Page 35 of Pretend
12
ALESSIA
The eventsof tonight gave me a whiplash.
The only thing that made me smile weirdly was the mention of the happy birthday. Daegan showed me that I’m not numb like I thought I was. He protected me, although he did take that to the next level when he pulled out his knife, and even more so when it sank into Frankie’s skin.
I close my front door softly, not wanting to wake Jack up. I lock the door, pulling on my hair tie. I take it off, freeing my curls. It falls down my back, onto my behind.
I have long, thick, black, curly hair, and I probably should have cut off an inch or two before the deployment to trim off the ends, but I haven’t found the time.
I massage my scalp as I bend over to take off my boots, but a loud feminine moan shrieks into the quietness of my apartment.
I feel as though I was hit in the chest hard by a baseball bat. My heart pounds, and a cold sweat takes over my body. I stop breathing, forcing my body to be still and frozen while I listen. My whole world comes into slow motion, and I wait. I’m hoping and praying to God that this is all in my head…it has to be.
I’m desperately praying for more silence, but no. More moans follow, and my skin cripples with shivers. I grit my teeth and no longer know what I’m doing. I have no control over my actions; I begin to black out as I follow the cringe-worthy sounds that I wish would stop.
Please stop.
They’re coming from my fucking bedroom.
Please be a movie. Please let it be that I’m catching Jack with porn on our bedroom television and that the volume is too loud…but no.
With my luck, it’s one of my worst nightmares coming to life when I push open the door hard and fast. It hits the wall with a loud thud, marking it and probably drilling a hole into it. My eyes widen with disgust. I find Bailey riding my boyfriend. Her hands are in her own blue waves of hair, and her head is tilted forward. He has a hold on her waist as she continues to move.
Fucking sick.
I’m going to be sick.
Jack immediately sees me. He lets go of biting his lip, and his sensual expression quickly forms into a mixture of shock and guilt. He pats her thighs to stop, looking straight at me. He swallows, and she halts her movements, watching his gaze on me. She turns over her shoulder and gasps, grabbing the blanket to cover up, but doesn’t get off him.
She’s still on him.
Betrayal.
Betrayal is written on both of their cowardly faces. There’s no masking that.
“I always had my suspicions. But I was the crazy one, right?” I cry out, my heart breaking. Two people who are major components of my support system. Two people I used to trust in my life.
“I was the crazy one for thinking that one of mybest friendswould sleep with my boyfriend. I was the crazy one to think that you guys could be so fucking cliche and do this. Every time I asked you, Jack…you made me feel crazy.”
He doesn’t say anything but pats Bailey’s thigh again. She doesn’t move; she’s in shock, and her eyes turn glassy.
“Bailey?” I ask her. I want to throw questions at her and insults, but this hurts more coming from her.
One of my best fucking friends. This is another level of pain I never thought I’d go through. A breakup with a friend you saw as a sister is more heart-wrenching than you’d think.
Bailey cowers at my words. She doesn’t try to defend her actions. Neither does he.
She looks around the room, anywhere but my eyes. Of course, she can’t face me.
She’s too much of a selfish coward.
“You guys are perfect for each other. You can have him. Happy fucking birthday to me.”
I storm out of the bedroom without another word. I turn my head one more time before walking away from the snakes that finally shed their skin and got caught.
“Alessia. Wait, please. You weren’t supposed to be here for another hour!” Jack pushes Bailey off of him. She flops on the side of the bed, taking the blanketswith her.My blankets. She can have my fucking blankets, too, at this point. There’s no way in hell I want anything from this apartment anymore.
