Page 32 of Defying Ella
“You totally did. You’ve got that glow.” Nia pointed at the screen, a huge grin plastered across her face. “Spill the details, girl.”
I bit my lip. I’d rather chew glass.
Plus he had asked me to keep it quiet.
“Did you know about this?” Alys asked, a mix of incredulity and hurt rising her voice to new levels. She looked to her left and my heart stopped.
“Of course not,” a gruff voice replied.
“Alys, tell me Ryan’s not in that bed with you?”
She glanced back at me and rolled her eyes “Where else would he be?”
“He can’t — make him forget.”
Snorts of laughter met my frantic demands.
“I’ll take that as an admission.” Sophie hooted.
Shit.
“Honey, why don’t you forget about Ryan and fill us in?” Daphne’s voice softened while she stared at me with kind eyes. The fun-loving, slightly murderous Daphne had left the building. The woman staring at me must have been the one who went to war for idiot rock stars in the courtroom. “You clearly need advice, and we can’t help if you don’t give us the details.”
Reluctantly, I filled them in, on the tension, the arguments,the sex, the truce, all of it. Yes, even more weight lifted from me but an ache in my stomach quickly replaced it.Why did it feel private all of a sudden?
For a couple of moments, they blinked at me, stunned.
“Well, that is not the death threat I was expecting,” Daphne muttered.
“Damn girl, you couldn’t have lived this out at home where I could be in viewing range?” Sophie grumbled. Despite the severity of her words, she looked stunned too. She sat back in her chair, her arms crossed with a far-off expression on her face.
“Are you happy about these changes?” Mel asked before I could really focus on Sophie’s strange reaction.
“It beats biting at each other I guess.” I shrugged.
“Not the truce.” Mel smirked, seeing straight through me.
I shifted in my seat while my face reddened even more. “He said it himself, it was a mistake. We’re done with it. Got it out of our system. Not going there again.”
“Fine, say we believe you, what are you going to do now?” Nia asked. She leaned down on her kitchen counter, studying me intently.
“Pretend we’re friends until someone gets us out of here. What else am I meant to do?”
Alys grinned. “I mean, you could try fucking him again. That clearly got you some bargaining power.”
I chuckled but I didn’t really believe it. I hadn’t asked for anything but for him to leave me alone.
Ryan groaned. “Can you not talk about my best friend like that when I’m within earshot?”
“Have I tied you to the bed?” Alys’ brows rose, and then she grinned. “You have legs, Music Man, use them.”
“Ignore this lot,” Mel said, affection in her tone. “Do what feels right to you, okay? Just trust your gut for once in your life.”
My eyes might have been watering when I agreed. I’dnever admit that to my sister though. She refused to believe I could fail at anything, even when I returned from my gap year, lost and despondent.
If I ever lacked the strength to keep pushing for better, I just had to look at her and it all made sense.
Around 2 PM, Jared surfaced. Thankfully, he wore a shirt this time. Although my relief was short-lived when I realised that although it covered his abs, it did little else. He’d unearthed one of his gig vests, with the massive holes that basically put his sides on display. So he might as well have been topless.
