Page 85 of Edged
Before I could get the key into the lock, my front door swung open, revealing a Frankie, a worried accusation painted across his face. He took in my appearance, from what was undoubtedly my splotchy cheeks and red-rimmed eyes to the backpack slung over my shoulder and the slump in my spine, then stepped out of the way to let me into my apartment.
I dropped the bag just inside the door and went straight to the couch, collapsing without a word. When he sat down beside me, I toed off my sneakers and shifted, leaning into him instead of the arm. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around me and I buried my face into his chest, finally letting all of the tears I’d held back at Rob’s house fall.
I soaked his shirt, the wetness covering my face so thoroughly I knew every trace of Archie had been cleansed from my lips and my skin, so when Frankie offered me water, I didn’t hesitate to drink it. I had more tears to cry, I knew. I would need the hydration. Frankie didn’t say anything. He just stroked his hand down my back in a way he’d done long ago, and he waited for me to speak first.
“I was with him,” I whispered, sniffling and wiping my nose with the hem of Frankie’s already ruined shirt.
“Him?”
I flung myself out of Frankie’s arms and tucked my body into the corner of the couch. He handed me back the water bottle, and I washed the rest of Archie out of my mouth.
“I was in California,” I muttered. “With Archie.”
“Archer?”
“Arch—” I stopped myself. There was no point in correcting Frankie, because although for a few days he might have been Archie to me again, that’s not who he was. Not who I needed him to be. I could forget Archer. I could hate Archer.
Ineededto hate Archer.
“Where do you want to start?” he asked.
“When I was in California looking at wedding venues for Mandy, I ran into him. Totally on accident.”
“Alright.” Frankie cocked his head to the side and waited for me to go on. It was only fair that he judge me the way he was. Frankie was the one who’d borne the brunt of the aftermath of whatever had existed between Archie and me. He was the one who’d been so patient and kind as I’d picked up the pieces of my life and tried to understand who I was without my best friend, the man I’d fallen in love with. And he’d loved those bits and pieces of me like I was whole, and…
Well.
“We hooked up. I won’t go into the details, but we stayed in touch when I came home and he flew me out for the weekend.”
“I’m sorry. Heflewyou out? What does that even mean?”
I sighed. “He’s pretty well off. Sent a plane and all that.”
“Sent a plane?”
“Frankie, this story is going to take a lot longer to tell if you make me repeat everything twice.”
The corner of his mouth twitched and he arched a brow, again waiting for me to elaborate.
“A private jet,” I clarified, chuckling under my breath when Frankie’s eyes went wide. “He’s loaded. All his friends are rich as fuck.”
“So you weren’t home sick, you were in California. With him.”
The disdain dripped off his words, especially the last two and I closed my eyes to avoid his stare.
“I’m sorry I lied to you, but I didn’t know what to say.”
“You could have said, ‘Hey Frank, I’m in California making some stupid fucking decisions. See you Sunday.’ That would have been a good start.”
“This is why.” I pushed myself up off the couch, needing to get space from the intensity of his vitriol. “This is why I didn’t tell you, because I knew how you’d react.”
“And wasn’t that a sign, don’t you think? My best friend wouldhatethis for me, so maybe I should think about that before I do it?” Frankie didn’t stand up, but he angled his body toward me as I walked to the other end of the room.
“I was clearly not thinking with my head,” I snapped.
“You were. Just the wrong one.”
I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, mouth pulling into a smile as Frankie started to laugh from the couch. The tension snapped like a glow stick, and he stood up and crossed the room toward me, arms open. The entire side of his shirt was covered in my tears and my snot and my spit, and I went right back into his arms like they were the only home I’d ever known. Because for a time, they had been.
