Lose Control (The Jewel Project #5)

21.2|| Fall back in the arms of someone

Lisa sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose with one hand, closing the laptop with the other. "What happened, Sam?"

"I think you already know that." He dropped in his seat, taking in the papers.

Her face finally showed a bit of sympathy. "She really did cheat, didn't she?" When he just nodded, she took a deep breath and continued, "It was with Harry, wasn't it?"

He didn't want to answer that, but there was no need. His face said it all. "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm unfortunately not."

"A little heads up would've been nice."

"Would you have believed me?"

"Yes, Lisa, I would have. Because it's you and I actually trust you."

She had the decency to wince. "You were just so taken with her. It felt unfair to butt in, to tell you everything. I was afraid you would think I was doing it to get her out of the way."

Sam squinted at her, a new wave of anger bubbling to the surface. That happened a lot lately and he was starting to think it was turning into a problem. But just thinking how things could've been if Lisa had just told him the truth... All of this could've been avoided. Or less of a shock at least.

She took in a deep breath. "The thing is, I warned her. I warned her that if she ever hurt you, I'll make sure you knew everything."

"Isn't it a little late for that?" His tone was cold, but she deserved it. She'd chosen to save face over her friend.

"I know you, Sam." A small smile broke through the sorrow on her face. "You're too curious not to want all the details."

Damn it, she was right. So he just leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Christine and I were best friends before I moved schools and came to X Race. We stayed friends afterwards, even if we fell apart some. I think she felt I betrayed her by leaving school." She started gathering the papers on the desk absentmindedly. "After I met you and Harry and made friends, of course I would tell her all about you. I mean, we had so much fun."

Yes, they did. Their childhood had been amazing. The three of them would meet up after school and go on pretend adventures, have sleep overs at his place or Lisa's, invent the craziest games at break time. Even when they started the secondary cycle of X Race which was high school, they still hang out all the time, talked about mostly everything, geeked over books and movies.

"I never noticed how she got steadily more interested in my friends, especially you," Lisa continued. "Of course she knew what you looked like, I showed her photos all the time, they were on social media, even if you never bothered with it. Then, right before our junior year, she started hinting that I should introduce her to my friends. I..." She bit her lip. "I gathered she meant you, but I pretended to play dumb and when I finally gave in, I fixed her up with Harry."

This was so odd, hearing how Christine had been perusing him for months when he thought he was the one with the unhealthy crush on her. It defused the anger a little.

"To be honest, I was a little shocked she started going out with Harry instead of ripping my head off," Lisa said. "And I was honestly happy it worked out. It was the first time Harry appeared smitten with someone."

"Don't make excuses for him," Sam said between his teeth.

"Why shouldn't I?" There was a steel in Lisa's eyes that negated the apologetic behavior she'd had since starting her story. "You were obviously just as smitten and just as dumb about it."