Hold the Forevers

“I don’t see the difference.”

I clenched my hands into fists. “If you were upset about Ash coming into town, then you should have said something two weeks ago. I double-checked with you to make sure it was okay. I would have told them not to come, but his girlfriend had begged me to let them stay.”

“I’m not upset.”

I almost rolled my eyes at the sheer gall of that statement. He was upset. I could see that now. He’d been so cool about it all, but it was a facade. And now he was bringing Jess in. Ugh, the whole thing was frustrating. Why couldn’t he have just told me?

“This is a bad idea.”

Cole shook his head. “It’s not a bad idea. You have nothing to worry about. I already told her she could stay.”

“Then, tell her to stay somewhere else. She went to Georgia. Surely, she has other friends.”

“Most of her friends have graduated, and it’s last minute.”

He was resolute on this. I could see him stiffen up, as if he wouldn’t even listen to reason. But apparently, I wasn’t changing his mind.

“Fine,” I spat.

Barry had joined Tony on the couch to play video games when I stormed through.

“Lila,” Barry said, raising his hand.

I waved as I snatched up my bag off of the ground and stomped for the front door.

“Everything all right?” Tony asked.

“Ask Cole.”

Then, I slammed the door in my wake, and Cole didn’t follow me out. He let me walk away with this absurd problem between us. One I didn’t know how to fix.

Channing was in the kitchen when I stormed into the apartment like a thundercloud. I threw my bag onto the couch and went straight for the fridge, pulling out a water and guzzling it.

“Uh, everything all right, Lila?” Channing asked.

“Cole is an asshole.”

Channing laughed. “Uh, well, yeah, but I thought he was a sweetheart with you.”

“He’s being a fucking idiot,” I growled.

“I’m making stir-fry. Why don’t you sit at the table and eat something and talk to me?”

I slammed my water down on the table and plopped into a seat. Even though all I wanted to do was pace angrily. Cole was infuriating. Yes, Ash was coming over tonight, but he wasn’t staying in my bed. I wasn’t even planning to see him. I’d been planning to be at Cole’s the entire time.

Channing dished out stir-fry for both of us and then sank down. “So, what happened?”

“Jess is staying at Cole’s this weekend. In his bed.”

“What the fuck?”

“Right.”

“And you’re just going to let this happen?” she asked, seething. “Who lets their ex stay in their bed? Is he staying in the bed with her?”

“Supposedly, he’s taking the couch.”

“They’re going to fuck.”

“Don’t you think I know that?” I snarled. “I’m not stupid. Jess is clearly out to get him.”

“And he just doesn’t care?”

“I don’t know. He said they’re just friends and I have nothing to worry about.”

Channing rolled her eyes. “He’s naive if he thinks that Jess isn’t going to put the moves on him.”

“He wants me to trust him.”

“You do. You don’t trust her.”

I dipped my head back in frustration. “I don’t even know why they broke up.”

Channing’s eyes rounded, and she looked down at her stir-fry, moving it around on her plate. “Well, I might know that.”

“You said their relationship went down in flames, but I never pressed for information. You or him.”

“Maybe you should ask him about it.”

“Maybe I should,” I said, still staring at her.

“What I heard might not be true.”

“What exactly did you hear, Channing?” I was getting nervous.

“Well, I heard that they’d been dating for almost a year, and then video footage leaked of some guys … running a train on her.”

“What?” I gasped.

“And it was sent to Cole.”

My jaw hit the floor. “Holy shit!”

“I heard that Cole got into a fight he couldn’t win, and the rest of the team jumped in. The coach had to break them up, and he almost suspended Cole and the other guys from playing because of the fight. I don’t know how they worked it out.”

My mind was whirling. “Why the hell would he let someone like that stay at his house? Why would he still be friends with her?”

Channing shrugged. “I don’t know, Lila. But a girl like that isn’t going to be afraid to go after what she wants.”

I dropped my forehead onto the table, my stir-fry forgotten. I felt sick. Truly nauseated. “Fuck.”

Channing ran a hand down my back. “Just talk to him. It’ll be fine.”

“Thanks, Chan.”

“Anytime. Mary Elizabeth’s sister is coming into town, and I’m supposed to meet her at her place in fifteen. Are you going to be okay?”

I sat up straighter and wiped a hand down my face. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. Go see your girlfriend.”

“Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Channing left to go see her girlfriend, leaving me very much alone in my apartment. I should have called Josie or Marley and talked my way through this, but it was too fresh. I couldn’t believe what Jess had done. Maybe it was just a rumor? Why else would he still talk to her after she cheated on him with a bunch of other guys and filmed it?