Friends, Lovers, or Nothing

Chapter Twenty-Eight - Dreaming With a Broken Heart

"Wait wait wait ... he said what?"

I stare at the plain white wall in front of me and try to remember one of those counting exercises I was taught as a child that are meant to stabilize your breath. One ... two ... three ... four ... five.

But the tightness in my chest won't let up as I turn back towards Makenzie and Layla who are sitting across from me on the loveseat in Makenzie's living room. Both girls wear a look of unease and I almost want to shout out, Welcome to the club girls!

Luckily they had caught me right as I was storming away from the party in a fit of rage and had urged me to come stay the night at Kenzie's. It's not like I could go home tonight anyway.

Remembering that Layla had just said something to me, I swallow hard in an attempt to keep my emotions at bay and look down at my intertwined hands.

"He said that we're just friends which is basically code for you don't mean nearly as much to me as you thought you did," I pause, "And he lied to me. A huge lie."

I'm taken back to the haunting look on Jaxon's face from the moment that I realized he had been lying to me about who he was for months now. The way his eyebrows rose and his lips twisted into a snarl meant for Aidan, the keeper of his secrets. I'm still not sure if his reaction was out of guilt for lying or fear of being caught. I'm not sure I want to know.

"Not sure I follow."

Makenzie's voice drags me away from my thoughts and I simply shake my head back and forth before asking, "Could we just talk about this tomorrow, my head is pounding and I want to sleep."

The girls share a similar look, almost as if they're communicating with one another through a simple glance before turning back towards me and nodding. Layla speaks up first.

"Sure Blake that's fi--"

Before Layla can finish her sentence a loud bang sounds from the hallway outside of Makenzie's apartment causing the three of us to turn our heads towards her front door.

"Blake!" I turn back towards the girls with wide eyes as I hear my name being called from the hallway by a distinctive voice that could only belong to one person.

"Blakey? Open the door, please open the door! Are you in there?" I begin shaking my head back and forth at the girls, fear rising in the back of my throat. I could not face him right now.

"I can't," I whisper, my heart now racing at what felt like a million beats per minute. Before I have time to think, Layla stands up followed by Makenzie as the pounding on the door intensifies.

"Kenz, take her into your room. I'll deal with this."

I stand up on shaky legs and look to Layla, "What are you gonna say?" I ask her in a soft voice but she just gestures for me to follow Makenzie towards the short hallway. I take one more glance towards the front door before moving.

My body slumps against the back of Mackenzie's bedroom door as I hear Layla open the front door, my heart rate further accelerating.

"You need to leave," I hear Layla tell him, her tone almost too low for me to make out through the closed door.

"Layla! Hey, I just want to talk to Blake, is she here?" He pauses, "Blake!"

I can't help but think how he sounds so unlike the Jaxon I know. I guess I really don't know much about him at all though, not after tonight.

"No! You're clearly drunk off your ass, you need to go! Stop embarrassing yourself."

A beat passes before I hear anyone speak until Jaxon starts yelling again, "Blake please baby if you're here come out and talk to me! I'm sorry! I'm-"