The Bet || l.h.

- 37 -

"Have you... have you spoken to Natalie recently?" Michael whispers. In the dark, his voice sounds strangely loud.

I don't look over at him, knowing that he won't want me to see him cry.

"She's ok," I say, answering what he really meant.

"She doesn't hate you, Michael," I add when he doesn't say anything.

"Why wouldn't she?" he murmurs.

His green eyes lock with mine as he frowns. "Why don't you?"

I shrug. "I don't hate any of you for what you did."

"Maybe you should," he mutters.

I sigh, glancing down at my hands twisted together on my lap. 

"I don't hate you," I repeat softly. "And I don't think I can."

I don't know if anything can erase all of the good times I spent with the boys from my mind. Trash-talking each other in Calum's basement while playing Mario Kart. Chicken fights in the lake. Dancing like strippers on the kitchen island.

They're my friends. Even after all that they've done, all we've been through.

For better or for worse, they are a part of my life.

And I know that I will always be a part of their past. The girl who was unlucky enough to be the one they chose to be the object of their little game. The girl that stupidly fell for their best friend that only wanted to sleep with her to win the bet.

I only hope I can be the girl that they remember twenty years down the road.

Their friend.

"Emmy," Michael croaks, sounding broken. "Calum told me you're leaving us once Luke's ok?"

I push down the wave of guilt threatening to wash over me. "Mike, there's nothing here for me. I don't want to cause any more trouble."

"What about Luke?" he whispers.

"What about him?" I rasp. "We're over."

"You don't have to be," Michael says quietly.

"Maybe we should be," I snap, the bitter feelings I kept pushing down finally surfacing. "It's not like he ever wanted me in the first place. It was just some stupid little game to him."

Michael frowns. "Emmy..."

"It's the truth," I sniffle, wiping at a tear I hadn't realized had fallen.

He opens his mouth to comfort me with more lies I've already told myself, but a loud alarm interrupts him.

Luke's unconscious body convulses, violently jerking uncontrollably as the machines he's hooked up to beep their mechanical warnings to call for help.

I shoot to my feet as nurses start to rush into the room, yelling things I don't understand as they inject Luke with various things, trying to hold him down to still his irregular movements.

All I can do is cling to Michael and hope it'll be over soon. Luke's going to be ok. He has to be ok.

Ashton who was sleeping in the corner exchanges a panicked glance with me. His hands clench around the armrest of the chair he was curled up in as he anxiously watches the nurses.

I relax slightly when Luke's seizures calm, releasing my tight grip on Michael's arm.

The closest nurse turns to me. "Are you his girlfriend?"

I wince, but nod, unable to say anything.

"Convulsions are a common symptom of drug overdoses," she explains patiently. "Nothing drastic is going on. He should be ok."