Page 82 of Reckless Liar

“Why? Because you’re moving on? It was going to happen, eventually.”

“Because I moved on to Max’s best friend.”

“You can’t worry about Max. I think Max would...”

I raised a hand to her. “Don’t say he’d want me to be happy.”

She pursed her lips together, raising her eyebrows. “I wasn’t. I’m sure Max would be pissed. Honestly, Max was a selfish ass when it came to you. I think if he was alive and you guys broke up, he’d flip out if you hooked up with Xander, and who knows, maybe he’s turning in his grave every time you two make out...”

“Scarlett! You are not helping me,” I admonished.

“But he loved you. He might have been an asshole. He might have had his issues, but you were one of the few good things he had in his miserably short life. He loved you more than anything. So yeah, Max would be pissed. But he would be pissed about anyone. The only other person he came close to trusting was Xander.”

“So, you’re saying you think I’d get his blessing?”

She smirked at me. “I doubt even in the afterlife, Max is that evolved. But I think begrudging acceptance would be attainable.”

“What about you? What do you think?” I asked, my voice wavering.

“Baby girl!” She threw her head back and laughed. “What do you think I’m going to say?” Still laughing, she shook her head incredulously at me.

“So yes? No? I don’t know...”

”IloveXander. He has been in love with you for years. I can’t imagine a better guy for you.“ Smiling she grabbed my hand in hers. “If you care about him half as much as he cares about you, it could really be something.”

“If I hadn’t screwed it up.” I reminded her my voice choked with tears. I break down again, the sobs wracking my chest.

I cry and she rubs my back. Once my cries quieted, she retreated to the bathroom to change into her pajamas. I can hear the water turning on and off. In the wake of my confrontation, Scarlett’s non-reaction is bewildering. When she comes out of the bathroom, she holds the test in her hand.

“You have to take it.”

I stare at the test, willing it and the question it poses to go away.

“I mean it, Ana. I know tonight has been rough. But you need to know,” Scarlett chided.

I look up at her and grimace. “It’s been more than rough.”

“Take the test.” She thrusts it in my hands and pushes me toward the bathroom. I scowl at her but follow directions.

I watch as the test began to change, the window showing the thick blue control line deepened in color. I sit on the toilet, waiting for the other line to show up but after five minutes there was still a single blue line.

Negative.

All that stress, the fight, the heartache. I didn’t need to get the test. I didn’t need to tell Scarlett. This whole thing could’ve been avoided because the test was negative.

I walked out of the bathroom and past Scarlett who was waiting on the edge of the bed. I returned a minute later with a bottle of wine, swigging it straight from the bottle as I walked back into the room.

“I guess that answers my next question,” Scarlett remarked.

I handed her the bottle, and she drank, her eyes never leaving mine.

“Are you happy or sad it was negative?” she asked softly.

I took the bottle back from her and ran a finger over the label. “I don’t know. Both, probably. With Xander dumping me it’s for the best but I think in a way, I was ready for this.”

“You really love him, don’t you?”

“I do,” I replied softly.

---