Not made for each other - 25. Friends with Secrets - I

span>After nearly two months, I’m back with a new chapter. Enjoy 

Chapter 25: Friends with Secrets - I

The next day at lunch, everything was normal except for the fact that Ed and I were not even looking at each other let alone talking. Alisha was not at our table today, and I felt strangely relieved with her absence.

Soon, Ed left with Mich as they had the next class together. Kev sauntered off as he had no other classes for today, and shortly after that Steph was gone too because his tutoring job was a few hours early this afternoon. Only Carol, Jake, Jer, and I were left at the table.

“That t-shirt suits you.” Jer began his flirting by commenting on Jake’s white-colored t-shirt.

Jake stared down at his t-shirt. “I hate it.”

Carol snickered, and I glared at her.

“What are you doing tonight?” Jer asked as if Jake hadn’t just rebuffed him.

“None of your business,” Jake replied.

“What if I want it to be my business?”

“Then I would say I’m not interested at all. In short: Fuck-off.” Jake’s face was as stoic as his voice.

“Is there anything I could do to make you like me?” Jer sounded genuine as he looked at Jake with hurt in his eyes.

“No.”

That one word seemed to crush Jer’s feelings, but he composed himself in no time. “What if we make a deal?”

Jake peeked at him in curiosity, so did Carol and I. “What deal?”

Jer flashed his heartwarming smile. “If you agree to go out on a date with me, I’ll never ever bother you again. I’ll leave you alone.”

Jake contemplated this for a few moments. I would bet he was going to say no.

“Earn it.” With those words, Jake stood up, slung his backpack over one shoulder, and left for his next class.

***

It was Thursday after school. Mich and Carol were out on their girl’s day out. Jer was still figuring out a way to earn his date with Jake, while Jake was preparing for his test on Monday. Steph was busy with his tutoring job, and Kev left early today, ditching his last class because he was not feeling well.

Ed and I were still not talking, and we were acting all weird. We were ignoring each other during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even while we were cooking food. I didn’t know how long we were going to continue not acknowledging each other’s existence.

Ed and I were in his car heading to the mall after school got out, since we had planned this almost a week ago, when everything was fine between us, before Alisha happened. Since the Alisha episode, we still were coming home together after our classes, still living under the same roof, still eating our dinner on the same dining table, but turning a blind eye to each other’s presence. I wished Ed had never had a cold.

Everlasting silence and unmitigated tension were permeated inside the car which neither of us took any initiative to break. Fifteen minutes later he parked his car at our destination. I unbuckled my seatbelt, took my backpack, and slid out of the car. I waited for a few moments for Ed, but he never came out. I took a deep breath to keep my frustration at bay and leaned down by the passenger’s side window to look inside. Ed’s seatbelt was unbuckled, the car’s engine was off, and he was sitting with his arms folded across his chest, pouting like a five-year-old.

Was he fucking kidding me?!

Fine, if he didn’t want to come then screw him. I glared at him, slapped my hand hard against the closed door; Ed just blinked but otherwise totally ignored my minor outburst. I turned around on my heels and walked towards the entrance of the shopping mall, leaving that asshole behind.

As I entered the mall, cursing Ed under my breath, I bumped into someone and somehow managed not to fall. When I regained my balance I saw a guy around thirty in a long, black coat wearing black jeans who was busy gathering his belongings, which had been scattered all over the shining floor as we collided with each other, and putting them back into his briefcase.

“I’m so sorry.” I apologized quickly and knelt down in front of him, to help him collect his things.

“It’s okay. It was my mistake too.” He smiled and continued putting his things back into his briefcase. My eyes landed on a business card which stated Daniel Steinfield- Private Detective. I didn’t think much of it, and once he was done putting his things away, we smiled at each other and went our separate ways.

I shopped for some bed sheets and curtains for Mom and Becca’s room. I also bought a pair of t-shirts for an all-too-proud, emotionally challenged and a royal pain in my ass, Mr. Edward Woodsworth. I also bought a green dress for Becca as her birthday was approaching.

After mentally checking off every item I needed to purchase, I had a craving for a coffee. I went into one of the cafés on the first level of the mall. I ordered my coffee and started gathering all the receipts of the things I purchased today while waiting for my drink.

Once I had all the receipts together, I stuffed them in my backpack and glanced around. It was a nice, comfy place. And then the guy sitting in the far, west corner seat caught my attention. It was the same guy I bumped into earlier: the detective guy. But my eyebrows rose in surprise when I saw the person comfortably seated across from him – Jeremy Jones. I was able to see the sides of their faces. They seemed to be in the middle of a serious discussion.

