affluenza (1.) | ✔️

Feel The Same

I STARE LONGINGLY at my cell phone, nearly ready to throw it against the wall.

The only text I'd received from Sebastian in the past few days was nowhere near enough to suppress my worries for him.

call you back soon. figuring stuff out. x

I'd gotten a bit more out of Devin and Hunter. They said he had moved out of the house overnight. They both offered him a room but he, of course, refused. And that was all anyone knew.

I felt sick. I knew that this war with Sebastian and his parents started long before I got there but I certainly didn't make things better. I felt awful for what I'd said to Rachel, even though I believed every word of it.

I sit up in bed, running a hand through my messy hair. I hadn't had much motivation to do anything, not without knowing if Sebastian was okay. Oba and the twins were worried about me though I tried to keep my anxiety in check when I was around them. Apparently, I hadn't been doing a very good job.

The rumbling sound of a car pulling up startled me. I jump to my feet and look out the window. I was hoping for Sebastian's Range Rover but see Robyn's car instead. I shut my curtains and crawl back into the bed, burying my head into my pillow.

There's three soft knocks on my bedroom door. I groan loudly. "Go away, Robyn! I'm not in the mood to talk!"

"Well, it's good I'm not Robyn, then."

I look up as Hayley walks into my room, her hair pulled back into a low ponytail. She was glowing, dressed in a white sweater and blue jeans. She positions herself a safe distance away from me on the bed, tucking her knees into her chest. "Wow," she mumbles, looking around the room. "It's been a while."

I suck my bottom lip into my mouth, nodding once. She stares at the wall my headboard was resting in front of. "That's new," she says pointing at a picture.

I look up at the photo and find the small collage of photos I'd created after Christmas. There were photos of Sebastian and I surfing, ice skating, kissing. I blush and turn back to Hayley. "Is that weird?" I muse, picking at a cloth on my sweatpants.

She shrugs. "A little. At first. I think I was more angry with you for lying than for cheating, though," she admits. "I get why you did it. I didn't, not at first, but when Sebastian explained the situation to me and—"

"Sebastian? When did he explain it to you?" I ask, eyebrows furrowing.

Hayley chuckles once, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "A week or so after everything went down. He took me out to coffee and we talked. I was still upset, nowhere near ready to come and make amends with you yet. But I realized that as hard as that all was for me it had to be that much worse for you. Figuring out your sexuality, knowing that you had feelings for your arch nemesis."