Kris

Ashley led us down the hallway towards the party, still hand in hand.

Behind us, I caught one last glimpse of Dylan grinning like a toddler watching his favorite cartoon before we turned the corner.

Oh, hell! He'd now expect me to be thankful to him. But he should sleep with an eye open from now on. I could already think of a hundred ways to get back at him. Starting with the video games he loved so much.

I leaned closer to Ashley as we walked.

"I'm sorry for all this and for your top," I whispered. "I'll make sure the guys face the consequences of their actions."

Ashley smiled up at me. "It's alright. I was shocked in the beginning, but the rest...wasn't all that unpleasant."

Was that a lie? Maybe she was still committing to the act.

As we were making our way through the crowd, I noticed one of Bethany's friends staring. After she cheated on me and tried to get in bed with Dylan, she was officially banned from coming to the hockey house. Of course, that didn't stop her from having her friends spy for her.

I locked eyes with Bethany's friend and saw her gaze trail down to my hand entwined with Ashley's.

I should have let go of Ashley's hand. I should have created some space between us, but for some goddamn reason, I did not. Instead, I tightened my hold on Ashley's hand and met her gaze head on.

She could go and tell Bethany whatever the fuck she wanted. I didn't care anymore.

When we got to the kitchen, it was almost empty save for the two women sitting at the table drinking straight from the bottle and giggling to themselves. I knew April because she worked with the media team and I assumed the other one was Ashley's other friend.

"Aww you guys really did wait for me," Ashley cooed and they turned towards her, blinking as if they couldn't believe she was here.

"Ash!" the other friend squealed, standing up so fast that she had to brace herself on the kitchen table to avoid falling. "I almost fell down!" she giggled. "I thought... I thought you got lost."

"I missed you so much, Ash!" April declared, her bottom lip wobbling and eyes turning glassy. "I missed you so much."

"Hey!" The other friend tried swatting April on her shoulder but missed every single time. "I missed her too."

April nodded. "Nicole missed you too." Then her gaze turned to me and a bright smile appeared on her face. "Happy birthday Kris!"

"Happy birthday Kris!" Nicole said, joining her. "I don't know who you are though."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Thank you. I see you have enjoyed yourself."

Ashley snorted beside me. "A little too much. It's going to be so much fun to watch them hungover tomorrow."

"How are you guys going home? I can drive you there if you want," I offered. Having been the only sober person in the group one too many times, I knew how difficult it could be to get everyone back in their rooms safely.

"I have my car. But I could use your help to get them inside it," Ashley said.

We escorted her roommates to Ashley's car parked on the other side of the road. In that short journey, April told me how much she loved coffee and Nicole tripped thrice, almost taking Ashley down with her twice and bursting into tears once. It was wildly entertaining and concerning all at once.

Once they were safely settled at the back of Ashley's Corolla, we both heaved a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for that. Hopefully they'll come to their senses after a little nap," Ashley said, gesturing towards her roommates who were now sound asleep in the back seat. "And about what I did inside—in front of your friends—I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable. After what you told me, I just thought it was a great way to get them off your back for a while. But I'm sorry if I upset you with that."

I shook my head, waving her off. "Nah, it's all good. I was a little surprised at first, but it worked out. I don't think I'll have to fend off any more setups for a little while now."

Dylan would practically burst with excitement at the prospect of me seeing anyone. Even if I said it was a one-night stand, he would be over the moon.

After my fallout with Bethany, Dylan blamed himself for the way things turned out. And that made him feel responsible when he was never actually at fault. If this little show tonight helped alleviate some of that guilt, I'd gladly do it again.

"That's good," Ashley said as she kicked a dry leaf off the pavement. "Well uh... we'll get going then. See you around."

"Maybe for coffee, perhaps? I owe you for everything you had to endure tonight," I said, feeling guilty for ruining her night.

Ashley's lips quirked up with a smile, drawing my attention back to the tiny mole near her mouth. "You don't owe me anything. I was kind of running away from a situation as well, and getting involved in your prank helped me dodge it."

A distant look appeared on her face, and I wondered what that was about. But before I could ask, she was already opening her car door.

"Besides, I ended up having fun in the end," she said and got behind the wheel. Rolling her window down, she faced me. "Happy birthday, Kris. Don't get locked up in the storeroom again. You won't always be lucky to have someone like me as your companion."

"I'll try my best." I laughed, shaking my head.

After Ashley drove away, I waited outside on the pavement a little while longer. Taking a deep breath, I let the crisp night air calm me as I looked up at the full moon in the sky. With the party now over and everyone heading home, the hockey house and the street were returning to its usual tranquil state.

I replayed the night's events in my head as I walked. Tonight could have ended a lot differently if someone else had gotten involved in the prank instead of Ashley. Or if Ashley hadn't taken the prank in stride. The realization that I could have lost so much over one simple prank made me feel grateful to Ashley even more.

She saved my ass. Both literally and figuratively.

It was also nice to talk to someone who didn't judge me or pity me for what happened. Since almost everyone on the team knew about Bethany, I couldn't really share my thoughts with anyone without making it awkward.

For the first time in months, I didn't feel like I was stuck in a weird limbo.

