My True First [18+]

Chapter 31

The door behind the gym girl closed in a couple of seconds.

"What's wrong?" asked Ellie.

"Nothing, it's just...The girl who was here? That was the girl Liam went out with. And now I'm kind of afraid to go back in there and see him dancing with her. I guess she's here because of him," I admitted, hoping that Ellie wouldn't think I was a fool.

"Sky, there are lots of people inside. Aiden says Jeff invited many gym regulars. She could've just tagged along," Ellie said.

She didn't know about the conversation I'd overheard. Of course, she would look for an excuse to make things seem different from what they were.

"What I hate the most is that she's nice." I sighed. "It'd be easier if she wasn't."

We weren't alone in the restroom anymore. Ellie took my hand in hers and led me away.

"Come on." She stopped at the table with the drinks and poured some wine in two cups, handing one to me. Ellie and I sat on some chairs in the back, away from the dancing crowd.

Yet, I couldn't stop roaming the dancefloor with my eyes, afraid to see Liam dance with someone else.

"The girl's over there with her friends, and Liam isn't. I'm almost sure he's with Aiden somewhere. So, better tell me what it feels like to be twenty," said Ellie.

I felt like a fool for making my distress that obvious.

"It's weird." I twisted the cup in my hands. "When I was younger, I imagined how my life would be when I turned twenty, and it's nothing like it."

"What did you imagine?"

"That I'd travel a lot, have a boyfriend, enjoy what I studied. Instead, I wasted last year on Paul, who didn't love me. I could've gone out, met more people, and I didn't. It was his parties, his friends, his life. And you know what I like the least?"

Ellie shook her head.

"There used to be tons of things I loved doing. I just can't seem to be inspired by anything now, and least of all by my studies."

"Nobody's life is perfect, Sky," Ellie said quietly.

"Yours is."

The words escaped my lips too fast. Caught up in my self-pity, I didn't think it through. I should have.

"What?" Ellie stared at me. "We must've had a lot to drink for you to say that."

"Isn't it true, though? The grant in the best school? Check. A hot boyfriend who adores you? Check. A diamond on your finger? Vacations in freaking Martinique? Check, check, and check."

"Are you jealous, Sky? Because I honestly don't know what to think after this. It's good to know you think Aiden's hot, by the way."

"God, Ellie, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." Ellie stared into her cup, and I felt like the shittiest friend ever. The girl next to me was one of the very few people who I could count on. She gave me comfort way too many times, trying to lift me up and telling me all the right things to boost my confidence.

"I'm such a bitter bitch." I groaned.

Ellie sighed. "You're not. You're still my best friend; it's just that I can't believe that knowing everything you know, you still think that everything is easy-breezy for me. Orphan? Check. My dead birth parents? Check. My uncle, who tore Aiden and me apart? Studying my ass off in two schools at the same time? Check, check, and check. Do you know what I think?"