My Boyfriend's Girlfriend

twenty two

"What's going on in here?"

I felt like I was frozen in place as Tessa backed up quickly from me, taking her warmth with her. Danny's eyes were fervently scanning both of us, and I could almost hear his thoughts as he desperately tried to piece together what was happening. Fear, confusion, fear again, anger, hurt, jealousy. Fear.

"Danny, what are you doing here?" I asked, enraged by his sudden appearance. Not only did I no longer love him, I hated him. Truly, passionately, despised him. In the past few weeks, I'd come to know him as a completely different person than the boy I'd known before, and I didn't like this version of him at all. I couldn't believe how easily he'd been able to lie and hide things from me, Tessa, his parents...Danny Schwinn was a sorry excuse for a person at best.

"What are you doing in here? I came in here to find my girlfriend." He answered. He relaxed his stance against the doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood proudly. I wanted to rip the smug look off his face.

"Which one?" Tessa stepped closer, narrowing her eyes at him. I watched her in awe, as she didn't falter under his gaze.

"This has to be a fucking joke." Danny chuckled, rolling his eyes. He turned his head to look out into the hall and shook his head. A sly grin etched across his face, and I felt my stomach turn. "Abby, why are you making a scene?"

"I'm making a scene, Dan?" I asked reactively, imagining I could blow up at any second. I snuck a peek at Tessa, hoping to calm my nerves a bit, who seemed so calm and collected. She had one hand toying with the ends of her braids, twirling a section of the pink she'd had in her hair from her birthday. "What are you doing in here?" I asked again.

"I already told you, I came in here because Alex told me he saw you walk in here." He said, and pushed his body off the doorframe. "I came in here to find my girlfriend, but it looks like she's doing just fine." He winked devilishly at Tessa, and I closed my eyes to still my breathing and catch myself before I lunged at him.

"I think you should go." I managed to choke out.

"So you're one of them now?" He spat, and my head snapped towards him. I knew what he meant, it was the same tone he used when he talked about Rhys, or gay characters on TV.

"I don't have anything to say to you." I told him, and he laughed.

"I should've known, you've been such a prude this whole time." I was stunned speechless, feeling tears start to well up in my eyes.

"Danny, I really think you should go." Tessa said before I could respond.

"God, it's no surprise you're gay. You're a god damn psycho." Danny sucked in a breath, whistling lowly. "But hell, you're good in bed."

"Danny, go get a life and quit ruining hers." Tessa snapped at him. "Abby has done absolutely nothing to you." She looked at me, but I avoided her gaze and turned my head to the floor. "You've humiliated us both, and you obviously don't care how badly you've hurt Abby. You're sick, Danny."

"She's done nothing to me?" Danny guffawed, and I shook my head, letting my tears fall. I was upset that I was crying, I wanted to scream and kick and punch and throw Danny to the ground. I wanted to make him hurt like he'd done to me. "I'm fucking humiliated, she's played me this whole time, fucking lesbian."

I wiped my cheeks and met his gaze. "That's not it at all." I said, my voice quiet.

"Oh, so you're just in here eye-fucking her because you're not a lesbian?" Danny retorted.

"Why are you playing the victim?" Tessa demanded, and for once, her demeanor wasn't calm. She clenched her fists, her knuckles pale. "You've been cheating on both of us for months, you absolute piece of shit." Her nostrils flared, and she shook her head in disbelief. "I hope to whatever god you pretend to believe in that they don't find out you're such an awful person."