(Fr)Enemies

Chapter Twenty Five

I woke up to the sound of someone groaning.

I squinted my eyes at the sun coming through the windows of the room and took in my surroundings.

Last night had been fun. After losing the fight we had played a number of pool games and Aiden and I had gotten along perfectly. Emmett hadn't said a word to me and he behaved as if he hadn't even given me the ultimatum in the first place.

It really made me think he was a psychopath.

"Can somebody please close the curtains?" Aria groaned, placing a pillow over her face.

I smiled, happy that I hadn't gotten drunk. Hangovers were never fun.

To be nice, I walked over to the window and yanked the curtains closed before changing out of my pajamas and brushing my teeth. Once I was done with my hygiene I walked back into the room to see Aria and Kayleigh both up and complaining.

"Do we have any water?" Kayleigh asked, her hair sticking up in different directions.

I did a quick glance around the room even though I knew the answer already. "Nope."

She looked ready to cry as she buried her head in her hands. "Ice. The ice machine. Can you please bring me some ice, Grace? I'm begging you."

I stifled a laugh knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. "Sure." I said, grabbing the metal bucket the hotel provided and quickly exiting the room.

I practically floated down the hall as I thought about the night I spent swimming under the stars with Aiden and his friends. It was honestly one of the best nights I had spent in a long time.

On my way back, a hand reached out and pulled me off of my path and I froze for a second. Before I could react, my back was against the wall and Emmett was in my face an evil smirk covering his expression.

"Time's a wasting, Grace. Have you made a decision?"

I pushed him back, shoving the ice bucket against his stomach as my heart pounded in my chest. "Don't fucking touch me." I growled taking a quick step back from him.

He put his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, whoa. Calm down. I'm not going to jump you. I already told you my position. Completely consensual."

He really needed some help.

"I'm not fucking you, Emmett. Get that through your skull."

He smirked. "If you say so, Grace. But I can see through the bullshit. I know you don't want Aiden to know your dirty little secret."

Even him dancing around the words made me want to throw up.

"Is that all you wanted to say? Because if you've finished your miserable speech, I would like you to get the hell out of my face."

He frowned. "I know you're going to make the smart decision, Grace. I figure we might as well just get right to it. Now that I think about it, I kind of want to ruin this trip. We're already in a hotel."

I growled. "Read my lips Emmett, I am not interested in fucking you. I never will be."

He simply smirked shrugging his shoulders as if he knew I would change my mind. "Fine. I'll leave you alone. You can get back to me in two weeks and we'll take it from there. Enjoy your ice."

I looked down at the bucket I held in confusion. Talking to Emmett always left me mind fucked. I couldn't believe anybody could be so fucking deranged.

When I was sure he was gone, I took a deep breath and rounded the corner. My hand was still wrapped around the ice bucket and my knuckles had gone white with how tight I was holding it. That was the only thing that kept me dropping it when I bumped into Darian.

My heart dropped to my toes as my eyes widened.

There was a buzzing in my ear as he narrowed his eyes before looking down the hall were he had surely just passed Emmett.

"So, maybe we need to have another talk." He said, his voice light. I could tell that he was suspicious and that even though his tone was joking, he was serious.

Kayleigh was going to fucking owe me for this.

"I'm just getting some ice." I said, lifting the bucket as if it was evidence of my innocence.

"Right." He mumbled, "That's the expression I have when I'm getting ice too."

We could both be sarcastic. That was fine.

"Whelp. It was great talking to you. If you'll excuse me, I don't want this ice to melt."

When I tried to walk past him, he grabbed my arm and I quickly shook out of his hold. I didn't like to be touched.

"Grace, what's going on. What did Emmett say to you?"

I could feel my face pale.

"Darian, can we not talk about this right now?"

Because I was fresh out of lies. I wasn't in the mood to come up with any new ones.

"No." he said, his voice going serious for the first time ever. "If you could see your expression you'd understand why. What did he say?"

Okay, so another lie it was.

"He asked me a question." I said slowly, thinking as I went. "He knows something about me that I'd rather forget. He was just confirming it."

He thought about my answer for a while before nodding his head. "Let me walk you back to your room."

I sighed. I couldn't tell if he believed me or not. Technically i wasn't lying.

"What are the chances you're going to keep the whole hallway debacle to yourself?" I asked once a few seconds had passed.

He knew what I was saying. I didn't want him to tell Aiden.

He shrugged. "Slim."

Well shit.

"I'm probably not going to tell Aiden." he continued as if he hadn't just threw a grenade into my life. "But I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a talk with Emmett."

I groaned. "Why? It's not his fault he knows a secret. He's probably not going to say anything."

Lie. Lie. And Lie.

"Because I don't believe you. Aiden told me you've been acting weird around Emmett and this didn't convince me that there's not something else going on."

There was no chance that Emmett would keep my secret if Darian asked. I needed to lie better.

I turned to him. "Darian, I don't want you to know what Emmett found out. I'm telling you the truth."

He seemed to think about it and even I could hear the desperation in my voice.

"How did Emmett find out?"

Sometimes you had to lose the battle to win the war and i was playing the long game here.

"His aunt is my therapist."

Surprisingly, I wasn't even embarrassed telling him that I went to therapy.

Darian sighed, "Maybe you should just tell Aiden, Grace. It looks like holding on to this secret is causing you more pain than just letting it go."

He was probably right. I just didn't know if it was a gamble I was willing to take.

"Maybe I will." I replied. Reaching the room and turning to face him.  "I just need to make sure I can live with people knowing."

Where the hell did that come from?

Darian nodded his head. "Alright. Tell the girls that we meet by the car in twenty minutes."

I smiled. "You got it."