He Says He's Just A Friend

Chapter 74 - Out in the Cold

- Clay -

A knock at the door startled me. Mostly because it wasn't at my bedroom door, it was the back door that led outside. I picked up my phone to check the time. It was nearly two in the morning. I'd only just gotten home from dropping Emmett off fifteen minutes ago and switched out my jeans for sweatpants.

I grabbed a shirt as I went to the door, tugging it over my head. I pushed the curtain aside to see who was outside. At first, I thought it might be Emmett. But he always texted when he got to the door, so he didn't risk anyone hearing the knock.

The motion detector lights on the back porch shined on Duke, washing out his dark skin. He was looking around, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his letterman jacket. He looked nervous.

I scowled, opening the door. "What do you want? Are you mad I outed myself and ruined your master plan? Well, muah-ha-ha, motherfucker. I out-schemed you."

Duke sighed, his eyes still darting around. "I was never going to actually out you, Clay."

I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "That was not my takeaway from our last conversation."

"I just wanted Emmett back. I never thought you'd call my bluff. I thought you were a coward." He took a deep, shuddering breath and finally met my gaze. "Like me."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you? Because I don't."

Duke didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject. "I went to Jackson's party after the game. None of the guys would talk to me. Brandon even said that I'm lucky they hadn't kicked my ass for what I did. Apparently that's thanks to you. You told them not to."

"Yeah. I did."

He shrugged, furrowing his brows. "Why?"

"What would it have solved? I figured you'd just release the pictures out of spite."

"If our roles were reversed, I would've let them beat the shit out of you." Duke shook his head. He seemed to rethink that. "That's not true. Because I never would have told them. I would've done whatever you asked."

"I only came out the way I did because you were threatening me. I didn't want the whole school to know. I wasn't even ready to tell the guys yet. You took away my choice."

"I know. And I know how wrong it was. Like I said, I was never actually going to tell anyone. Even if you hadn't done what you did and you still kept seeing Emmett. It was a hollow threat."

"That doesn't matter!" I snapped. I instantly cringed at my volume, recalling the time. I looked at my bedroom door for a second, as if my parents might burst through at any moment to find the source of the ruckus. I turned back to Duke. I lowered my voice to say, "I thought it was real."

"But you still chose Emmett over protecting yourself. I need to know why."

"Because I love him." I thought that was obvious. "I wasn't gonna let you take that away."

"I love him, too. But I could never do what you did. I'd die if anyone knew about me."

Despite my anger, I felt a deep sadness for him. I understood that feeling. I felt it myself not that long ago.

I didn't know how to react when tears started trickling from Duke's eyes.

Fuck.

I groaned, pushing through my anger. I stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. Duke threw his arms around me, breaking down into heavy sobs that shook his whole body. He squeezed me tight, leaning on me like he could no longer hold himself up on his own.