Rebound

1.18

I knew, instinctually, that the article had dropped early, and that it was something...unsavory, to say the least. The story had to be something explosive if it had everyone staring at me with a mixture of shock, awe, jealousy, and even disgust.

"You seriously threw that glass of water on me and made me feel like shit for breaking up with you when you had this guy all along?"

Ben's words didn't even register as Dorian stood up, stony faced and painted with an anger I couldn't erase, and gathered his things to leave.

"Dory," I started but he cut me off with a look that could've withered flowers.

"Don't. Just don't, Elodie."

I flinched, like my actual name instead of something ridiculous like 'Elevator' or 'Elephant' had struck me across the face like his actual hand instead of his words.

I should have spoken to Dorian about what I'd inferred from his actions in our friendship thus far--that he had feelings for me. Lan had confirmed it for me, but it felt too forward and almost rude to come up to him and say there was no chance we could ever be anything romantic, especially if he'd never come outright and spoken his feelings for me aloud.

If I had, I'd have been no better than Ben trying to 'spare' my feelings by creating situations that would force me to break up with him first instead of him just being honest with me.

I didn't open my phone to see the article, not even when Phoebe texted me an angry string of memes and emojis that ranged from psychotic rage to unamused curiosity, one even asking me how big Matthew's eggplant emoji was, and that was when I decided to lock my phone and stare straight ahead, ignoring the chaos unfolding around me.

Sure, my eyes stung with unshed tears for one of my best friends who'd felt betrayed by me, the entire school knew that Matthew and I were together, and my brother would soon, as well as everything was devolving into shit, but at least I could try and get a good grade on the intro to psych pop quiz that our professor was currently handing out.

Ben, sat directly in the seat in front of me, leaned back to hand me my paper and didn't hesitate to throw another barb my way.

"Why don't you come sit by us, Lan? Wouldn't want cheaters to steal your answers."

Was he trying to insinuate that I had cheated on him with Matthew? Could he seriously be that dense?

What were we, in fifth grade?

"Bro, just shut the fuck up," Lan said defensively, being the only one not surprised by the news.

My phone rang and rang and rang, the vibration ceaseless in the pocket of the hoodie I'd carelessly thrown on that morning.

"I wasn't the one tapping minor ass," Ben muttered under his breath as he turned back to the table in front of him while my pop quiz stared at me like a mocking tableau of the portrait my life had been painted from.

'Minor ass'? My heart seized in my chest at his words.

Had the article portrayed my 'relationship' with Matthew in a completely different way than I'd assumed?

Matthew hadn't so much as given me a second glance before that night in the club weeks ago, long after my eighteenth birthday, and I was about to turn nineteen in less than a month.

There was a six-year age difference between the two of us, but it wasn't like there was some power dynamic between us that made what we were doing seem wrong. In many ways, the life experience I'd lived through and survived through had given me a much different outlook on life and relationships than if I hadn't suffered early on in life.