“Which part?” His eyes dart around, avoiding my gaze.
"That they were fucking behind Justin's back," I suggest helpfully.
He winces. “Yeah, I know. It’s not like he was that upset, though. She wasn’t exactly what you’d call ‘a girlfriend’.”
“What would you call it then?” I raise a brow.
“Fuck buddies, maybe.” He shrugs his enormous shoulders.
“Well, his fuck buddy, him, Mark, and I were the only ones who knew about the fight that evening. Mark didn’t say anything because he was selling weed at the time—it was the most profitable job for trailer park inhabitants, and he needed the money to take care of his sister. He would have been taken in right after the phone call. He’s all his sister had; he would do anything to stay with her. I’ve never called the cops on anybody in my life, and I'm not planning to break that record anytime soon. Who does that leave?” I look at him pointedly.
“Damn,” is all he says for a while. “Why would she call the cops on her boyfriend after he tried to save her from being raped?”
“A boyfriend?” I question him with a smirk.
“A fuck-buddy,” he corrects himself with a sheepish smile.
"I wonder the same thing," I say, locking my eyes with his.
“Shit.” He exhales.
“Shit is right.” The moment he figured out what I knew for years already.
“He wasn’t raping her.” He lets out a short whistle.
"Nope," I say with a pop. "I saw her sitting in the car, smiling. She was enjoying the show. Mark is poor, trailer trash like me—”
“Kayla—” Alex tries to interrupt me.
I stop him with a raised hand. “Don’t worry, I’m used to it. Maybe Mark was better in the sack, and she didn’t want to lose her newfuck-buddy. But Mark was poor, and Justin is rich from a good family. A better choice for the long run.” I shrug my shoulders. “Who really knows, that’s just my theory.”
“That’s why he fucking disappeared. He’s probably digesting this fucked up info.” He scratches his head.
“I don’t know.” Because I don’t. I expected a bit of a different outcome after all the revelations, to be completely honest.
“I bet it stings to know you’ve slept with a snake for so long.” He says with a sigh.
I shrug again.
“I heard he stopped by today at the diner.” The tone of his voice changes, but I can’t figure out what it means.
I whip my head toward him at the speed of light. “How do you know that?” He smirks. “Never mind. Small towns.” I shake my head in disgust. “Sometimes, I really hate it here.”
"Freya will be really upset." He says quietly.
“What are you talking about?” I narrow my eyes at him.
“I know you’re leaving. I can tell you’re fed up with all of it. And I think she knows it, too. You should tell her that yourself at the very least. You owe her that much.” When he puts it like that, I feel like shit.
“I know.” I hang my head in shame. “I just don’t know how. Did you tell her that you stopped by before?”
“Hell no, I like my balls attached to my body.” He chuckles. “She’d kill me for the way I talked to you.”
His words warm my heart, not the part about a possible orchiectomy, but the other part. Freya’s one of those rare people who comes into your life to stay.
“How can I explain everything to her when it’s not my story to tell?” I whisper, hating myself that I still think about Justin’s comfort. Plus, I respect Alicia’s privacy, even if she was a total bitch to me, which is why I still keep it quiet.
He touches my elbow lightly. “It is as much yours as theirs. Justin made sure of that.”
