THIS morning, I woke up next to Tommaso with his strong arms wrapped around my small body and his breath hitting the back of my neck. This is something that I always wanted, but never received from Pete.

I enjoyed waking up this morning and automatically feeling loved by his embrace, alone. I felt wanted and that is the only thing that I have always wanted. I wanted to constantly be tangled up in his arms and between the sheets.

"Mm," I hummed under my breath and rolled around, eyes still closed and smiling.

"Hm?" Tommaso hummed back, moving my body around in his grasp. It was like we were speaking to each other in hums.

I shook my head and said with actual words: "We gotta get up."

"Nope," he smiled on top of my ear with his head on top of mine. "We're staying here forever and ever."

I shook my head, still smiling, and claimed: "We can't... I have to get up and go check on Bianca with Trevor, Johnny, and Candice."

"Mm," he hummed out again and sighed. "But, isn't she still being an asshole towards y'all?"

I somewhat rolled my eyes while they remained closed and also sighed, shrugging. "Yes, but," I started to say to him as I turned in his grasp and faced him, both of our eyes opened and staring into the other's. "She needs to know that people are there for her, even if she's being the asshole and we're all still pissed at her for what she and Pete did."

"What about you, then?" Tommaso suddenly asked, eyebrows raised in question. He must of seen my confused expression because he added: "As in, are you — by yourself without Trevor — still pissed at her for what she did?"

My eyes fell as I began to think about his question for a moment. Honestly, I didn't have to think about it anymore. I knew the answer to it. I reconnected my eyes up to his and answered truthfully: "I'm not mad at her anymore. Want to know why?"

He grinned and sat his arm up, holding his head up. "Why?"

"Because," I gulped out and quickly pecked my lips to his, "I have someone now that will make me forget all about the whole situation and, most importantly, Pete. Plus, it was only a matter of time before he cheated on me again, and he had to take advantage of Bianca for her to just willingly sleep with him."

"You think so?" he asked, with his eyebrows raised in question. "I mean, maybe she wanted to feel something for once and wanted to sleep with him."

I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes. "Well, whatever the situation," I began to say and placed my hand on his shoulder, "it's over now. Pete got what he wanted and some more. And, in the end, I did, too. So, it all worked out... All except for Bianca, of course, and Trevor, too."

"That's what I would like to hear," he whispered just as he leaned down and smacked his lips to mine, which lasted a full minute, really. "Alright, time for us to get up now."

"Really?" I smirked while he untangled his arms from being wrapped around me and rolling out of the bed on his side. I laid back and watched him lean over the side of the bed. "We're finally getting up when you want to?"

"Yeah," he laughed and shook his head. "I call the shots around here, y'know."

I laughed aloud and acted, as if, I was wiping away a tear from under my eye. "You're funny," I claimed and rolled over on my knees, slowly crawling my way over to him. I came up behind his body and wrapped my arms over his neck, whispering into his ear: "You run things around here?"

"Definitely," he smirked and used his left hand to wrap around my wrist, which was still warm. "I run things in this relationship."

"Relationship...," he sighed the word out and shook my head, thinking about it again. The more that I thought about it — Tommaso and I dating, boyfriend and girlfriend — the more that I started to like it and how it made me feel very warm inside. "I like it."

"Good," he said and looked over his shoulder at me. "Because, I like it, too."

Again, we leaned in and kissed, forever needing and craving his lips to mine. I was happy with him and this is the first time that I could openly admit to that. I never knew that I could ever feel this way again... But, with Tommaso, anything and everything is possible.

TOMMASO came with me to the hospital to meet up with Trevor, Johnny, and Candice for us to see Bianca as today is the day that she finally gets released to go back home. However, we don't know where home is for her since she is still very well pissed off at both myself and Trevor.

Yet, today, before she gets to go home, I'm going to sit down with her and talk. All I want to do is talk. And, if you can't give me at least five minutes for that... Then, I know for sure now that we will never be able to be friends again.

