Page 49 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
I hadn’t really thought about how she would respond, but if I had, I would have expected shock, horror, sympathy. A whole lot more than ‘that sucks.’
There’s a hint of sarcasm in my tone when I agree. “Yeah. It does suck.”
“Sorry, it’s just...” She bites her lip and meets my gaze. “I thought you already knew.”
I can’t stop blinking. As if opening and closing my eyes will somehow make her words make sense. “What do you mean?”
She shrugs, her expression wary, and my stomach plummets toward the ground. “It’s just...I thought you always knew.”
“Always?” My voice is little more than a whisper.
She sighs, and her gaze fills with pity. “You didn’t know.”
“Know what?”
She looks around as if she’d rather be anywhere but here. Or maybe she’s hoping someone will come along and save her.
I move in closer so she has to look at me. “Know what, Toni?”
She presses her lips together and takes a deep breath. “He’s been cheating on you all along, Bailey. I thought you knew. I mean...” She wets her lips. “I thought you just chose to look the other way or something.”
“He’s cheated on me before?” It’s a horrified whisper, and the world is toppling around me.
Her eyes crinkle up at the corners. “I’m sorry, Bailey.”
Shesoundssorry, which somehow makes it worse. She’s not lying. And she truly thought I knew.
“How—who—” I stop and try to swallow, but my mouth is dry and my face is numb. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
The pitying look fades and now she’s staring at me in disbelief. “Why would I do that?”
“Because...because we’re friends,” I say.
Her brows draw together in confusion and the little smile on her lips isn’t sincere. “No,” she says slowly. “We’re not.”
“But—”
“Bailey, we stopped being friends the moment you got together with Grayson and left me behind.”
My lips part and I’m gaping at her now. At the bitterness in her voice. “What?”
She gives her head a shake and looks away. “Look, it’s ancient history, okay?”
“I didn’t mean to...” I trail off as I try to remember what happened back then. It was freshman year, and Grayson was new, and I was totally smitten. Then suddenly he was into me too and we were spending all of our time together. It was all such a heady blur. So exciting and new and...
My heart stumbles and guilt makes my stomach turn. I never meant to ignore Toni.
“We just...we grew apart,” I tell her now, repeating the story I’ve been telling myself for years now. “We started hanging out with different groups of friends and?—”
“No.” Her voice is a little harder than before. “Youstarted hanging out with a different group. You got the popular boyfriend and were suddenly in with thecool crowd.” She uses air quotes when she says ‘the cool crowd’ and her lips twist in bitter amusement. “And I got left behind.”
“I didn’t—” I stop and start again. “I didn’t think you wanted to hang out with those people?—”
“Yeah, because it would have been such a bummer to be invited to parties.” She talks in a monotone that feels like a punch in the gut. She rolls her eyes. “Like I said, this is ancient history. It’s not like I’m still hurt or anything.”
Still hurt.Which meant she had been hurt. My mouth opens and closes. Guilt wraps around my chest and squeezes. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.”
She sighs again, her gaze fixed somewhere over my shoulder. “Yeah, well, that’s why I didn’t tell you that your asshat of a boyfriend was sleeping his way through the cheerleading squad.”
