by Lannah Smith
"We're friends. We should tell each other everything."
"We're not friends," I retorted. Then a thought occurred to me, reminding me of my encounter with Rohan and I began to get pissed. "And if you think that's what friends do, then do you tell your friends everything?"
John must have sensed something was wrong because he started to tread carefully, "What do you mean?"
"Who knows about us, Steele?" I'd been dying to ask this ever since I met Rohan. But John hadn't called me in a while and when he did, I inadvertently missed them. "Who?"
There was resounding silence on the other line.
Impatiently, I began to pace in my room, the skirts of my dress twirling with every turn. "You have three seconds to answer. One—"
"I told no one, Terry," he denied weakly.
"Two—"
"I did not, I swear—"
"Three—"
"Leon knows!" he quickly answered. "But I did not tell him. He just found out on his own."
I stopped pacing and cursed him in my head.
"Who else?" I asked.
"Only Leon. I swear."
So does this mean he doesn't know that Rohan knew? I leaned against the window sill and thought about it. Should I tell him?
Ultimately, I decided not to. I wouldn't want them to confront each other and let this blow out of proportion. And I had a feeling Rohan did not want to talk about that. I did burn him pretty bad after all and from what I can tell, he didn't like losing.
"What did Leon say about us?" I asked again.
In a low voice, John replied, "He... he said I should fix things with you."
My head jerked back slightly and I curled my hand. "You lie."
"I swear he did. He also promised he wouldn't hide again when I... I introduce you to him."
"So he also knows I was your childhood best friend too?" I said in shock.
"Yeah. He figured it out."
I grew silent, contemplating everything.
What does this mean for us? That we have his blessing?
I shook my head, quickly shutting down the hope that sprung in my heart.
It was too late.
Days had turned into weeks. And weeks had turned to months.
The school year was ending and with it, any chance John and I would get back together again. And as long as Haru gets his way, we wouldn't ever.
It was just too late.
But somehow, I wished it wasn't.
I want to see him, I thought, my lips trembling.
God knows how much I wanted to see him tonight.
"It's almost my birthday, you know," John quietly spoke in my ear. "And I want to see you."
His words burned a hole in me.
I squeezed my eyes tight at the pain.
"No," I said softly and firmly.
"Terry..."
God, God, why was this so hard?
I opened my eyes. "It's not happening."
"Please."
"Goodbye, Steele."
Saying that, I hung up on him.
Then I wrapped my arms around my body and looked out of the window, trying not to cry as I stared at the starry sky.
"Terry," Haru called out as he opened the door to my room and I immediately composed myself. "It's time to leave for the Camerons'."
Turning around, I regarded him silently.
Then I asked, "Are you sure about this, Oniisan?"
Haru's face darkened. "Do not question me."
"Mr. Cameron... Ethan doesn't even know—."
"Urusai," Haru ordered in a low, lethal voice. "Do not question me again."
I fell silent and blinked back the tears in my eyes.
"Let's leave," he went on. "We can't be late for dinner."
"Niisan..." I pleaded in a small voice. "Don't do this."
Not again.
He walked up to me and my head tilted back as I stared at him. His eyes were cold, his jaw hard and as he took my face in his hands, he whispered words that completely crushed my heart.
"I've already done it."
John couldn't get it out of his head.
It was Friday. It had been a week and a day since he last talked to Terry.
It was his birthday.
He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long pull. Staring at the darkness from Skull's balcony, he leaned his elbows against the railing, wishing she was here with him right now.
All day he'd been hoping.
And being denied the only thing he ever wanted for his birthday devastated him.
His parents, as always, weren't in town to celebrate his birthday. And he didn't care. He used to when he was little but not anymore. His father was still angry at him for not attending the charity party, disappointed that he hadn't returned to being the perfect son so he didn't call to greet him. His mother did but John didn't answer. He didn't need her phony congratulations.
Vincent was the first person to greet him.
He'd gone to his rooms at midnight, knowing fully John was still awake and reading comics, and gave him a case of beer.
"Don't tell your parents," Vincent said as they shared them in the sitting room. "I'm not yet ready to get fired."
"I'm the only one who gets to fire you," John grumbled. "I'm just waiting for the time when you lose your usefulness."
Vincent smirked. "You can't fire me, young master."
"Don't you think it's creepy how one second you're all stiff and formal and the next second you act like a punk?"
