“But it’s a battle she can win. She’s already proved that,” Wren says. “Let me make us all a drink, and then we can talk some more.”
“Can we just forget it for a bit? I feel like my head is going to explode.”
My stomach has been in knots since Spencer told me the scandal, and I have a continuous dull ache between my eyes.
Wren bites her lip and gets up anyway. “All right. I’m opening a bottle, and we’re going to have a totally shit girl gossip session.”
“That sounds perfect,” I tell her.
Mila leans closer to me. “Have you seen Spencer today?”
“No, why?”
“He’s stressed.”
I narrow my eyes. “How do you know? How often do you two discuss me?”
They talk more than I thought. I think they’re quite friendly, which I love and hate. I’ve always longed to have Spence and my friends close. Now they’re plotting.
“Often. He’s like a little lovesick puppy who is totally obsessed with you. It’s adorable. Oh, don’t make that face at me, you know it’s not bad. We both care about you.”
Sinking back in the sofa, I remind myself that Mila is right. I can’t get angry at them. It’s not like they were meeting up to have a bitch fest. Spencer is my boyfriend, and Mila my best friend.
Her heart is firmly on her sleeve. There isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for the people she loves.
“It’s okay,” I say. “I get it.”
“If there is ever anything else… I need you to know that you can talk to me and Wren.”
“Thank you.”
“Anyway, did I tell you that Liam and I broke up?”
“You didn’t tell me you were together!”
She smiles sheepishly. “It wasn’t even a week. Apparently, he’s not sure what he wants. He’s trying to figure it out. I am, too, but what a load of shit.”
Sometimes I wonder if she remembers if they’re on or off.
Wren walks in and hands a glass of rosé to me and Mila. “Honestly, I can’t keep up with you two. Why are you still going there?”
“A woman has needs.”
What a copout. Mila is waiting for the kind of epic love that has you falling until the moment you die.
“Liam’s never going to be the one.”
Wren is blunter than me. Though, neither of us has anything on Mila in that respect.
I side-eye her. “What she means is that you have tried this relationship for years and it’s not working. Don’t you think you would be better off cutting ties for good so you can both find who you’re supposed to be with?”
Like Reid Walker, the sexy neighbour.
She raises her dark eyebrow. “And how do I know I’m not supposed to be with him, huh?”
“Because you wouldn’t ever question it if you were.”
She slumps, and her amber eyes narrow at us both. “Liam and I have been together forever. I don’t want to hurt him… or myself.”
“Mila, Mila, Mila,” Wren mutters as she walks into the kitchen, presumably to get her wine.
She pouts. Mila has naturally full lips that people pay hundreds for. Lucky cow. “I like it better when we’re talking about you two.”
“Maybe I should form some weird alliance with Liam and come up with a plan, like you did with my Spencer.”
“My alliance with Spencer isn’t weird.” She tilts her head. “Or it won’t be when he sets me up with Ethan.”
I smirk. “You should make sure you’re totally done with your boyfriend before you do that.”
“Did you know that there are a million photos of you online? Look, here’s one of you acting shady when you get out of Spencer’s car and run into his house. I also have one of you at the premiere pretending like you’re not in love with the main star of the movie.”
“Mila, drink your wine.”
I lift my glass to my mouth and smile.
No matter what is going on, these girls always make me feel like I’ve got this.
I have them.
Forty-Five
Spencer
I’m losing my fucking mind.
In three days, I leave for LA again, and my schedule will blow up. Indie is still only pretending that we’re okay. She hasn’t directly come out and said that she blames me for her family secret getting out, but she does. I’ve spent all of my free time running lines to keep myself busy. I have too much free time now that she’s not coming over.
This is all my fault.
If I’d just kept her out of the public eye, maybe she wouldn’t be too scared to come outside.
I wish I’d known what to protect her from. There is so much more I could have done if I’d known.
Now, I’m standing outside her door like a lost puppy, hoping she’ll let me in.
Brushing imaginary dirt off my top, I knock on her door. This isn’t a first date, but my heart gives a pinch. Will today be the day she forgives me? There hasn’t been anything she’s done directly. No pulling away or not calling back. No. Sometimes I catch her staring off at nothing, and then she blinks heavily before addressing me.
There’s invisible distance between us that I feel.
Indie opens the door. She looks over my shoulder and ducks around the side of the door, hiding herself. I slip through. Her smile is wide but troubled.
I look back over my shoulder. Nope, still no reporters out there today. I wince as I step over the threshold, knowing she’s paranoid and frightened she’ll be seen.
“Are you okay?” I ask, turning to her when she shuts the door.
Her big, dark eyes blink heavily. “Yeah.”
Eyes that make me lose my mind hold a lie.
“Indie.”
Her shoulders sink. “Mum is really down today. I can’t leave the house without people staring at me, asking questions, or taking photos. How do you do this every day? I just want them to leave me alone.”
How am I going to leave for LA soon?
I take
