MASTER SEBASTIAN

Chapter 3

"I... God, Eleanor." A watery sob.

She never called me Eleanor--unless things were really serious.

Worry gripped me. "Char. Is everything okay?"

"No." A tiny whisper. Quiet, then, "I just found out Matt was cheating on me."

"What?!" I voiced aloud. Shooting a quick glance towards the direction of mum's shower, I dropped my voice. "What?" I hissed.

Out of a hundred and one possibilities of Matt cheating, the odds were zero to a hundred and one. Matt didn't seem the kind to even cheat. And... he loved Charlotte. He was the calm to Char's crazy.

They were perfect for each other.

How would he cheat on her?

Char continued to speak in a suffocated voice, and it was odd hearing her sound so fragile that it cancelled out doubts I didn't know I was harbouring. Matt cheated, there was no misunderstanding, he wasn't some adorable nerd to me anymore, just one big asshole.

She sucked in a shaky breath. "...Yeah, all the trips to the auditorium to 'help out', the...the 'tutoring'. T-turns out he'd been lying. F*ck, I'm so stupid." She whispered, "I'm so stupid."

Heart clenching, I absently raked my fingers through my hair and said on a frustrated breath, "Hell. I'm so sorry, I didn't think he would... Shit, he messed up big time." Quietly I said, "You deserve better."

A sniffle. "He didn't even take his phone with him," she said, barely audible.

For a moment I wondered if she was more upset he'd cheated, or that he wasn't careful enough to cover up his tracks. "You deserve better," I felt the need to say again.

She snorted. "Heck, yeah. I know."

Despite myself a smile pulled at my lips.

"You know what," she began with conviction. I could feel her quickly wiping her tears. "I'm going to forget about him, find myself another man today."

The smile fell from my lips. "Cha--"

"We should go to a club."

"Charlotte," I pressed, weary. "I don't think that's a good idea--"

"Well, I say it is," she snapped suddenly. "You're not the one that got cheated on, are you?"

She was hurt, and she was allowed to take out some of that on me. Inhaling, I nodded although she couldn't see me. "Okay..."

At length she said quietly, "Thanks, Ellie." Moments later, the line went dead.

Seven-thirty had me putting on a black number. Nothing too short or revealing, or else mum talked. In front of the mirror, my blue eyes stared back at me. Slipping on my pumps, I grabbed a brush and put it to my wild hair, even though it would be no use against the unruly curls. When I'd finished, dark red locks fell over my shoulders. Hair I'd gotten from my dad.

My throat grew tight. Mum never spoke about him and I'd never met him.

I put on a hair clip, looking at my reflection. Unlike the stereotypical redhead, I wasn't fiery or bold. I was emotional, gullible... A lump formed at the back of my throat. He'd been right all along.