Looking up to see Dr. Reynolds coming our way, I stood up first before everyone else followed by example as we approached one another. More like, we all got up and circled him, like we always do.

"Okay, as of two minutes ago, Bianca has now be released and I am going to just go ahead and give you her forms," he said before handing me the forms of new information about Bianca. "You will see what she has to take and when she needs to take it. And, of course, my number and all of my information is on these forms as well, just in case either her and you have any questions."

"And, where is she now?" I immediately asked, still hoping to speak with her before we go home.

"She's packing her things up in her room," Dr. Reynolds answered and pointed forwards her familiar door. "Would you like to see her before y'all leave?"

I nodded and, as he led the way, I stayed back for a moment and mentally reassured them that it was okay. I had already told them my plan and they didn't exactly think it was a good idea. They know that when Bianca and I clash, with our similar anger sister-like personalities, it never ends good. Ever.

"Bianca," Dr. Reynolds squeaked out her voice as he started to open the door. He peeked in and she looked our way, pausing when folding her shirt up to put in her suitcase. "Nicole would like to speak to you real quick."

She sighed, rolled her eyes, and, then, what that was all over, she growled under her breath. Nevertheless, I walked in and Dr. Reynolds shut the door for me as my back was turned and facing Bianca.

Once that I knew that the door was shut and he was gone, I took a deep breath and took one steady step towards her. "We need to talk."

"Obviously," she spat back, looking me dead in the eye with that new evil-like look of hers. "What do you want?"

"Look, B," I grunted out and took another step towards her. "I just wanted to talk this out. On top of all that, I have no idea why you are pissed off at both myself and Trevor for. We did nothing to you."

"Nothing? Really?" she spat back and threw her shirt into the suitcase in anger. "You two have always done something to me! I know what you two have been doing to me for years now, pitting against me..."

"What the hell are you—?"

"You think that I wanted to sleep with Pete?" Bianca growled back and I gulped, now wanting to hear what she had to say. "I didn't, Nik. I didn't because he was your fiancé and I was happy with Trevor. Or, so, I thought..."

I would speak, mostly because I have a hundred and fifty things that I could ask and just state out, but — this time — I was going to let her speak. This is the most that she has said to me since the whole problem happened.

"Trevor had me there, Nik," she began to say and, in a way, she looked like she didn't want to. She kept her teeth gritted and her voice stern. "I wanted him and I let him know that multiple times, but he wanted someone else. I seen the way that he always looked at you, even when you had Pete's arm around your neck. Trevor always wanted you, not me. And, in a way, I could get over it because you were occupied with Pete."

So, she knew... And, apparently, she had always knew — but why didn't she let me know that? I didn't know, not until Johnny told me months ago. I never noticed and maybe I'm a bigger idiot than I thought that I was.

"I always felt unwanted at times, always like I was a third-wheel to you and Trevor, even without you realizing it," she continued and, now, this confession was becoming a rant. "You always helped him leave, so that I wouldn't follow him out. It was little things, at first, that made me start to feel this way. I could understand if Trevor didn't like me, but why would my own best friend treat me like this for?"

I gulped and bit down on my bottom lip, casually looking away for a minute to regroup with myself. If she wanted to see me cry, then she's getting her wish because tears were stinging at my eyes to escape.

"So, then, when you officially didn't want him, he just... settled," she spat out and it stung when she did. I felt so bad already. "It was always like I wasn't good enough for him, y'know? Until I was... He got to know me and, eventually, against all odds, he actually fell in love with me. Can you believe that? Trevor finally fell in love with me and he never even had to tell me. When we had sex, I knew it. He judged me before because I wanted to be with him so bad when he didn't want me back."

When she said it like this, it made me feel even worse than it did before. If I was always in Bianca's shoes and this is how I viewed everything, it would probably make me go a little bit insane, too.

"So, maybe that's why I slept with Pete," she finally confessed and our eyes suddenly met. "I always felt like when you were around, Nik, that I wasn't good enough and, then, when your fiancé made me feel like I was actually worth more than you for a change, for once... I wanted to feel wanted. Even if it was with my best friend's fiancé. I knew what I was doing was wrong and, yeah, it would eventually hurt both you and Trevor... But, you know what? For a while there, I just did not care."