I wished Ashley and I had met under different circumstances. Maybe then, we could have at least become friends.

Sighing, I retraced my steps toward the house and spent a few more minutes bidding people I knew goodbye before heading inside.

The guys had already cleared up most of the mess and since I had already suffered enough tonight, Atlas gave me a free pass from cleaning duties. Usually, I would still wait and help around but I was too exhausted to even think about offering to help. So, I bid them good night and headed straight to my room.

I had just settled under my covers when my phone went off. Sitting up, I glanced at the caller ID and my stomach instantly dropped.

It was Bethany.

"Oh for fuck's sake," I cursed as I threw my phone on the covers beside me.

The moment I saw Bethany's friend, I knew there would be some sort of disapproval from Bethany soon. I just wasn't expecting it to be this soon.

I stared at the screen, contemplating if I should take the call or let it go to voicemail. I knew Bethany wouldn't stop until I gave in, and I really needed to sleep. Besides, I shared a room with Ethan. It was better to get it over with when I had the room to myself.

"What is it?" I asked, getting to the point. I wasn't in the mood for pleasantries today. Not that I ever was when speaking to her.

"Kris?" Bethany's high-pitched voice sounded through the speakers and I immediately knew she was drunk. This was going to be harder than I had anticipated, wasn't it?

I rubbed a hand over my face. "Yes, Bethany. Can you stop drunk calling me? Or better yet, stop calling me altogether?"

My words went right over her head. "Why won't you call me Beth anymore? You stopped calling me Bethy like you used to," she whined.

The last time I had called her Bethy was when we were still in elementary school. And after she cheated on me—multiple times—I didn't have it in me to use any endearments for her. Could anyone blame me?

I sighed. "What do you want Bethany?"

I should have hung up already. The moment I realized she was drunk, I should have ended the call and switched my phone off. But again, for some goddamn reason, I didn't.

Maybe I was developing masochistic tendencies.

There was sniffling on the end and despite everything, my chest ached. Because she was still the girl I had known since childhood. We had been friends since day one of kindergarten right until first year of university.

She was my best friend once, my high school sweetheart, my first girlfriend, my first... love.

No matter how much I decided that I should hate her, I just couldn't.

"You are seeing someone new?" she asked.

"That's none of your concern, Bethany." I had to force my tongue to spit out her full name every time because of how accustomed I was to calling her nicknames. Every time I used her full name, it was a reminder of what had transpired and the walls that were between us now.

Walls that would stay there forever.

"But...but I love you Kris! You know, how much I love you," she wailed.

In the beginning, my heart would skip a beat whenever she said that she loved me. It would fill me with such joy that I wouldn't be able to stop smiling. But now, I felt nothing.

In fact, I was growing numb to the feeling of love. Because I knew it was all just false promises. Hollow and fake.

"I'm hanging up," I said as I swallowed the lump in my throat. I needed to stop letting her affect me so much.

"How could you do this to me? I love you so much. Why are you so mean to me, Krissy?"

That was it. Her using my childhood nickname snapped something inside me and I ended the call, keeping the phone on the table beside the bed and lying back down.

I couldn't deal with her anymore. Not tonight.

My phone pinged again, and against my better judgment, I picked it up. It was Bethany. She had sent a series of texts. Even though my mind was screaming at me not look anymore, to just turn of the phone and go to bed, I opened the chat.

Bethany: I'm sorry. I'm sorry I trouble you so much

Bethany: Happy Birthday!

Bethany: I didn't forget your birthday. I even got a gift for you

Bethany: You remember how we celebrated your 18th birthday?

Heat crept up my neck while a scowl formed on my lips. It was when we lost our virginities to each other. She was really going to go there? After everything, now she wanted to ruin our old memories too.

Bethany: Maybe this will refresh your memory

Soon after that text came through, she sent me a picture of herself. Topless.

"Fuck!" I slammed the phone on my mattress, not wanting to see it. She had really gone off the rails if she thought sending me nudes was going to fix everything.

I needed to find a way to put an end to all of this. This was verging on madness.

Deleting her picture, I sent her a text telling her to go to sleep. Just as I was about to switch off my phone, another text popped up on my screen. This one, however, was from my mom.

Mom<3: Can you come home a little early next weekend, sweetie?

Mom<3: Your dad could really use your help in fixing the lawn table

Mom<3: It would be nice to have everything set before the Martins arrived

Of course, the Martins would be there.

There hadn't been a single brunch on our lawn that Bethany's family hadn't attended. After being neighbors for over twenty years, my parents had become close friends with Bethany's parents. My friendship and then later relationship with Bethany had been the obvious outcome. So much so that when we announced that we were dating, no one was surprised.

It was like everyone had expected it right from the start. Like they had already known that we were meant to be. At one point, it had given me hope.

And then Bethany proved me wrong.

I used to enjoy these brunches. It was good to spend time with my family, and having Bethany around just added to the jovial atmosphere. But now I dreaded them more than anything. To sit there and act like everything was fine made me want to hurl the plates and watch them shatter to pieces.

I needed to start thinking about a long-term solution to resolve this situation with Bethany.

Fast.