because I wanted to keep Ava and Evan.

Maybe we were really over like he said. Maybe he was just having a breakdown and pushing people away. But either way, I needed to put on my big girl panties and tell Ava the truth. Even if Evan wasn’t mine, I needed to own up to everything I’d done.

I drove to Ava’s beautiful lake-side house, right on time for our “meeting.” I missed the days when we could show up at each other’s houses without scheduling.

My heart raced as I knocked on her custom cherrywood front door. She pulled the door open, with her phone pressed to her ear. “Yeah, Milo! Of course!” She let out her fake laugh. To me, she mouthed, “Sorry,” and waved me inside.

I followed Ava down her entryway and into her home office, listening to her expensive heels click against the shiny white tile.

Ava sank into the chair behind her desk, still talking to this Milo person. I took the red suede chair opposite her desk and waited for her to finish her call.

After another minute or two of fake laughs, Ava hung up the phone and rubbed her temples. “Fuck, Si. I need a vacation.” She grinned at me — her real grin. “Remember those girls trips we used to take in college? Those were the good old days. We need to do that again!”

I gave her a weak smile, but she didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were already on her laptop. “Okay, I saw that you have almost fifteen-thousand followers now, girl! That is awesome! We can get your account verified now! You’re like influencer status! Welcome!” Ava was back to her fake smile.

Where the hell did my best friend go?

Ava was already talking again. “Have you heard from Evan recently? I’ve been calling him a lot, but he never answers! I’m so worried about him!”

Evan. Ugh. He wasn’t currently answering my calls, either, which made it even more crucial that I say what I came here to say. “Ava, that’s actually what I want to talk to you about.” My palms were sweating, and I was sure I was going to puke.

Ava glanced up from her laptop and said, “K, what’s up?” Then she turned back to her screen.

“So, about two months ago…”

Ava was typing something and staring at her laptop.

I let out a shaky breath. “Ava?”

“Uh-huh?” She still didn’t look at me. “Sorry, I have a lot of comments to respond to, but I’m totally listening. Just spill the tea, sis.” Ava took a quick sip of her iced coffee and continued typing.

A small part of me wanted to walk away and say, “Oh, I tried! But she didn’t listen!” But I knew I couldn’t do that. I wanted to be with Evan one hundred percent. We both deserved that.

I sat up straight and blurted out, “I’ve been seeing Evan!”

Ava’s fingers froze above her keyboard. Her shoulders stiffened, and her brow furrowed. She let out a sharp breath. “I’m sorry. I swear I just heard you say that you’re seeing Evan, as in you are dating my ex-boyfriend.” She slammed her laptop shut and stared at me with narrowed eyes. I had her full attention now, for the first time in years.

I squared my jaw and nodded.

“What?” Ava’s single word sliced through the air like a bullet.

My heart pounded in my throat. “About two months ago, when we ran into each other at the bar we…”

“What the FUCK, Sienna?” Ava slammed her fists against her shiny marbled desk with murder in her eyes. Then she held up her hands, “Hold up, so this has been going on for months? Were you screwing each other at that sushi dinner? Is that fucking why you bailed on me after?”

I could feel my throat tightening and my stomach churning. “Yes.” I shook my head. “I should have told you what was going on, but I was scared, and I didn’t know what to say! I’m so sorry about that!” Tears burned the corners of my eyes.

Ava stood and paced back and forth behind her desk, lips pressed into a thin line. When she spoke again, her words were low and pressed through clenched teeth. “You—the only real friend I thought I had— fucked the only guy I ever actually loved.”

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