“What?”
He looked right at me. “Mandy wouldn’t listen to me. She insisted on going upstairs to use the bathroom. She’s might find Devon and Jennica.”
My stomach dropped.
He added, “They’re having sex.”
“Oh my god.”
Samuel laughed and thumped Brian on the shoulder. “You got trumped, dude. Crazy scorned chick always wins out against the angry/hurting ex-boyfriend.” He glanced at me. “You know your sister’s going to go nuts. In fact, we should be hearing her screech in about three, two,” his finger lifted in the air as he said, “one.”
A scream came from inside the house, followed by, “GET OFF EACH OTHER!”
I groaned. “Oh no.”
A second scream came next and I started forward. Brian caught my hand. I stopped to look at him, but before he said anything, I shook my head. “Stop.”
“Taryn?”
“Go, Brian. This is the last time. Just go.”
“YOU WHORE!”
I glanced up at the house, towards the second floor. Tray said from behind me, “Go, Taryn. We’ll handle this.”
I didn’t wait another second. Half the crowd was still watching us and the other half had started inside to watch that fight. I shoved through them, but I heard Tray as I did, “Get him out. Lanser, don’t come back here again.”
I had seen the hurt in Brian’s gaze; he wasn’t going to fight them. As I headed up the stairs, I pushed thoughts of Brian to the back of my mind. I didn’t want to analyze my own life. It was easier to deal with someone else’s love life.
When I got upstairs, I couldn’t believe where I found Mandy. A small sitting room was on the second floor. No door. It was room that opened to the hallway, and sitting on the couch was Devon and Jennica. His pants were pulled up, but were unbuttoned and the zipper was still down. Both were staring at Mandy with messed hair and a glazed look in their eyes.
They didn’t care. I saw it plain as day. Shaking my head, I wasn’t going to intercept whatever Mandy was going to dish out. Morons. They deserved whatever was coming their way.
Mandy shrieked, “I can’t believe I ever thought you were my friend!”
“Oh please. Get over this. You already know about us.” Jennica snorted and rolled her eyes. “All you give a damn about is your perfect life. Devon called me four times a week when y’all were together. He was begging me for it. You were so frigid and now it’s every day, Mandy.”
Devon hung his head and folded his arms on his lap.
I stepped forward and kicked the bottom of the couch. He glanced up, and I gestured to his pants. “The least you could do is zip it up.”
His face flushed in embarrassment, and he fastened his pants.
Mandy’s eyes were wild. She seemed focused only on Jennica. “You’re so second class. You’re a second class friend. You’re not even his girlfriend. You’re second class in everything, even in school. I’m first. You’re second.”
Jennica’s eyes flashed in anger, and she shot to her feet. Her pants slipped down, showing a white lacy thong, but she didn’t care. “I’m not second. Not with him.” She swung her hand back and pointed at Devon. He shifted down on the couch, but she didn’t care. Neither of the girls did. Jennica added, “You’ve had him forever, but he’s been mine. He was always really mine, Mandy, not yours. How does that make you feel?”
“Horrible,” Mandy yelled back in her face. “It makes me feel horrible. I loved him. I loved him with everything I had, and I still do.”
“Mandy.” Devon started to stand.
I pushed him down.
She kept going, her voice hoarse, “He’s been with me since seventh grade. I thought he was my best friend. I thought you were both my best friends. My life fell apart a week ago and because of you two. So when you ask how that makes me feel, I’m going to answer you. It hurts like hell. You hurt me, Jen. You were supposed to be my friend and you weren’t. I’m not ashamed of what you did to me.”
My heart swelled with pride.
She said, “I’ll never be ashamed of being hurt by two people I loved. I was the hurt one and maybe I’m a fool. I thought maybe…” she trailed off, lingering on Devon for a moment. Yearning mixed with sadness flared in her eyes, but her jaw hardened. She turned back to her friend. “I’m hurt by what you did and no matter how you try to spin it, I’m not the bad guy. You were supposed to be my friend and you weren’t. That’s the truth.”
There was silence as she finished. Jennica looked away, her eyes cast down. Mandy might’ve gotten through to her. But when she looked back up, her jaw had hardened, and her mouth was strained. I sighed and stepped forward. “Stop.” Jennica’s top lip curved in a snarl. She was going to start on me instead, but I shook my head. “She won just now. You know it so accept it and walk away. Give her time, stay away from this guy,” I pointed to Devon, “and apologize when you finally accept how low of a friend you are. She’ll take you back because she’s a good friend. She’s a better friend to you than you deserve.”