Page 39 of Battling the Enemy
“Why are you looking for me?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”
She glanced at Ava again and said, “Can we…talk privately?”
I looked over at Ava. “It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”
Ava didn’t look worried, so much as…sad. Like she was sending me off to meet my doom. “Are you sure?” I nodded before she went on her way.
Roselyn looked towards my back. “Is anyone in there?” she asked referring to the restroom. I shook my head. “Okay, let’s go in there.” I followed her into the restroom and remained silent as she locked the door, giving us privacy.
When she turned towards me, I asked, “What’s this about?” I hadn’t meant to sound short, but I wasn’t sure how much more my emotions could handle.
Her pretty blue eyes looked serious against her multi-colored hair and easy-going reputation. “Deke, uh…told me about this weekend,” she came right out and said. “He told me…you asked him if the rumors were true about me, him, and Liam.”
I could feel my face heat with embarrassment. It was one thing to ask Deke when I was calling his bluff on his bullshit, but it was quite another thing to have Roselyn Bell talking to me about this. “I’m…I’m sorry, Roselyn,” I muttered. “It wasn’t my busin-”
She threw a hand up to stop my apology. “Delaney, it is very much your business since you and Deke are together,” she replied.
“Wait, we’re no-”
Roselyn held up her hand again to stop my protest. “Whatever you think is going on, Delaney, you and Dekearetogether. You’re just…having a harder time coming to terms with it. Trust me, I know.”
“How do you know?” I asked, and Roselyn Bell proceeded to tell me about her stepbrother and the night she came to date both Liam and Deke.
I listened in pure fascination as she told me about the suggested gang rape, the way the boys went up to her room to protect her, the way it changed from protection to affection…she told me everything. Well, not details, but the gist of their relationship. The only detail she included was the monogamy, and that’s when I knew she was the other girl Deke had referred to.
When she was done with her story, she said, “I’m sorry if…if this makes you uncomfortable or puts a…strain on your relationship with Deke, but I’m not ashamed of the relationship I had with them. And I’m not going to pretend to be, Delaney. It was a secret at the guys’ insistence to protect my reputation.”
I had so many questions. I mean, I knew people had threesomes, but this hadn’t been a threesome. This had been a threesomerelationship. “Liam doesn’t get…jealous?” I asked, putting my confused feelings on hold until I could get a better grasp on this…revelation.
“No,” she answered. “It’s not like that. Deke was always…extra. It’s always been Liam who I connected with and loved. Don’t get me wrong. I love Deke to death. He’s one of my best friends, but that’s it.” She looked sad, and worried. “I know it’s hard to…understand, but…I wanted to assure you that…other than friendship, there is nothing more between me and Deke, Delaney.”
Then a thought occurred to me. “Is that why you and Emerson cleared the air with Ava? Because you guys didn’t want to be hypocrites with your relationship with Deke?”
Roselyn smiled, not at all offended by my question. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “Emerson was just being Emerson because she’s badass like that. I cleared the air because I truly don’t think about Liam and Ava. I know firsthand that you can sleep with someone and not be hung up on them afterwards. I know firsthand you can sleep with someone and feel nothing but friendship for them afterwards, Delaney.” Her words were hard to digest. “When I look at Deke, I see only my friend-a best friend, but just a friend, nonetheless.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just hopeful that when Ava looks at Liam and Ramsey, all she sees is Liam and Ramsey, you know.”
“I can tell you that Ava has long moved on since junior high,” I assured her. “I…this is just a lot.”
Roselyn nodded. “I know,” she agreed. “I know, but if things go south between you and Deke, I don’t want it to be because of…our past. And I really want us to be friends without…justrealfriends.”
It was a lot to take in. I wasn’t exactly jealous, but…I was still feeling second best with as loyal as Deke was to her. I knew I needed to take some time to process everything she just told me. Not to mention the way he mostly ignored me all morning had me confused as hell.
“I…it’s a lot to take in, Roselyn,” I admitted. “And with the way he’s been treating me this-”
She huffed out a sweet laugh. “He’s acting weird because he thinks you’re going to freak out and have nothing to do with him anymore, Delaney,” she divulged.
Well…“Oh…”
“Yeah. Oh,” she chuckled.
After a few quiet seconds, I said, “Thank you for telling me. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
She gave me a short nod. “It is when it’s for the right reason,” she whispered.
Were Deke and I the right reason?
Chapter 25
Deke~
