Chapter 48


    Harper


    Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.


    “I think I’m going to be sick,” I say to Sadie the second she answers her phone.


    “Why? What’s going on?”


    I’m huddled on my bed, looking out my window to the backyard where the boys are all sitting around


    the table, smoking weed.


    Everyone except for Easton.


    After he told me to go back in my room, a few minutester I heard his engine rev and I watched him


    drive away and he hasn’t returned. And now ke is sitting next to Ryan, the seat Easton had been in.


    But I’ve still been watching, waiting, hoping hees back.


    “ke saw us,” I whisper, even though none of the boys can hear me.


    “Saw who?”


    “Me and Easton, kissing in the doorway of my bedroom.”


    “Whoa.”


    “And Easton and ke got into it and ke asked me who I liked kissing more.”


    “What did you say?”


    I run my hand over my forehead, my pick so obvious to both of us. “Nothing, Easton saved me before I


    had to answer. Sadie, this is a total nightmare.”


    “No, a nightmare will be if ke tells Ryan. Do you think he’s going to?”


    The thought has been haunting me and I don’t know what to do about it. I definitely can’t go downstairs


    and ask ke, that’ll just be weird. And I don’t want to ask my


    brother toe upstairs so we can talk, that will be even weirder.


    When Ryan hears I’ve made out with both of his best friends, he’s going to kill me.


    “Oh God,” I groan, rocking over my bed. “I hope not.”


    “What’s happening now? Where are the boys?” I fill her in on the logistics of everyone, and then she


    asks, “How long has Easton been gone?”


    1 nce at the screen of my phone to check the time. “About twenty minutes. Maybe a little more.”


    “You need to call Easton and find out what happened once the boys went downstairs. Before you get


    into Ryan’s car tomorrow morning for school, you need to know what you’re walking into-whether he’s


    oblivious or pissed out of his mind.”


    My heart is pounding so loud, I can hear it.


    I can also hear the choice of words my brother is going to scream at me when the time finallyes.


    ke or Easton-I don’t know which one he’ll be angrier about.


    “You’re right,” I tell her. “I’m going to call him right now.”


    “Call me back the second you hang up with him.”


    “Okay,”


    “Wait.”


    I freeze, my stomach lurching at the thought that there might be more. I hold my breath and say softly,


    “What?”


    “Who’s at your house?”


    In case anything has changed in thest few minutes, I gently lift the curtain to take another peek


    outside. “Just the boys-ke, Ryan, and the usual crew. Why?”


    I could hear her smiling. “Just checking, you know, for stalker purposes.”


    I’m having a mental breakdown and my best friend is concerned there might be a girl here, vying for


    Ryan’s attention.


    I can’t even with her.


    “I wish you could see how hard I’m rolling my eyes.” I make sure my voice shows how annoyed I am.


    “I’ll call you in a sec. Bye.”


    I disconnect our call and find Easton in my Contacts, holding the phone to my face as it rings.


    “Why am I not surprised to see Miss Desperate is calling,” a girl says into the phone. “How many times


    a day do you call Easton? A hundred?”


    I check my screen to make sure I’ve called the right number. My stomach drops when I see that I have.


    “God, you’re so pathetic, Harper,” she continues, “you’ll do anything for attention, won’t you?”


    I don’t need to ask who it is.


    I know.


    And now that my stomach has lowered as far as it will go, it starts to churn.


    “Aisha, why are you answering Easton’s phone?”


    My chest aches as every possibility begins to run through my head.


    He was just at my house


    and now, he’s with her?


    Like a switch, he just keeps flipping between us.


    Each time, my heart breaks a little more.


    “Easton is”-she giggles so loudly,”tied up at the moment. Or, should I say, I’ve tied him up. But his


    mouth is far too busy to speak to you.”


    His . mouth?


    The same one that was between my legs tonight.


    The same one that made mee so hard, I saw stars.


    And now … he’s licking her?


    I really am going to be sick.


    “Ahhh,” she moans. It’s the same sound I made when he was going down on me. “Easton, oh my God,


    that feels so good. Don’t stop.”


    I can’t believe I’m hearing this.


    I can’t believe he’s doing that to her.


    I can’t believe he let her answer his phone while they’re in the middle of hooking up.


    My entire body starts to shake.


    “Miss Desperate …” She pauses to release these tiny bursts of air, the same way! do when he’s


    sucking my nipples. “I’m going to have his mouth tied up for a very long time, so don’t hold your breath,


    it may be a while before he calls you back.”


    Tears fill my eyes


    My mouth waters.


    And the phone goes dead.


    I can’t remember anything ever hurting this badly. Not the words that were spray painted on my locker


    or on the cars. Not even seeing Easton and Aisha in the hallway together.


    This is a burning that shoots fire through every part of me.


    Why would he do this to me?


    Why do I let him continuously hurt me?


    Over and over again?


    With trembling hands, I call Sadie, the tears really flowing by the time she answers and says, “What did


    he say?”


    My breath quivers through my lips. “I d-didn’t get to t-talk to him-m.” I wipe the


    bottoms of my cheeks before the drips fall onto my chest.


    “Babe, why are you crying? What happened?”


    “He,” I begin, but swallow as a wave of nauseaes over me, “was eating o-out Aisha and s-she’s


    the one who answered.”


    “He was WHAT?”


    I bend my knees and hold them against my chest, wrapping an arm around them. I bury my face and


    close my eyes, trying my best to breathe. “I hate him,” I cry. “I hate him more than anything in this


    world.”


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