Page 96 of Fabulous Filthy Friend

“Why would he?”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “Excuse me?”

“Why would he tell you about HRD4U?”

I shift up in the bath, straightening my spine and squaring my shoulders for a fight. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I’m his best friend.”

“Well, yeah, but I mean, look at Flynn. Look at his mom and his family and his upbringing. Don’t you think there’s gotta be some struggle somewhere in there with what he’s been doing?”

I hadn’t thought about it that way. But now that she put that in my head, the way he was acting at church a couple of weeks ago suddenly starts to make a little bit more sense. “You think he didn’t tell me because he felt guilty?”

“Or maybe he thought you would judge him.”

I wince.

“Oh no, Rach. What’s that wince for?”

“I may have made a comment last night that sounded a little bit judgmental.”

Alicia drops her head back and closes her eyes. “Shit.”

“Yeah.”

She opens her eyes and refocuses on me. “What happened after that?”

“He left.”

“Double shit.”

I drop my face into my wet palms. “Yeah.”

“Well…do you?”

I glance up at her. “Do I what?”

“Do you judge him because of it? Do you look down on him because of what he was doing?”

I consider her question. One that has always been at the back of my mind, yet I never really fully contemplated. But instead of needing time to come to an answer, it’s so obvious. “No. I don’t.”

“Then why did you say it?”

“Because I was hurt that he had kept things from me. Because I wanted to hurt him back.”

She raises an eyebrow. “So…revenge?”

God that sounds petty and spiteful.

I nod slowly. “I guess so.”

She swings her feet lazily, like we’re not talking about the single most important thing in my life right now, maybe ever. “Did you feel better after you said it?”

“No, of course not.” I’m not some heartless bitch who says something that hurts someone and cackles about it later. “I felt like shit.”

“Does it make you feel better now?”

I glower at her. “What the hell do you think?”

She sighs and slides off the counter to kneel next to the tub. “I think you and Flynn are both being stupid. I think there’s nothing keeping you two from being together, and yet, you’re both coming up with reasons not to make it happen. I have never seen two people more perfect for each other than you two. Probably not even Cade and me. So, stop fighting it and stop creating problems that aren’t there.”

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