I met Cody at the parking lot, my eyes automatically scanning the surroundings. Yet, there was no sign of his dark-haired, know-it-all sidekick and my shoulders dropped a little.
Then again, Killian's presence might make this a little awkward. I settled into the passenger seat of his car, wringing my hands. How should I bring this up?
An awkward silence hung inside the car. Or maybe it was just me being awkward. However, when I glanced at Cody, he seemed to be equally lost in his thoughts as I was.
"Don't you have any questions?" he asked as he wheeled out of the parking lot.
I turned to face him, surprised. "About what?"
His lips stretched into a half-smile as he glanced at me. "Kel."
I felt a flush rise to my cheeks. Had I really been so obvious?
"Oh," I said, my voice sounding too high even to my own ears. "How—"
"Suz hinted very subtly at something along those lines."
Oh my God. Of course, she had. She'd probably expected me to chicken out.
"You're the only one who calls him Kel, right?" I asked to distract myself.
"My mom came up with it. So? I'm waiting."
I opened my mouth, swallowed, and tried again, but no words escaped my lips. Something didn't feel right about this. With a deep exhale I finally said, "I don't want to go behind his back."
"Don't worry, he told me to be honest if you had."
"He—you mean Killian?" I asked suddenly breathless.
"Yeah."
I mulled that over in my head. "When?"
"After our vacation."
That long ago? "But...why would he tell you that? Why not talk to me himself?"
Cody laughed. "Were you really going to ask him?"
Killian's closed-off expression swam before my eyes. "Yes... Maybe?"
Cody raised his brows at me.
Yeah, he didn't buy that one bit.
"Well, I did sort of ask," I mumbled and crossed my arms. "He seemed pretty tight-lipped about it."
We pulled up to my apartment. Cody parked the car and turned off the engine. "That's probably my fault," he hedged, his eyes darting away from mine.
I tried to make sense of that but came up blank. "I don't understand."
Cody let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat. "Kel doesn't want to talk about my stuff since he might think some of it is touchy for me," he explained.
I cocked my head. "Like what?"
"Well, that depends." His mouth curled as he faced me again. "Do you have questions or not?"
"Fine," I relented. "What's the deal with Alicia?"
Cody let out a long exhale and rubbed his forehead as if trying to shake off a bad memory.
"You don't have to tell me—"
"No, it's fine. If anyone would understand, it's probably you. You're not the only one who was stuck in a toxic relationship."
My eyes went wide.
He kept his gaze straight forward, looking through the windshield. "The funny thing was, I had no idea. I just thought that's how it's supposed to be and if I didn't do what she wanted, I was the asshole. Killian and I were roommates back then and at some point, my ex brought Alicia along. She had this idea of her best friend dating her boyfriend's best friend or something. It was fine at first. Alicia and Killian would join us and they even became friends. She was nice enough and Kel didn't mind, but I knew he did it mostly for me. He wasn't interested. But then..." Cody trailed off grimacing.
"Stuff happened. At that time Killian didn't really tell me what was going on. I was pretty caught up in my own world. He just stopped joining us, and then my ex started making problems. She took Alicia's side and downplayed what she did." Cody ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath.
My stomach twisted with unease. "And then what happened?"
Cody's mouth slanted into a frown as he stared into the distance. "Things escalated. It all went downhill when Killian got into a fight with some guys, and it turned out Alicia had asked them to help her make him jealous. He doesn't like getting manipulated, you see." Cody shook his head.
I snorted. I couldn't picture that going over well.
Cody tapped the steering wheel, lost in thought. "Of course, I heard a different story from my ex, and I didn't realize what was going on at that point. Kel and I had a massive fight. He basically packed up and went to Europe shortly after. We didn't speak for months..." His voice cracked. "Well, I was a terrible friend. All for a girl I haven't spoken to in over a year. And now, Alicia's back."
"But does Alicia really think she can just come back and what? Nothing happened?"
Cody grimaced. "Well... she claims that my ex pushed her to do these things. That she had that weird obsession with all of us."
That sounded like an excuse to me. "And what do you think?" I probed carefully.
"I think my ex had a hand in this but... I don't like how Alicia's approaching him again."
"But are they still friends? Alicia and your ex?"
"Alicia said she cut ties with her. It's complicated. And I know Killian. He didn't see her the way she wanted him to but he did see her as a friend."