Again, I gulped and held back, not wanting to speak too soon. She was on a roll and I actually wanted to hear what she had to say. I needed to hear this, just so she and I could finally move on from this once and for all.

"And, then, there's Tommaso," she began to say and my eyes became wide in question and surprise. "You already realized you weren't actually happy with Pete because Tommaso made you realize it, but you had no real reason to leave Pete this time. He was improving and, for whatever reason, you couldn't see past Tommaso and how he always made you feel on the inside — because it is exactly how Pete made you feel in the beginning of your relationship. I was always in your shadow, but I didn't mind it. Wanna know why? Because we were best fucking friends. But, sometimes... It got to me, y'know?"

She took a deep breath and immediately continued: "It got me because of Trevor. I saw how he looked at you. It is how Tommaso looks at you, and how Pete first looked at you, too. I just wanted that. It always made me feel like, you were engaged and, yet, Trev still wanted you while I'm here trying to give him my whole heart and he just doesn't want it. But, then, he does want it, when the damage has already been done. Then, here comes Pete... The one who put a ring on Perfect Nicole's finger. And, yeah, he sweet-talked me and had me thinking I was this special girl and, for once, it felt like I didn't have to compete with you anymore. So, yeah, I ended up doing the unforgivable."

For the first time in a long time, this was it. I felt that and I think that Bianca did, too, deep down. I held my head back, slowly nodding, and gulped once last time.

"So," I finally found the strength to speak again. "This is it, then?"

She spread her arms before bringing them back down and smacking her sides. "What else is there to say? It's the truth, isn't it?"

I nodded and agreed: "Yeah. Oh, hell yeah, it is. It's the truth. You got that right, but what you don't know is that I... I forgive you, Bianca. Maybe you care or maybe you don't. Either way, after this, you can keep the apartment to yourself because I'm fine living with Johnny and Candice. You obviously need some time to yourself, to sort things out on your own. However, when we're both done having our own pity-parties... Maybe then we can be friends again."

With that said, I didn't think there was anything else to say as I slowly turned and headed for the door. Just as I reached out and grabbed the knob, I heard her say: "So, what about you and Tommaso, then? Pete is out of the way now, so... What's going on there?"

If she was still my best friend, I would spin around on my heels and get all giggly about how Tommaso and I are now together and, even if this is the first day of our relationship, I am very happy and I think that it's actually going to last forever. However, she isn't my best friend anymore... She's barley anyone to me anymore. In more ways than one, she is a stranger or even a distant memory, if that.

So, to keep her from strangling me, I just barley looked over my shoulder and say to her: "We're finally together now. I'm happy, and so is he. That is why I forgive you, because — in a way — both you and Pete showed me what else was out there and willing to treat me better."

With that said, her mouth kind of dropped and her face loosened up some. Then, when all else failed, she simply nodded and, I don't know why, but it seemed to me that she was doing it out of respect in some way.

Bianca could say all of that, but the bitter truth remained: I dedicated four and a half years of my life to Pete for him just to cheat over and over again, and I kept forgiving him like an idiot. Then, once he popped a ring on my finger, I expected him to just change. He had me going until he slept with my best friend. Then again, it takes two to tango. It goes both ways.

• First off, I am BEYOND SORRY for not updating for almost a week now. It turns out that I lost my job this past Saturday because my job shut the doors unexpectedly, but they are gonna pay me and the other employees for the two three weeks, tho. I've had PLENTY of time to write, but I've been in a lot of pain ever since then — and IDK why. Good thing that I was off, then, Ig, cuz it got so bad that I couldn't even get up and out of bed 🤦🏻‍♀️ Anyways, please wish me luck on finding another job to pay my bills and keep my kids (my cats and bunny) fed 😭💕 ALSO: S/O to both fabandboujee_ for helping me out for this chap ✨ All the love .xx •