In My Skin

CH 48 || Hypocrite

"You don't have to act all high and mighty because she spared you some attention. She only joined the holidays because of me."

"Actually," I started. "Cody asked—"

"And," Suz quickly interrupted me without so much as a glance. "The only reason she even looked your way was because I encouraged her."

This wasn't the first time those two were bickering about me as if I wasn't even in the room. Cody and I exchanged a glance, his mouth quirking. At least somebody was having fun at my cost.

"Or that's what you'd like to think," Killian snorted.

Suz shot him a smug smile. "I've known her longer, so, of course, I would know."

"Guys..." I tried. The only indication he gave that he even heard me, was his palm pressing into the small of my back.

"Yet, you two didn't get that close until she met me," Killian pointed out in a dry tone, his gaze still fixed on my best friend.

Suz gasped. "That's because I was gone before that."

"I could say the same thing," Killian said, folding his arms across his chest. Which was totally fine with me. I didn't miss his touch at all.

Okay, maybe I did.

At that moment, my phone went off with a call. To my surprise it was Jared. I could feel Killian tense ever so slightly.

I accepted and stepped to the side. I'd take anything to escape this conversation.

"Hey, Tay," Jared greeted me. "Do you have a minute? I've been meaning to talk to you?"

"Sure, just a second," I said, moving to a quieter area.

"Don't take too long," Killian called after me in an unnaturally loud voice.

The last thing I heard was Suz announcing, "Well, you know what they say, good things come to those who wait. It just made our friendship even stronger—"

Her voice cut off as I moved to the next room, which was thankfully empty. "Okay, what's up?"

"Was that Killian? You two seem pretty close now, huh?" Jared remarked, sounding a bit off.

And why was this any of his business? "Cody and Suz are also here," I said, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. "Did you really want to talk to me about Killian?"

"Um...no. Are you at Nick's place? I heard the news."

My stomach dropped. Did he find out about my stalker?

Before I could panic further, he clarified, "They finally released the news about who got arrested. Rick Hempson and Mick Walker. I know those guys were Chris' friends."

Oh. He was talking about the drug raid. Suddenly, I was painfully reminded of the way Chris had seemed to change, the dark circles under his eyes and all that. Maybe if I had cared a bit more, I would have noticed it wasn't just the popularity boost that made him change. Then again, I hadn't.

"There are rumors that they did some messed up stuff to some girls," Jared continued, sounding concerned. "So, I wanted to check in on you if you're okay. They never did anything to you, did they?"

Wait a second.

Hadn't Alicia said something about a reason Killian approached me in the first place? And somehow this was all related to Rick, who was friends with Chris... Slowly, the missing pieces seemed to click into place.

"Tay? Are you still there?"

"I-I'm good," I replied, distracted. "I barely even knew those guys."

"Oh, okay." Did he sound a bit disappointed? Nah. "That's good then. I'm on my way to Nick's place. I'll catch you there. Let me know if you need me, okay?"