Page 124 of Don't Be in Love

I was a hollow body trying to register next steps. Make a plan. Crisis management at its finest. But I hadn’t planned forthemto be in there too. It felt like there was a hot spotlightpointed at my head and the crowd was booing me off stage as I clutched my blanket and called for Mom and Dad.

“Adelaide …”

I wiped my eyes. “I want to go home.”

My feet ached as I made it to the third floor. I craved a moment to not think about Dorian or James or Victoria. To be alone. To shower and strip off this dress and never look at it again.

But as soon as I opened the front door, Mia was holding Sabrina on the couch. Sabrina who was visibly shaking and wore the gloomy sky on her face in the shape of murky mascara running down her cheeks.

I froze in the doorway.

“Why—why didn’t you tell me?” she croaked.

I forgot.

Amongst everything that happened tonight, I had forgotten about Sabrina.

“I—I didn’t want to hurt you,” I explained. My voice shuddered as I entered the living room and crouched on the rug in front of them. “I had no idea who Dorian was until the day after I met him. You know I would never have gone near him otherwise.”

She began shaking her head. “I must have looked like a fool this entire time to the both of you—in love with this man who had absolutely no interest in me because he was kissingyou.”Another wave of tears coming down her cheeks.

I wasn’t sure if the “both of you” was referring to me and Mia or me and Dorian but I still flinched.

“She had no idea, Brina,” Mia reassured.

“I can’t believe you knew too.” She looked at her with horror.

“Mia only knew because she was there when we met,” I urged.

“But you both knew and saidnothing. Like … like I was someone you had to keep secrets from because I’m some horribly misunderstanding human. I can’t believe you were seeing himevery weekand neither of you ever thought to say something.”

“I thought about telling you all the time, but I was so scared of hurting you. The only reason I was seeing him so much was because I was tutoring him,” I explained desperately. “He would have told everyone what happened between us if I didn’t.”

“The last time I checked, Adelaide,” she bit, “no one can make you do anything.”

I shut my mouth. She was right. It was a pathetic excuse I had been leaning on all semester in hopes of protecting her.

She sniffed and pulled away from Mia. “It doesn’t matter, none of it matters.” She bit her quivering lip. “The photos say it all. He’s obviously interested in you, and you obviously care for him. I was so dumb to think I had a chance anyway.” She sniffed again, but tears clumped her eyelashes together. She built up a sad smile. “I wish you had told me. We were supposed to be friends.”

“We are.”

“I … I just need some time. Give me some time.”

I nodded, backing away and hiding with my guilt in my room.

“I saw everything online … I thought I’d call,” Laila hesitated over the phone.

“Oh god, it’s reached the other side of the pond?” I threw my face into my pillow the next night, only popping out of my room throughout the day for food when I heard Sabrina leave, trying to give her space.

“Only because I’m constantly on Adelaide Radar. One of the interns is apparently a huge Dorian Blackwood fan and noticedthe last name. She sent it to me as a joke. Little did she know that the girl in the photos was actually my niece.”

“You saw the photo?” I ran my hand over Kurt’s fur as he rubbed up against the side of my bed.

“Photos.”

“Agh.”Kurt jumped and ran out of the room as the mattress squeaked under my weight.

“I can’t believe you’re seeing someone and didn’t say anything! I made you listen to my mother-in-law rant for forty minutes the other day.”