Page 60 of North
All she wanted was a fucking friend and she couldn’t even have that. Not even on her birthday. I had to let her fight this battle. She wasn’t my little girl anymore. She wasn’t my Strawberry Shortcake. North was torching the pain and deceit of her past and she had to do it alone so she could emerge victorious.
“You left me! You left me for all of this. For him.” She gestured to me angrily. “You forgot who the fuck you were and who cared about you.”
“No, I didn’t. I tried everything to save our friendship, Sierra. I wanted to keep you close. You were like my sister.” Tears turned to rivers on her mottled pink cheeks. My heart twisted for her.
You can’t save her from this, Kane.
“I wasn’t your sister when you left Delta.”
“How the fuck was I supposed to stop that from happening? I had no choice! How selfish are you that the only thing you care about is me leaving Delta? My mother died. My whole world crashed and burned and you pulled away when the flames were hottest. You ghosted me without a word and I had to practically beg you to be my friend.” She sniffled and took a step closer to Sierra causing her to flinch. I’d flinch too if North beat my ass.
“You’re the worst type of person. We’re done being friends. You can keep your toxic misery to yourself. I refuse to be your company. Get the fuck out.”
“If that’s how you want to play it. Game on. Consider us done.” She stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her. In her absence was a swell of silence.
North stood there, chest heaving and tears drying on her cheeks. She looked like she’d gone through war butfuckshe was beautiful. I moved closer to her until we were chest-to-chest then I wrapped my arms around her.
“You did good, Shortcake. You did damn good.”
…
CHAPTER 17
“Hey, North. I’m so happy you called. I wanted to talk to you.” Melanie sat across from me with a warm smile. I’d just gotten off work and ordered us both lattes so we could sit and talk. God knows I needed it after my birthday. At that point, Mel was the only woman I was close to. “I know last night was awkward and I’m so sorry.”
“Trust me, you finding out about me and Kane was the least awkward moment of the night.”
Melanie’s blonde brows scrunched together as she regarded me. “What happened after we left?”
“Kane sent me upstairs because I wasn’t feeling well. I ate too much at dinner, which might explain why I had such a hard time waking up this morning.” I combed through my ponytail and nibbled on my bottom lip.
“You did demolish a few plates of food last night.”
“And a hunk of cake…or two. Then I felt sick to my stomach and couldn’t wake up this morning. I was almost late for work. Anyway…I came back downstairs last night because I wanted to ask Kane something and I walked up on him and Sierra talking.” I shook my head at the sour memory. “She was trying to fuck him. It infuriated me, Mel. She said horrible, disgusting things about me…about Kane.” I sniffled and wiped my face. The sting was still fresh.
“Oh my god, North. I’m so sorry. I knew she wasn’t a good friend but Jesus.”
“We got into a fight.” I showed her the scratches Sierra left on my forearms and she nodded as she took mental notes.
“You need to take pictures of these.” She picked up her phone and started snapping pictures immediately.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you always document altercations. You never know when you might need the evidence.” When she set her phone down, she held my hand from across the table and rubbed her thumb across my knuckles. “How are you feeling, North?”
“Right now? Tired.” I couldn’t place the expression on her face. It was stuck between concern and curiosity. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I wanted to talk to you about Kane. This is totally not in a bad way. I wanted to let you know there’s no judgment over here from me. I know you two have a special bond and honestly, it’s nobody’s business.” She hesitated for a few beats then continued. “North, how long have you and Kane been…together?” The emphasis she put on the word together made me tense and burn with embarrassment.
“I don’t know exact months.”
Eleven months and ten days.
“Okay, let me rephrase that. When did you two start being intimate?” The question made her as uncomfortable as it made me. I took a long sip of my latte then pressed my palm to my hot cheeks.
“Oh my god, Mel. Seriously?”
“I know. It’s cringe-y but I promise I’m asking for good reason.”
