Page 27 of Rhys: and the girl who was always his

“Well?” Ella interrupts my thoughts. “Are we going to watch something, or are we waiting for Rhys to have another snack crisis?”

“Both?” Yasmin suggests, stifling a laugh.

“Hey,” I say, tossing a piece of chocolate at them.

“Alright, alright.” Chase waves the remote, starting the movie.

The lights dim, and I force myself to relax, or at least act like I’m relaxing. But my mind keeps going back to Ally, her dizziness, the way she brushed it off so quickly. While I hope it's nothing, I can’t ignore my gut feeling that something’s amiss, that she’s hiding more. I steal a glance at Ashley, who is still watching us, her eyes narrowed in concern.

She knows something is up with Ally.

And so do I.

The thought gnaws at me, an unsettling reminder that there’s more going on than either of us knows. It should be simple, just waiting until the timing is right, but now—now, I’m not sure what’s happening. I glance at Ally, my chest tightening. I need to get her alone again to make sure she’s okay.

“Bored already?” Ashley’s voice is soft, just loud enough for me to hear.

“Huh?”

She gives me a pointed look, then gestures to my hands. I have a death grip on the chocolate wrapper. It’s practically melting in my palm. She stifles a laugh, and I force myself to unclench my fist, trying to ignore the way my heart’s picking up speed.

“Just waiting for Arden to pass out,” I mutter back, but I can tell she’s not buying it. She raises an eyebrow, and I wonder if she knows more than I do or if she’s already figured out what happened in the kitchen.

“Shh,” Ella says. “This is the good part.”

The screen lights up with an explosion, and I feel Ally flinch beside me, just barely. I’m probably the only one who notices, but it’s enough. Enough to make me sure of one thing.

This isn’t just about the timing. It’s not just the secret that’s throwing everything off, that’s making her seem so distant. There’s something else going on with her, something she’s not telling me.

I don’t even realise I’m staring until Ella nudges me with her foot.

“What?” I ask.

She smirks like my misery is the most entertaining thing she’s seen all week.

“Nothing,” she says, drawing out the word. “Just wondering how many snacks you’ll need before you stop sulking.”

“Ten,” Arden chimes in, not missing a beat.

“More like twenty,” Yasmin adds.

Ally’s laughing again, but I hear the strain in it this time, the undercurrent of stress that wasn’t there before. It’s the same laugh she used when we were pretending everything was just one big act.

It drives me crazy.

I need to know what’s really going on.

I groan, tossing another piece of chocolate in my mouth. “Ha ha.”

The others are joking around, the tension breaking with their antics. But I’m still watching her, and I know Ashley is too. The rest of them might not see it, but we do.

We both do.

The movie plays on in the background, and I brace myself for another round of pretending.

Another round of hell.

Something is going on with Ally.

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