Page 69 of Never Enough

Eden throws her hands up, her face contorted in anger. “Look, Romeo, I don’t know where she went, all right? But judging by the way she bolted, it obviously has something to do with you letting Celeste rub her thirsty-ass self all over your cock.”

The accusation stings. I open my mouth to retort, but the words die on my tongue. Eden’s right. I messed up, big time. “I know, Iknow,” I mumble, pinching the bridge of my nose. Shame burns in my gut. “I didn’t m-mean for her to s-see that.”

She sarcastically laughs. “It’s fine if other women flirt with you, as long as Daph doesn’t find out?”

“N-no! You’re t-twisting my w-words. Celeste is j-just a friend. We h-have h-history. That’s a-all.”

“That’s not true, and you know it, Alex. You allow the entire world to believe that you and Celeste are together.It’s not even that you ignore Daphne. It’s that you allow your so-called friends and sister to make fun of her too.“ She sighs. “Look, I love Daphne. She’s my best friend, but do you want my honest opinion?”

I don’t like where this is going. “N-no.”

“Well, that’s too damn bad. You’re gonna get it.” She crosses her arms over her chest and tries to look tough. “You don’t love Daphne. To be honest, I don’t even think youlikeher.”

“W-What? N-no. That’s r-ridiculous.”

“Is it? How many classmates would genuinely think you like her if we polled them right now? They’d laugh, Alex. They’d think you’re joking. Tell me you haven’t heard the rumors that she’s stalking you.”

“It’s n-not like th-that. Our relationship is p-private. It’s n-no one’s b-business.” Though I’m not surprised Daphne told Eden. They’re best friends, soI can’t fault her.

“Dude.” She exasperatedly sighs. “You don’t get it. Are you dating Daphne or not? From all angles, it looks like not.”

“O-of course I a-am!” I retort. “I m-may have f-fucked up, but that d-doesn’t ch-change my f-feelings. Daphne is my g-girlfriend.”

She shoots me a deathly glare. “Let me reiterate that’s not the image you and your crew project to the world. Have you even looked at what everyone says about you, Celeste, and Daphne on social media?”

No.

With Eden standing in front of me, I grab my phone and open up IG, only to find dozens of photos of Celeste and me sitting in the hot tub, laughing, drinking, and smiling at one another all over my feed. The captions read:Look who’s back together,Relationship goals,andDamn, she’s lucky. Not fair!Along with variations of similar sentiments.

It’s sickening. To my horror, the person who means the most to me is missing. Not a single fucking picture.

The world fades away, and it’s just me, my phone, and the presentation I put off via social media. Quickly, I locate Daphne’s page and am instantly reminded that I don’t follow her. There’s no indication from my page to hers that I am even friends with her.

Daphne’s IG is so relatable and imperfect. Not to compare, but Celeste likes to have selfies with those duck lips, or she’ll onlytake photos if she’s wearing makeup or in a seductive pose, but Daphne’s page is full of candid shots and things she’s passionate about.

Her profile picture is of herself and her harp. She’s got several pictures of her and Eden eating popcorn or having a girls’ night. I slowly scroll until I see a shot I recognize. It’s ofus.Fuck, the night we first had sex. We’re in bed, a sheet covering her body—thank God, because I don’t want any grubby little eyes seeing my woman. I’m lying next to her, but my face has been edited with a superposed black circle. You can see a few strands of my floppy dark hair and a bit of my forearm behind my head. Daphne’s laying her head on my chest, with the camera angled up in a bird’s-eye view. She’s happy, and though I can’t see my face, I know that I’m happy too.

I’m here, on her page, when she’s nowhere on mine. My chest tightens when I also realize that I’m edited so you can’t recognize me because I asked her to keep us a secret. She wanted to tell the world that we’re together but had to do it in her own way that followed my stupid rules.

The photo has only one like, Eden’s, but a flurry of comments. Intrigued, I click on the comment section to see what everyone said.

Celestralbeing: LOL, who’d you pay to fuck you? @it’svictoriabitches have you seen this shit?

VictorianotVickiBitches: Sad.

gardenofEDEN: *eyeroll emoji* You two need to get a life.

Celestralbeing: When I post pictures of my boyfriend, I don’t have to obscure his face. Just saying…

Daphne.Burton: Please just stop.

Instead of provoking Celeste and Victoria, she did nothing. Even when she refused to engage, they still attacked her.

Rather than allow Victoria to withhold her grudges with Daphne, I should have helped support a healthier relationship between them. Victoria never even gave Daphne a chance, but I know who Daphne is. How sweet, kind, and amazing she is. Yet I allowed my sister to bully her. Knowing what was happening, I chose to support Victoria’s animosity rather than advocate for the fair treatment of the woman I love.

I could have made different choices, like asking Victoria and Daphne to join me for dinner. They might have discovered how much they have in common. However, I never followed through. I never attempted to help Victoria understand or support Daphne in the way a boyfriend should. As far as the entire world isconcerned, I don’t like Daphne. Some would even argue that I facilitate the tension between them.

I click the back button to search for additional pictures of us or any signs of our relationship, but all I find is a screen stating,No posts yet.She couldn’t have deleted them that fast!

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