Page 74 of The Payback Plan
There were several long moments of silence during which Paige braced for their condemnation. Astrid broke the silence. ‘Are we still talking first base here?’
Paige couldn’t even bring herself to say the words. She just shook her head, misery and condemnation like a yoke around her neck.
‘Uh oh!’ Sienna blinked at the screen.
Astrid ended another long pause. ‘So, is it just sex?’ she pressed. ‘Or is it something more?’
‘Oh God.’ Paige rubbed her forehead, her gaze flicking to Oliver again before returning to the screen. ‘I think I actually might… like him. Like,reallylike him.’ She’d told him about Harvey. That had to mean something, right?
‘Like havefeelingsfor him, like him?’ Astrid pushed.
Paige nodded. ‘Maybe… yeah.’ But what kind of feelings she didn’t want to think about just yet. She was still processing how she could be sexually attracted to a guy who had hurt her friend so badly.
‘Paige…’ Sienna expelled a slow audible breath obviously trying to temper her words. ‘I’m not trying to make you feel worse. It’s just… he jilted Bella.’
‘I know,’ she wailed. ‘I know that.’ God, didn’t she know that. ‘It’s okay.’ Paige squared her shoulders. ‘You can tell me I’m a terrible person. You can cut me out. You can expel me from this group. In fact, I think I’d rather it.’
Before the phone call she’d been dreading them excommunicating her, but right now, facing these women, she’d take any punishment to take the edge off the guilt.
‘Oh honey,’ Astrid murmured, her voice rich with empathy. ‘We’re not going to do that.’
‘Absolutely not,’ Sienna added quickly despite obviously finding it harder to get her head around the turn of events. ‘We have each other’s back, no matter what.’
Their swift support meant a lot but Paige knew this was one helluvano matter what.
‘I guess I’m just struggling with…’ Sienna’s expression was earnest as she stared into the camera and right into Paige’s soul. ‘How it happened?’
‘I am too, if it’s any consolation,’ Paige admitted.
‘Bella did say right at the beginning he wasn’t a bad person,’ Astrid said and hell, if Paige didn’t want to kiss her.
‘And she’s right,’ Paige agreed quickly. ‘He’s actually a really good person.’
Sienna jutted her chin. ‘Who did a really shitty thing.’
Paige nodded. ‘Yep.’ There was no disputing that Oliver had blotted his copy book. But instead of feeling outrage over his disappearing act like she had when she’d first heard about it, Paige felt a pang of emotion for the guy who, in ultimately trying to do the right thing by Bella, had completely ballsed it up.
‘But here’s the thing,’ Astrid reasoned, ‘if we’ve learned anything thus far, it’s that there’s more than one side to a story. Look at me, I jumped the gun because I was angry and hurt and yes, Chase should have explained himself but… maybe there’s more behind what Oliver did than meets the eye? All I’m saying is that when we came up with this plan in Chicago fired up on booze and sugar and our swift ride-or-die bond, everything felt cut and dried but, maybe it’s not?’
She sounded pensive again and Paige wondered if she was reflecting on her own journey with Aiden? Was Astrid having doubts too? Or was Paige reading too much into it?
‘Except for Horrible Harvey,’ Sienna muttered.
‘Oh yeah.’ Astrid’s lip curled in distaste. ‘Fuck him.’
Paige blinked back tears. She hadn’t been sure how this call would go but she’d been fairly sure Astrid and Sienna would be super pissed. At the very least Sienna could have easily reneged on her commitment to cut Harvey off at the knees – fair was fair.
They’d been wonderful though and if that gleam in Sienna’s eyes was any indication, she was more determined than ever to settle the score with Harvey.
‘So,’ Sienna continued. ‘When are you going to tell Bella?’
The question hit right between the eyes.Tell Bella…Bloody hell, she hadn’t even thought that far ahead. It had taken all her courage to tell these two. ‘Oh.’ She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth then released it. ‘I… I wasn’t… I don’t know if…’
‘Youhaveto tell Bella.’ Sienna’s tone brooked no argument. ‘You can’t tell us and not her. It’s not a secret either of us wants to keep, right?’ She paused briefly to look at Astrid, who nodded slowly, before continuing in a softer tone, ‘I know it will be hard, but it’s way better to get this out in the open, hon.’
Ugh.Sienna was right of course. And maybe that was why she’d told them. Because she knew, deep down, they’d make her do the right thing.
Butoh em gee. Just the thought made her want to throw up.
