Page 51 of Such A Bad Girl

“It’s just. Look…I’ve had feelings for her for a very long time. It’s killing me that she’s been coming to the temple. The last few times, I’ve…well, I interrupted.”

He set his coffee down. “What the absolute fuck does that mean, Theo?”

“It means…goddammit. Fuck, it means I stepped in once. She didn’t know it was me. Not at first.”

“What the fuck?” His voice roared through his house. “You’re kidding, right?”

“I wish. Look, I know, man. I said it was bad. But now, she does know. And shit is tense. I don’t know what to do. She liked it. She wanted more. I want to tell West. But I’m not sure if it’s just sex…or what.”

“What do you mean, more?”

“I don’t know if she has feelings towards me.”

He looked at me like I’d told him the sky was green. “Everleigh? Is it possible for her to have feelings for anyone? I’ve never seen her date anyone longer than five minutes.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I think she just wants to fuck. I’m just not sure. But I’m going to ask her!” I said quickly. “And if she says she has feelings for me too, then I’m going to tell West.”

“Tell West what?”

“That I’m in love with her.”

The words easily slipped from my lips, like I’d said it a thousand times before. But my heart skipped a beat. I’d just admitted out loud the very thing I’d been hiding forever. And, instead of feeling like I’d done something wrong, it felt like the most natural thing in the world to say.

His eyes squinted in disbelief, and he shook his head.

“You really think that’s what this is? This seems very sudden, bro.”

“Maybe it does, but we’ve known each other forever. We’ve been through a lot together.” I admitted.

“What? Fucking high school?” He scoffed. “Theo, are you glamorizing this? So, you hooked up, almost. Don’t be foolish. You really need to think this through.”

“I’m not. These feelings are real. At least on my part. It’s driving me fucking crazy.”

“Fuck, okay, well if you say so, who am I to say different?” He ran a hand through his hair, and shook his head. “You and Everleigh, huh? West is gonna fucking lose his mind. Remember what he did to that one guy she dated that cheated on her? Kevin something? Once West was done with him, he left the state so quickly, I don’t think he’ll ever be back. And remember when West saw that security guard checking out her ass? West fired the entire fucking security team and made us hire all new guys. Yeah, man, he’s gonna blow a fucking gasket if he finds out about you and Everleigh. I don’t want to be around for that. But you know what, man? Fuck him.”

“Really?”

“Hell, yeah. If she feels the same way, then you’d both be idiots to let this go. You have to at least try. Love is love, and love is rare.”

“That’s a very romantic thing to say to me, Rian.”

He laughed and shrugged. “I’m a regular fucking Romeo, didn’t you know?”

“Let’s hope this whole thing doesn’t end the same way that story did.”

We laughed as my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked the text message.

My blood ran cold as ice when I saw the photo. The coffee cup fell from my hand, crashing to the ground in pieces.

“Dude, what the hell, are you okay?” Rian’s voice sounded very far away.

Time seemed to stop. My heart stopped. My life stopped.

I blinked down at the picture of Everleigh, lying in some dark space, tied up on a bed. Her eyes were wide and full of fear, tears streaming down her face.

“This can’t be real,” I muttered, trying to make sense of everything.

Rian grabbed my phone out of my hand and squinted.

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