Page 78 of Hidden Fears
Kayla snorts. “Don’t listen to her. She’s been bitching the whole day because she’s constipated.”
Freya sends her a middle finger and slowly moves toward the leather couch by the fireplace. Alicia laughs and follows her. “When are you due again?”
“In two weeks.” Freya pops her feet up on the coffee table and starts rubbing her belly. “And I’m so ready for it.”
“Are you—” I blurt out, not knowing how to ask her if she’s planning to go clubbingtonight.
“Pff, no-o-o.” She shakes her head. “Actually, I probably should. The baby would definitely pop earlier. I’ll let her sit here for a bit though.” She lovingly rubs her belly. “But I feel so left out all the time, so I decided to get you all here. At least this way, I participate somehow and don’t feel left out.”
“I know the feeling.” I smile sadly.
She sends me a quick glance and pats the spot beside her. “C’mon, tell Freya how you had hot monkey sex with our hot sheriff in front of the grocery store.”
“Yew,” Leila makes a gagging sound like a cat with a furball.
I walk to Freya, laughing. “I see the story got tamer. The last I heard, it was in front of the church.”
“On top of the police truck,” Kayla chimes in with a raised hand.
“Inside Mrs. Roberts’s living room.” Leila can’t resist either, making a gagging sound. Her face turns sour, and we all laugh.
“God, I love small towns.” Freya rubs her belly gleefully.
“You’re weird,” Leila adds with a laugh. “You’re just like Archie, so badly wanting to become a part of it that you close your eyes to all the shit that’s going on here.”
Bullseye. We, the newcomers with no home, want to be included very badly.
“I’m soaking it all in with pleasure.” Freya flips Leila the bird, making her chuckle.
“How are they, by the way?” Kayla brings us all drinks and sits on the chair. “Are they talking again?”
She’s referring to Alex and Archie’s quarrel. Apparently, something happened between them when Archie was sleeping with Leila, and now they’re not on good terms.
“No.” Leila’s face falls. “They just nod politely at each other, and that’s about it. Looks like it will take some special event wrapped in extra circumstances to make them bury the hatchet.”
“Such a shame. They’ve been through hell together,” Kayla says.
“Yeah.” Freya starts chewing on her lip. “Alex has been worrying about it but too damn stubborn to do anything about it.”
“Same with Archie.” Leila sighs. “I see he misses him, but he’s too dead set on Alex being at fault.”
“He was, though,” Kayla coughs into her fist, and Freya sends her a nasty glare. “What? He was.”
“I know,” Freya says tiredly. “He knows it too.”
We chat about the situation some more before I feel my stomach growling—the last thing I had was coffee in the morning, that’s it. I glance at the delicious-looking appetizers and reach for one when Kayla smacks it away, sending the spring roll flying from my hand.
“What the fuck?” I cry out, and Kayla starts nervously glancing at Freya while Leila starts giggling. Soon, the giggling grows into hysterical laughter.
“For fuck’s sake!” Freya throws her hands in the air. “It was one time!”
“No, it was not,” Kayla and Leila contradict her in unison.
I look between them like a lost puppy. “What in the ever-loving crap just happened?”
Kayla turns to me. “Don’t eat anything here other than lasagna unless you want to spend the rest of the evening shitting your guts out.”
I must look too confused to ask anything because she clarifies in a quiet whisper, “Freya is ashittycook. Pun intended.” She widens her eyes to stress the point.
