Emily shook her head, probably afraid to talk.
“My whole relationship with Eric was a joke. He filmed it as a prank and showed it to the entire school. I was known as the sucker for falling for Eric. I was mocked and teased and then to find out Mom and Dad had died I just couldn’t take it.”
“Chris—” Mitch said, climbing the stairs.
“No!” Tears were now freely flowing down my cheeks. “You want to know the real reason I see Dr. Stone? Because I tried to kill myself four years ago. I almost succeeded too. If it weren’t for Devin, you would have had to bury me too! I bet you would have noticed then! So for me to find you,” I pointed angrily at Emily, “in my bedroom with the guy I love—have always loved—hits me deeper than you can possibly imagine. I hate you, Emily. And I hope you realize what you’ve done. Now leave me alone. I don’t want to talk to you, any of you.” I walked into my room and shut the door, locking it behind me.
I ripped the bed covers and sheets off the bed and tossed them to the other side of the room, then threw my pillow, hard. I went into my closet and pulled down a suitcase from the shelves and began to throw clothes into it. I just had to get out of the room. I needed to leave. My first thought was the guest room, but images of Devin lying in bed began to flood my mind and I knew I couldn’t do it. I still loved him, no matter how many times I said I hated him. It couldn’t be further from the truth.
Instead I pulled out my phone and texted a person I had only met recently, but who had a heart of gold and I knew would understand.
Hey, Larissa. I have a favor to ask.
Hey, Christy! We just finished shooting for the day.
What do you need?
Can I hang out at your place? Something happened
and I need a place to crash for the night.
Sure, of course. It’s the penthouse suite at the Beverly
Hills Hotel. I’ll let them know you’re coming.
Thank you.
I walked downstairs with my bag but before I could get out, Mitchell stopped me. Megan came up behind him. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to stay with Larissa. I can’t stay in that room.”
Mitchell nodded. “What really happened, Christy? While we were gone? Megan didn’t tell me much, just that...”
“The short version? I fell in love with your best friend who I tried to hate for the longest time.”
“Did you sleep with him?” he asked quietly.
I looked at him with guilty eyes, and he nodded in understanding. “He was the one who bought the flowers?”
I nodded. “I won’t be back for a few days. I need to get my thoughts in order and figure out what to do.”
Megan stepped forward. “Don’t give up on him.”
“He hurt her, Meg,” Mitchell said angrily. “He doesn’t deserve her.”
I watched as they argued over me and Devin. “Thanks for caring. But I’m old enough to figure this out on my own.”
I left them and drove to Larissa’s hotel, arriving before she had returned. The staff knew I was coming though and showed me up to the penthouse.
Words could not describe the splendor of the room. It was gorgeously furnished and very luxurious. Better than any hotel room I ever stayed in.
I waited for Larissa on the couch, watching TV on the flat screen mounted on the wall.
“You’re here!” she called as the elevator doors opened several minutes later. She saw my puffy eyes, set her things down and came straight to the couch. “What happened?”
And before I knew it, I was crying again and confessing that the relationship between me and Devin had been fake. I told her everything and even confessed that I loved him.
“He cheated on you with your sister?” she gasped when I told her why I needed a place to stay.
“He says my sister tricked him.”
“Do you believe him?”
I paused to think about everything Devin had told me and my mind agreed that he was telling the truth, but my heart couldn’t forgive him.
“Even if I believe him, I was still hurt by it. I can’t just forget what I saw and accept what he told me.”
“Just take some time for yourself. Think things over.”
“That’s what my psychologist told me.”
“You have a psychologist?”
“Uh, yeah. I just...I have issues,” I put it simply.
She sighed, “Don’t we all. Now as for sleeping arrangements, you can have the bedroom over there,” she said, pointing to a door off to the right. “The kitchen’s back that way or you can just order room service. I always do, actually there’s probably not that much in the fridge except drinks and a few snacks I keep around.”