Page 66 of Loving Lies (Granton University 3)

“His point of view?” Tess shrieked. She couldn’t believe this. Bailey was taking his side? The outgoing, rude, demanding, forthright girl was her best friend, not his! She should be looking out for Tess’s best interest, not—

“His life had just fallen apart literally thirty seconds before you guys exploded on each other. He had no future left to look forward to. On top of that, he was about to become embroiled in a huge scandal…on the national level. And let’s face it, his physical capabilities were absolutely nil. You take that, add in a guy with typical macho protective tendencies, and of course he’s going to want to keep the people he cares about the most as far away from that kind of mess as possible.”

“So…” Oh God. “You’re saying he just…he let me walk away to protect me?”

“More or less.” Bailey winced and made a face. “Okay, yeah, that’s it, exactly.”

“But…oh, Bailey. You didn’t agree with him. Did you?”

Dear Lord, she had.

“Hell, no. I told him you were a big girl and could decide for yourself which people you do and don’t want anything to do with, and he had no right to make that decision for you.”

“Oh, thank God. Thank—”

“Then I told him to stay away from you until he had his shit together.”

“What? Bailey!”

“Well, what did you expect? You’re my best friend; I feel protective of you, too, you know. And the guy was a freaking mess. He was crying all over the place and—”

Tess gasped and

hugged herself. “He was crying?” Pain tore through her to even think of him getting emotional in front of Bailey. He must’ve hated that. “And you just—” Pressing her hand to her aching chest, she gaped at her backstabbing best friend. “You didn’t tell me sooner.”

Bailey began to wring her hands. “Now…don’t look at me that way. Please, Tessie. If it’s any consolation, I told him to look you up again whenever he feels worthy of you.”

That only made things worse.

“You didn’t. Oh…damn it, Bailey. Tell me, how do you feel whenever things can’t get any worse for you and you think you’re at rock bottom? Do you ever feel worthy of anyone? God, what if…what if he decides he’ll never…” She couldn’t even finish the question, bowing her head, she squeezed her eyes closed and prayed he came back to her. Soon.

“Tess…”

When a hand hesitantly touched her shoulder, Tess growled. “Don’t.” As she glanced with clenched teeth and flaring nostrils, Bailey snatched her fingers back, her eyes wide with shock. “I can’t believe you! Once again, you interfered with my life and did something without my permission…on my supposed behalf. But this time…this time, you went too far.”

“But—”

“No! It’s my time to talk. Usually, I don’t mind that you take over. I actually prefer it. You like to lead. I like to follow. That just works for us. But I do have my own thoughts, too, and I can make my own decision. Butting into my relationship with Jonah was one place you didn’t belong. You weren’t there when I went to visit him. You don’t know what happened between us. What he made me feel. And…Jesus, Bailey how could you tell him to stay away? What if…what if I never see him again because of that? What if I can’t find him? Oh God, what if I go through the rest of my life never feeling for anyone what he made me feel for him?”

As Tess’s chest heaved from her fiercely given speech, Bailey gaped at her mutely. Then she shook her head slightly and drew in a sharp breath. “He hurt you.”

“Yes, he did,” Tess agreed. “But that’s my pain to bear. Not yours.”

Bailey snorted. “What the hell ever. You’re my best friend. You can’t just expect me to—”

“I can. And I do. I’m probably going to get my heart broken a lot in my life. I’m sure you will too. We can be there to console each other during the hard time and celebrate the great times. But interfering the way you did was wrong.”

“Tess,” Bailey whispered as she dragged in a shuddered breath. Her lashes blinked furiously and her chin quivered. “I did it because I love you.”

“No. You did it because you feel the need to control me.”

“Control you?” Mouth falling open, Bailey sputtered before hissing, “That’s insane. I don’t—”

“Yes, you do! Every time we do anything, it’s always your idea. And on those rare occasions we actually do something I want to do, you bitch and complain the entire time…because it wasn’t part of your plan.”

Bailey threw her hands into the hair. “Okay, now you’re just being irrational. You’re upset and—”

“No, now I’m being honest.” Tess dug her finger into her chest. “Brutally honest. Something I learned from you. I know this stems from watching your mom die when you were seven. You had no control over what happened to you then, so you feel the need to personally oversee every little detail over your life now and over the lives of everyone around you. But you went over the line this time. I mean, what if I never see him again because of you?”

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