Page 10 of Their Offering

I caught my reflection in the mirror on my wall. Geez, I looked rough. I looked like a damn truck ran me over and then backed up. I needed more than girl time.

I nodded. “Yeah. Okay.” I pulled off my shirt and jeans from the night before.

“Holy shit, Lilly. What the fuckdidyou do last night?” Katie was staring at me as if I had grown an extra appendage.

I looked down at my body, only to find light purplish bruises on my hips and thighs. I took a few deep breaths, trying to keep myself calm. Those spots were exactly where Aiden––.

“Oh my god.” My breath picked up as I began to panic. “Katie, you’re not gonna believe me, but something did happen last night. Something crazy.”

When I finally looked up at her, she nodded her head. “You can tell me anything, Lil. Iwillbelieve you. No matter what. I promise.” She sat on my bed and patted the spot next to her. “Did someone hurt you?” she asked me softly.

I shook my head and shrugged on my sweats before sitting beside her, nervously fiddling with my hands. “No one hurt me. Not like that, at least.” I looked up at her again, terrified to go on, but I had to tellsomeone. She was my best friend—my only friend. I could trust her. “What I’m about to tell you is crazy, and I don’t have a reasonable explanation for it, but I swear it happened.” She would call me a lunatic once I was done, but I had to get this out.

“Spill.”

So, I did. I told Katie everything. She didn’t stop me once, not even when I told her about Aiden and Nicholas and the steamy fiasco on the altar. She let out a long breath once I’d finished.

“Holy shit, Lilly. That sounds…”

“Crazy, I know. I have no explanation, but please believe me. It all felt so real, but I thought it was some crazy dream. Then, I woke up tothis,” I pointed to my wrists and hips, “and I’m not so sure it was just a dream.” I stood before she could respond and began pacing, practically wearing holes in the carpet. I was sure my best friend was about to tell me how nuts I sounded and how I really was going to turn out just like my mom.

“I was gonna say… it sounds incredible.” She gave me a wink. “You’re sure you didn’t have anything extra last night? You were just drunk?”

Ouch. “So… you don’t believe me….”

“Shit. No. That’s not what I meant.” She sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“It’s fine.” I couldn’t keep from sounding sharp and irritated.

She stood in front of me and grabbed one of my hands, giving it a squeeze. “No, it's not fine. That was shitty of me to say. I swear I believe you. I don’t think you are crazy, and you willnotbecome your mom, Lilly.” She pulled me in for a tight hug.

The hug helped me relax as I reciprocated. I know she didn’t mean any harm. I probably would’ve asked her the same thing if the roles were reversed. She was just checking all the boxes.

“I forgive you, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I wasn’t worried about that. I’m your only friend. Youhaveto forgive me,” she said with a smirk and a laugh.

“So, youdobelieve me? All of it?” I held my breath with anticipation. I hoped she believed me.

She nodded her head enthusiastically as she let me go. “Uh, yeah. I believe in ghosts, cryptids, aliens, all sorts of things. Hell and some ridiculously attractive princes aren’tthatfar-fetched.” She winked.

I rolled my eyes and sat back down on the bed, feeling more at ease now that I’d come clean to Katie, even though a small part of my brain wanted to know what the hell was going on. I shook off the feeling and told myself I needed to let it go and get on with my life.

Katie lit up, and I knew she had an idea. “C’mon, let’s go. Do you think you could get back to it? Maybe we can figure things out if we go back to the scene of the crime.”

I gave her a small smile. “I appreciate the gung-ho attitude, but I really just need some girl time, Katie. All that can wait.” I paused. “I want to forget about last night.”

Her shoulders slumped, but she nodded. “Yeah, of course. We can do that.”

“Your house, though. I’m already tired of being here.” I stuffed a change of clothes into a bag in case I decided to go out later, then I opened my door. “Let’s go.”

We stopped at the store for soda and ice cream on the way. My go-to girl time snack had always been a float, and she never forgot it.

We didn’t talk much. Instead, we settled on her couch under a fluffy blanket and watched romcoms while shoving our faces with our floats.

By the time Katie had to leave for work, I was feeling much more myself. In fact, I was feeling so much better that I decided to go to the bar to find someone to go home with. I was already aching for more sex, despite the crazy night I’d just had. I needed to get laid, and right now, I didn’t really care about anything else.

Chapter 6

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