Thousands of thoughts crossed my mind, none of which made any sense to me. I quickly gathered all my stuff and walked out of the café, completely forgetting about my coffee. I was walking away fast, looking behind me every couple of steps.

Maybe they were relatives. Maybe that detective was a family friend. Maybe I was over-thinking it.

I struggled to shrug off the unusual feeling fluttering in my stomach, but I couldn’t. I inhaled a deep breath when I finally got out of the mall and looked around for Ed and his car, but that asshole was nowhere to be seen. I was so gonna kill him.

I pulled my phone out of the front pocket of my jeans to call him. I had a message. It was from Ed.

Mom called. Needs a ride home. Wait 4 me at Kev’s home. Will pik u up in half an hr.

Ed was getting on my nerves. He should have had the decency to at least call me once. I huffed, staring at the cloudy sky. This day was going downhill fast. It was turning into one of those days when my luck takes a holiday or announces a strike.

At first I thought of hiring a cab but then I didn’t want to upset Ed and muck up the situation between us any further, so I reluctantly began ambling towards Kev’s house, which was only a few minutes away.

***

Once outside Kev’s house, I put the shopping bags on the ground and lifted my hand to ring the doorbell, but then I remembered he wasn’t feeling well; that’s why he left school early today. I knew where Kev kept his extra key, so instead of disturbing him I pulled out the spare key from under the colorful floral welcome mat.

So original.

I shook my head and opened the front door without making much noise. I grabbed my shopping bags and walked in, shutting the door quietly behind me. I stepped towards the living room and dropped all the bags on the coffee table along with my backpack.

I felt damn tired. I headed towards the refrigerator and took out a water bottle. After emptying half the bottle, I placed it back inside and gently shut the door. The need for coffee was still a craving in my stomach.

I stared upstairs towards Kev’s room. He would probably want something too. I trudged upstairs to his room to ask him how he was feeling and if he needed anything.

I softly knocked on his door but got no response. I knocked again but this time a bit harder. I heard some movement and muffled voices from the other side of the door. I got worried.

“Kev?” I asked loudly.

“Zune?!” Kev’s voice was full of surprise.

“Yeah. Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Yeah!” Thank God he replied, but he sounded baffled.

“What’s happening? Are you feeling any better? Open up the door, Kev.”

“Hang on a sec.” Why I was hearing a hint of panic in his voice? “How did you get in here?”

“Using the key you still hide underneath your welcome mat. Actually, I went shopping with Ed, but he had to go back for some reason, so he told me to wait at your house. He’ll be here to pick me up any moment now.” I heard a ‘shit’ from the other side. “Is something wro…” My next words caught in my throat when Kev, at last, opened the door. He was smiling, but it was not his ‘me-being-happy’ smile; it was his ‘me-being-nervous’ smile. “What took you so long?” I asked suspiciously.

“I…I was just studying with a friend.” Kev was a very bad liar.

“Friend?” I gave him a skeptical look.

“Yeah, friend.”

“Which friend?” I inquired further.

“Uh…”

“Let me in,” I ordered.

“Believe me, Zune, that’s not a very good idea.”

That was it. I gently shoved him aside and walked in. What I found in his room was quite un-fucking-believable.

“Steph?!” I couldn’t hide the shock in my voice. Steph was standing in the middle of the room, shuffling his weight from one leg to the other, rubbing his hands against his arms, and ducking his head down.

Steph slowly lifted his head up to meet my questioning gaze with an anxious smile. “Zune.”

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you have your tutoring job?” He never answered. I looked back at Kev and then again at Steph. Their faces were pale, and they seemed ready to puke at any moment. “What’s going on? And will one of you tell me why the hell the both of you are looking so freaked out like you have some deep, buried secret that’s…” I stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. I slowly turned to my left and then to my right to take a close look at both of them.

“Oh crap! OH FUCKING CRAP! Are you fucking shitting me?!” Now I was the one who was panicking.

“Zune, listen to me.” Kev took a step closer to me.

I turned in his direction. “You’re wearing your shirt inside-out. Your damn fly is open.” Kev hurriedly zipped his jeans. I shifted my gaze to Steph. “Your tousled hair is screaming that you just unsuccessfully combed them with your fingers.” Steph stared towards his right, pressing his lips together. “Your neck is full of hickeys.” Steph traced his fingers over his neck, self-consciousness.

“Zune, please.” I had never seen Steph so uncomfortable.