John watched his bodyguard's lips twitched. "It's after working hours. Now drink up before I change my mind, my underage young master. Sorry, this was the only present I could afford."
He knew that wasn't true. Vincent had one of the highest salaries in the Steele payroll.
His friends were next to greet him when he saw them at school. Skull gave him a punch on the shoulder and told him a happy birthday. While John tackled Skull for that attack, Leon and Rohan approached them, each mumbling their greetings.
"Happy birthday, kid," John said as he let go of Skull's neck. It was also Rohan's birthday.
"Whatever," Rohan muttered.
"Are you really sure you don't want any girls at the party tonight, Rohan?" Skull scowled at the blond. "Are you really, really sure?"
Rohan scowled back at him. "I'm sure. It's my birthday so don't I get a say?"
John folded his arms. "It's also my birthday."
"I'm not going if there are girls," Rohan grumbled like a petulant child.
They'd had this conversation and argument yesterday and the day before that and the week before this. John understood why the brat was adamant not to let any girls at his party. He didn't like Sophia, didn't like seeing Leon and Sophia together for God-knows-what reason. Even though Sophia had been hanging out with them, Rohan never really warmed up to her.
If he'd allow girls to go, Sophia was sure to come. And even though it was also John's birthday, he didn't want to spoil Rohan's day so he didn't argue with his decision. Neither did Leon.
John hoped Terry would greet him next. But he didn't see her all day at school. Neither a glance nor her shadow.
She was in school, he knew, because sick or not, she'd never miss even a single day of class. She was hiding from him. Avoiding him. He didn't even receive a text or a call. And he hoped. He fucking hoped he would and that made him feel like utter shit.
What made his day worse was his teacher, Ethan Cameron. He'd been strangely subdued these days. No matter how John mocked or made fun of him, he'd only look at him and continue with the lesson.
When the class ended for the day, Ethan called him to the faculty. John told Leon to go ahead to the parking lot and went to see what the teacher needed him for.
Not five minutes later, he stormed out of the faculty.
What the hell was that about?
"How well do you know Terry Evans?" Ethan had asked him.
John inhaled sharply. He hadn't expected that. "What?"
"I saw
you last year," Ethan slowly said, tapping his pen on his desk. "You were kissing in the parking lot."
Hell, how early does this guy come to school?
"Why?" John tipped his head sharply to the side. "Why do you want to know?"
Ethan's face showed no expression. "You know I'm tutoring her right? I consider myself as one of her guardians."
"If you saw us last year, why ask now?" John bit off.
Silence.
Staring at him, Ethan must have come to a decision because he said, "That'll be all, Mr. Steele. You may leave."
John couldn't understand what his bastard of a teacher meant by his question. And that pissed him off.
Fuck, but this was supposed to be his birthday.
Why was he being dealt with so much crap today of all days?
Why was the girl he was in love with getting farther and farther away from him?
"This is the worst birthday party in history with the birthday boy standing out in the fucking cold drinking alone."
Leon's words made John's body jolt as his mind was torn from Terry.
He looked at Leon.
Leon was in a good mood but that good mood died when he saw John's face. When John saw the humor die out of Leon's expression, he smiled.
Even though he felt like crying.
"Sorry. I have a lot on my mind," John said, stepping away from the railing.
"So you still haven't made up with her," Leon replied softly.
John came abreast of his best friend and patted his shoulder.
Then he said, "It's complicated."
"I'm complicated," Leon returned. "And I'm not the one who's in need of comforting so stop patting me."
Chuckling, John removed his hand from Leon's shoulder.
"I let Sophia make you cake so you better not waste it."
"I already had someone take it home. I'm not taking any chances of having Skull eat all of it. Did you see how he devoured Rohan's cake? The guy is a beast."
Leon stared at him.
Then he said, "Let's get you drunk."
John grinned.
Then they went inside and got drunk.
It was supposed to be a peaceful, uneventful day.
John drummed his fingers on his jeans, staring at his cell phone on his lap.
He was mulling over whether he should call Terry or not. He was sulking like a little shit and he wanted her to contact him first. But his ex-girlfriend was being stubborn and he was about to raise the white flag and call her himself.
He was being pathetic. He knew that. She'd dumped him already. Made it clear it was over. But he'd also made it clear to her that he wasn't going to give up on her.
