Page 47 of Thanks for the Friendship
“Hey.”
She walks into the living room and puts her hands on her hips. It doesn’t take a genius to know that something’s wrong.
“Lila, is it true?” she asks sharply. “We have to move out?”
A lump quickly forms in the back of my throat. Gabby furrows her brow and gives me a concerned look. “What’s going on?”
I let out a sigh.
So many thoughts are flying around in my head, and the truth is that I don’t have a good reason for waiting to tell them.
“My parents want to the sell the house,” I say. “Not immediately.”
“But sometime soon, right?” Reagan asks. “Why would you keep that from us?”
“I wasn’t keeping it from you,” I trail off. “I was going to wait until after Theo’s party, and then the engagement happened. I just didn’t know how to break the bad news.”
Reagan folds her arms. “Seriously? You don’t think that we can handle bad news? I think we deserve to know if we’re going to be homeless or not.”
I lean my head to the side. “That’s being a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
Gabby still hasn’t said anything. Of course, she’s engaged, and she could move in with Theo at any moment.
“No. I don’t think I’m being dramatic. I think you should’ve told us the night you found out. And now I look stupid in front of Bethany because I defended you. I told her that you would never keep something like that from me.”
Hold on. What is she talking about?
“Bethany? That’s how you found out?”
She nods. “Yep. Of all people.”
I’m so confused. Did Paul tell her? He’s definitely on the top of my list now.
“You told Bethany before us,” Gabby exclaims.
“Of course not.”
“Then how did she find out?”
I’m trying to think of all the people that I know. Ugh. There are a lot. I guess I have some explaining to do.
“I told Paul and Harry when we were on the boat. Either Paul told her, or she overheard me. I’m not sure.”
Reagan frowns.
“So you decided to talk to them about it while you were sipping a cocktail without a care in the world.”
I’ve only seen Reagan mad a few times and only when Bethany was involved. I’m not surprised Bethany used this to her advantage—well played.
“Are you kidding?” I shout. “I’ve been struggling with it since I found out. Not only do we all have to leave, but I have to say good-bye to my childhood home. And to make things worse, Sara thinks that she and Cal should buy it.”
Reagan and Gabby exchange a glance.
“Yes, Sara and Cal know,” I mutter. “But only because they showed up to the restaurant when I was having dinner with my parents. The Hillards had to sit near us, and they heard our conversation.”
Neither of my roommates say anything for a few seconds.
“I understand why you didn’t say anything before the party, but you’ve had plenty of time since then,” Reagan says finally. “And to have to hear it from Bethany is the worst-case scenario.”