I glanced at the bed and my eyes roamed around the room. It was a mess. “And this whole room stinks of sex. It means those staring matches between you guys at the lunch table were not because of your past; the reason for those looks was this,” I concluded, flapping my hand between them. I stepped towards Steph. “So Kev was your classmate who you were busy tutoring these days.” Steph nodded feebly, and I huffed.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Kev began to explain.

“Really, Kev? Then how is it? Tell me.”

“This is purely physical; there are no feelings involved, no strings attached,” he admitted, then stared at me unblinkingly for a few seconds and added, “I don’t love him. I can’t love him. I love—” I heard Steph emitting a shuddering breath.

“Stop right there, Kev.” I cut him off. “If you’re somehow thinking I still feel something for you and I’m jealous because you guys are sleeping together, then let me clear this up for you: you’re totally wrong. You’re just a dear friend to me, nothing more, and honestly, I just don’t care who you’re sleeping with. The only thing I care about in this whole scenario is Steph. Maybe this is just about sex for you, Kev, but as far as I know Steph, things are going to be complicated for him. You’ve hurt him once, and I’m afraid you’re going to do it again.” I wasn’t holding myself back in showing my concern for both of them, especially Steph.

“I never forced anything on him.” Kev sounded defensive.

“I’m sure about that, Kev; I know you would never do that. That’s why I need to talk to Steph.” I swung my gaze back and forth between them. “Both of you are adult enough to know what’s right and what’s wrong for you. I have no say in the matter of your sexual life, but I do have the right to care about you both and let you guys know what I think about your choices, even if you don’t give a shit about it.”

My phone buzzed. I had a message from Ed.

I’m here.

“Ed is outside. I have to go.” I peeked at Steph. “We’ll talk about this on Friday.”

I headed towards the door when Kev called me. “Zune?”

I glanced back at both of them and smiled. “Don’t worry, guys. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell a word about it to anyone, unless both of you want me to. But I must say, you guys surprised me.” Both of them flushed and muttered their thanks.

***

My head was ready to explode. Not getting along with Ed, seeing Jer with a detective, knowing that Kev and Steph were fucking each other with a ‘no strings attached’ clause, and realizing this arrangement was not going to end well for both of them, were all things that were burning in the back of my mind, and I found myself overwhelmed with it all.

When I came out of Kev’s house, Ed was there in his car waiting for me. I put the shopping bags in the backseat and slipped into the passenger’s seat with my backpack, heaving a sigh. I looked in Ed’s direction, but he didn’t even bother to acknowledge my presence beside him. I shook my head. I decided to deal with all this shit later. I absentmindedly began to buckle my seatbelt when my eyes landed on Ed’s neck; a dark hickey was shining there. My body ceased to move. I felt like someone had slapped me. Ed probably felt my gaze on him and turned to look at me. As soon as he realized where I was staring, he swallowed audibly.

I opened the car door realizing my hands were shaking, and scrambled out of his vehicle in a hurry. I began quickly walking away. All of a sudden I felt like crying. “Zune, stop!” I heard Ed shouting behind me, but I didn’t stop. I heard him kicking his car. I sensed warm tears rolling down my cheeks. I had no justification for my rash reaction; it was not like I was in love with Ed and I was jealous about that damn hickey on his neck. Then why was I so upset? Why was a sickening feeling fluttering in the pit of my stomach?

“Zune! Will you stop, please?” Ed was following me, but I never turned back to even get a glimpse of him. After a few more steps he grabbed my hand and whirled me around to face him. “Stop!”

I yanked my hand away and yelled, “Why?” Why the hell do you have that hickey on your neck? “Why the hell should I stop?” I erupted in anger.

“It’s not what it looks like,” Ed began to vindicate himself. “This hickey—”

I cut off his explanation with a yell. “I don’t fucking care!” He seemed stunned for a few seconds, and so did I. I never expected I could react this way. I was shaking inside. My lips were trembling. “I don’t fucking care about that love mark; I don’t give a shit about the source of it.” I took a step closer to him. “And, I sure as hell don’t give a damn about you.”

I didn’t wait for his response and turned around. “Tell Mom and Becca I’ll be at Carol’s place and will be home tomorrow before dinner,” I informed him without looking back.

TBC.

Author's Note : Please tell me what you all think about this chapter. Your opinion matters to me and helps me to improve  

  Lisa, Silentdreamer, Drew Espinosa, Jeet01, Dariyo, Gregg, C. When,  Skinnydragon, Amusedriddler, Doctor Oger, Hillj69 and all my readers for following, liking, reviewing and reading my chapter  

span style="font-family:Comic Sans MS,cursive;">And biggest     to LISA for everything