That doesn't mean, however, that he couldn't be pissed at her.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a slight movement and he quickly turned his upper body to catch the water bottle Skull hurled at him.
"Damn," Skull laughed as he stepped out of his kitchen. "And here I was hoping I'd give you a concussion."
"Can you even spell the word concussion?" John retorted as he throw the water bottle back at him. "Crazy bastard."
Skull sat on the arm of the couch and looked at him. "Aren't you going to play?"
John's gaze went to Rohan. Rohan was sitting on the chaise playing GTA V.
"I'm not that evil to take a kid's toy away," John said loudly. "Let him play."
"Fuck you," Rohan muttered without taking his eyes off the TV.
"How many times do I have to tell you to watch the language?"
"And how many times do I have to tell you I don't give a flying fuck?"
That mouthy brat.
"Leave him alone," Skull whispered and he looked at him. The worried expression on his face wasn't lost on John. "I think he's not feeling well."
John frowned. Glancing at Rohan, he replied just as low, "He's getting paler and paler these days."
"And he's been sleeping a lot. Yesterday, I found him curled under a table in the Biology lab, sleeping. Two days ago, he slept the whole morning in class."
"Do you think he hasn't recovered from the beatings he took?"
Skull shrugged. "I don't know. I wanted to take him to the hospital but he won't let me."
Drumming his fingers on his jeans again, John told him, "I'll talk to Leon. See if he can make the brat go have himself checked."
"I can hear you, asswipes," Rohan snapped over his shoulder. "And I'm not sick. I don't need to go the fucking hospital."
John's frown deepened and he regarded him quietly. Then he whispered to Skull, "We'll talk about this later."
Skull nodded vigorously.
"I can still hear you!"
Chuckling, John pushed Skull off the couch. "Why don't you fix us something to eat, you useless host?"
Skull grunted. "I am making us something to eat."
"I smell something burning," he muttered, sniffing the air.
"Shit!" Skull's expression turn into panic and he ran into the kitchen. "My brownies!"
His what?
Sophia must have kept his promise to give Skull her brownie recipe. And as amusing as it was, John didn't doubt Skull would be able to replicate her chocolate caramel squares. The idiot may not be very academic but he was good with his hands.
John turned his attention back to his phone. Then he glanced at Rohan.
"You look sicker than a dog," he told him. "Go lie down, kid."
Tapping furiously on his controller, Rohan muttered, "Why don't you just leave me alone and go get some STDs?"
Hell, but he was fucking sick of the STD jokes.
"And stop calling me kid."
"As long as you're younger than me I'll never stop calling you kid," John fired back. "Huh. Guess this means I get to call you kid forever."
"You're so fucking perfect for each other," Rohan muttered in distaste.
Her?
Before he could ask what the hell he was talking about, the door suddenly banged open, revealing Leon. Seeing him, John instantly shot up from the couch and braced at the sheer fury on his best friend's face.
What was wrong with him?
What the hell happened?
If someone hurt his best friend he swear to God he'd—
That's when John noticed Leon's eyes locked on Rohan.
And it clicked.
Fucking hell, what did the brat do this time?
"Leon—" John started low and placatingly but Leon ignored him.
"What did you do to Sophia?" he roared at Rohan.
And as he did, the peaceful, uneventful day that John thought it would be, shattered.
Chapter 30
"You're an idiot, you know," John said to Rohan when the doctor left the room. "Why the hell did you do that?"
Rohan didn't answer. He just stared at the ceiling.
John let out a sigh and sat back in his chair. He hated being in the hospital, hated the smell, hated the depressing feeling and hated the memories. The hospital was the last place he'd ever want to be in.
And it was this little shit's fault that he had to come back.
"I was only doing you a favor, Leon."
That was what Rohan told Leon yesterday when Leon asked what he did to Sophia. From what John could discern, the brat had confronted Sophia and told her things that hurt her enough to make Leon go into a rampage.
"By making me lose her?" Leon bit out.
Rohan climbed to his feet and met him glare for glare. "And were you planning to keep her? Forever? Were you planning to tell her everything? About you? About your past? About why you do the things you do? Do you think she can handle your demons when she already believes you're a monster?"
"It's not your business, Rohan."
"Not my business?" Rohan repeated, incredulous. "Fuck, Leon. Wake up to the fucking truth! You and this girl aren't going to be together forever. Someday, she's going to realize she's better off without you. And where will that leave you? Huh?"