Something heavy settled onto my chest, but I tried to keep my voice steady. "Maybe they could go back to being friends?" I suggested, though from what Jules had told us they already were.
Cody scowled. "I don't like it. She's not good for him."
I smiled at how protective he sounded. "You guys sound like a married couple sometimes."
Cody's expression softened a little. "Well, he's basically my brother."
"But why does he let her approach him anyways?"
Cody sighed. "Well... his sister showed up with Alicia in tow to some family thing. Apparently, they met and became close. She's his stepsister so Alicia apparently didn't know they were siblings. But yeah, turns out they are friends now. Best friends from the sound of it."
"I see." I chewed on my lip. He'd said things escalated...
"Just spit it out. I can smell your brain working from over here," Cody said with a small smile.
"Um... I'm just wondering. What did she do exactly? I don't think Killian would just snap even if it was weird that she approached his sister."
Cody's jaw hardened. "Little things at first, like she started taking his stuff—hoodies, shirts, you know. She constantly looked for his attention and when she didn't get it, she went to extreme measures. Whenever a guy looked at her twice she'd run to him for help. It was hard to tell whether she led them on or the guys were just delusional so nobody thought anything of it at first, but then it kept happening so he became suspicious. She even made up some stalker bullshit that turned out to be a lie.
"Like I said, one time things escalated and Kel got into a fight with those guys. After that, he sort of snapped. I have never seen him that angry at a girl."
Cody didn't know... He couldn't know or he wouldn't tell me about these things. How many times had I needed Killian's help? How many times did he get me out of a bind? Suddenly something was stuck in my throat and I gulped, clenching my hands. How many times had I done basically the same thing?
Cody seemed oblivious to the change in me. "My ex took Alicia's side and"—he let out a cold laugh—"she was my girlfriend and I took her side... So, yeah like I said; Kel and I had a huge fight and he left for Europe shortly after. There. Now you know."
"Yeah," I croaked, scratching over the soft skin on my neck. Thank God I hadn't told Killian about the stalker. That would have made this whole thing ten times worse. Like I was trying to get his attention.
Cody's voice took on a strange, hollow note. "Not quite as good of a friend as you expected, huh?"
"What?"
"I mean I get it." His hands gripped the steering wheel. "Don't let me hold you up."
Wait. He thought...
"Cody," I said. "You're a really great friend."
His shoulders stiffened.
"I mean it. You're like..." I searched for the right words to describe him. "A breath of fresh air. And the fact that you told me all this just makes me like you more."
His fingers loosened slightly.
"I swear. You were almost too perfect. People make mistakes. At least now I know you're human like the rest of us. Besides, it sounds more like you and Killian are family. Family fights. Over stupid stuff. But they don't stop being family because of it."
Finally, he dropped his arms. "Thanks, Tay."
"Shouldn't I be thanking you? You didn't have to tell me these things."
"No. You wouldn't believe how many people judge you for stuff like this. I'm glad I told you."
Suddenly, I felt like a horrible friend. He was opening up while I was distracted. I took a deep breath. "I'm really glad to be your friend, Cody."
He finally smiled. A real smile and his dark eyes met mine. "Me too."
I lifted my head and did a double take. Sofia hurried to her car, her shoulders hunched. I checked the time. It was already past eight. Strange.
I jumped out of the car, and Cody followed suit, albeit a bit hesitantly.
"Sofia?" I called.
She spun around, nearly dropping the small bag clutched in her hands. "Oh, Tay, good thing you're here."
"This is—"
"Cody," Cody said and held out his hand, in his typical chivalrous manner. "I heard you fixed up my roommate," he added while they shook hands. "Thanks for that."
"Ah, I see," Sofia said and looked between us.
"What's happening?" I asked, looking at the pile of luggage in her trunk. "Do you need help with anything?"
"Um...actually if you guys could help me load the car. We're going to my parent's house," she said. "It'll probably be for one or two weeks to sort a few things."
"Alright," I replied, frowning. I'd been wanting to ask what was up with her these days but the timing was always off. I should definitely ask her when she got back.
As soon as her rear lights disappeared, I turned to Cody. "Um...can you do me one favor though?"
He tilted his head.
"Don't tell Killian I asked."
The corner of his mouth quirked up. "If you want."