Secrets

19 | hadley

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I'm laughing so hard my eyes begin to well with tears, my giggles soon turning into uncontrollable hiccups.

"You sound like a duck!" Mason slurs as she lays her head in my lap, leaning her weight on me as she sits in the sand at my feet.

It's evident in the movements and speech of my friends and I that we are all sufficiently tipsy–especially myself. I've taken more shots than I can count at this point, avoiding risky questions I don't want to answer. However, as our game draws itself out, I soon become too out of it to decline to answer the questions asked by my friends. I'm hardly in control of my tongue at this point, my mind succumbing to the alcohol running through my system.

"Okay, whose turn was it again?" Clover asks, puckering her lips as she takes a long swig from the bottle in her hand.

"Me!" Mason exclaims, throwing her hands into the air and swaying like she's at some rock concert instead of shit-faced in the sand like she is in reality.

Clover's expression is smug as she curls her lip, eyes ablaze as her gaze settles on Mason. "Here's a good one: Have you and Kai fucked?"

From his seat, Kai chokes on whatever beverage he'd been sipping on. Mason halts her strange dancing for a moment, as if taken aback by Clover's straightforward question. I'm holding my breath as I await her answer–unsure if this is because I'm curious to know the truth or if I'm too wasted to remember how to properly inhale.

Mason giggles coyly as she stares Clover down, raising the bottle in her hand to her lips. She makes a big show of taking a long swallow. Choosing to drink means she has technically avoided answering the question, though her exaggerated movements and refusal to verbally respond seem to be an answer in itself.

"Kai," Mason slurs, shifting at my feet to face the boy in question as her mouth widens in a sluggish grin. "Do you know why everyone thinks we're hooking up?"

"No idea," Kai retorts with a smirk. "That was an easy one."

I take a sip of my drink as Kai's gaze swims around, seemingly trying to pick the next victim in our game. His stare settles on Devon, which leads my eyes to bounce over in her direction. I study Devon as she holds Kai's stare, watching as she shifts in her seat uncomfortably.

"Devon." Kai's voice is raspy and full of purpose. "Have you told Hadley the truth?"

I straighten in my seat. My eyebrows furrow as my chest fills with curiosity, intrigued by Kai's odd question. Staring down my girlfriend, I take a mental note of the tension hiding in her shoulders and jaw.

She's been hiding something from me, I realize. There is an explanation behind her strange behavior lately; the distance I've been feeling between us. I thought her attitude was brought on by Sloane's return, but maybe I'd been wrong. Maybe she has something going on that has nothing to do with me.

"Told me the truth about what?" I speak without thinking. Despite the amount of alcohol I've consumed in the last hour, my mind feels suddenly clear.

There has been a noticeable shift in the air, no doubt due to Kai's words. It seems as if we have all sobered within seconds. I look around at my friends, trying to make eye contact with even one of them. Kai and Devon are too busy glaring at one another for some unknown reason. Mason eyes the two with furrowed eyebrows, seemingly confused herself. Clover frowns to herself before tipping her head back and downing the rest of whatever it is in the bottle she's holding.

"Told me the truth about what?" I repeat once more, a dangerous edge to my tone.

I'd momentarily forgotten we'd been playing a drinking game until I am suddenly reminded by Devon's actions. She carefully avoids looking my way as she raises a bottle to her lips, choosing to drink rather than answer Kai's question. However, I don't let her off the hook that easily. I grab her wrist before she can take a swallow, the gesture forcing her to meet my stare.

"What?" I question yet again. Embarrassingly enough, my voice cracks, revealing the fear I'm feeling within. Devon and I don't keep secrets; not from each other–at least, I thought we didn't.

Apparently, I was wrong.

"What the fuck, Kai?" Devon spits, tearing her gaze from mine to shoot Kai a withering stare.

"Hadley deserves to know," Kai says sternly. "Tell her."

I feel helpless as I watch the scene playing out before me. I can't seem to do anything except stare at Devon, waiting for the truth to come out.

Devon finally turns to give me her undivided attention, and I can tell by just looking at her that whatever she has been keeping from me is serious. Her dark eyes are wide and pleading, as if begging for forgiveness before even telling me what she's done. My mind immediately assumes the worst, thousands of scenarios rushing through my head a mile a minute. My heart drops to my stomach, and I suddenly feel the amount of liquid I've downed as it threatens to come back up.

"Just tell me," I croak, voice a whine. "What is it?"

"I–" Devon stutters, opening her mouth only to quickly close it again. She shakes her head, slumping down low in her seat.

"Devon isn't finishing senior year with us," Kai speaks up. His words have a bite to them, like frost in winter air on bare skin. "She's leaving."

I feel like I've been slapped across the face. My jaw hits the ground, leaving me feeling like a fish out of water as I gape over at my girlfriend.

"Is that true, Dev?" I ask softly. I'm unsure as to why I'm so shocked. I mean, what is Kai even saying? Is he implying Devon will be switching schools to complete her senior year?