Blindsided

09 - We Just Slept Together

"This is not Simon Lukas' toothbrush," Moira gasped. I rolled my eyes at her as Ashlee squeezed through my bedroom door. She shut it behind her and flopped onto my bed all while Moira continued to look at me like I had just killed her unborn child.

Once again, I rolled my eyes and shrugged my shoulders like she was throwing this thing way out of proportion, because she was. Whatever this was, it was barely a thing.

"Calm down. He keeps a toothbrush in my bathroom. Big deal," I waved her off and started looking through my sweatshirts for something to wear to the party. I checked the clock hanging about the door and cracked my knuckles. I should head out to the stables in about fifteen minutes.

"Why are you guys fighting over a toothbrush," Ashlee laughed and I could just picture her puzzled look. Ashlee was not stupid, not by a long shot. But sometimes we could make fun of the fact that it took her at least two minutes longer for her to catch on to something than the rest of us. It's freaky how alike her and Brandon are.

Moira ignored her and joined me in the closet. She stuck her nose up at the sweater I had picked out, so I put it back on a hanger. Stupid party standards.

She had taken a breath and looked almost like she was calm again when she saw the stack of black men's t-shirts and a Burton Bears Hockey sweater. Even folded, you can tell that it definitely does not belong to me.

"What the hell are those!" she screamed. I flinched and took a step away so that she wasn't yelling right in my face. Ashlee had joined us, leaning against the doorway. She wandered over to my shelf of jeans and started flipping through them. When she found my one pair of ripped jeans, she grabbed them and put them in my outstretched arms. She absentmindedly pushed me out of her way and starting looking through my shirts.

I definitely trust Ashlee more than Moira when it comes to picking out clothes; Ashlee doesn't exactly approve of the things that I choose to wear instead of the brand-name stuff that she does, but unlike Moira, she doesn't force that crap on me. As Ashlee sets aside some suggestions, I wouldn't say no to any of it. I mean, I picked out everything that's in my closet at one point, but Moira's wearing a v-neck body suit, leather jacket, and green cropped pants to this party. I can't imagine what she would pick out for me I would actually be comfortable in at a party.

"Moira, would you just stop. You're making this such a big deal and it's seriously not," I stress, trying to make her shut up with my eyes. I have no such luck because the insane look on her face does not go away and she just keeps looking between the toothbrush she is still holding, the stack of Simon's clothes on my shelf, and me. Ashlee just keeps filing through my hangers, setting more than five different things for me to pick from in my waiting arms.

Is she still trying to figure out what we're talking about, or can she tell that I do not want to talk about this and she isn't pushing me on it, like Moira?

"I won't stop. All this...stuff," she says, pointing to Simon's belongings, "is totally something a boyfriend would do. Does Simon still sleep over here? Does Jared know? I mean, he can't because he would be so jealous he would lose his mind. Does Kristina know? Are you guys dating? Oh my god, are you having an affair with—"

I cut her off before the words can even leave her mouth. If this girl wasn't my best friend, I'd slap the hell out of her. She has no right to accuse me of something like that, especially when everyone involved are the people I value most in this world. Besides Kristina. But even so, I would never, ever hurt her like that. We've had our share of issues, but even though we've never really had anything in common or been very civil to each other—and by we, I mean her—she's been a part of my life ever since I joined that hockey team.