Pillow Talk

Gone

            

"Why do you keep looking at River?"

Daisy's voice filled the silence that'd sat heavily between us for a majority of the day. Though it wasn't unusual for her to spend the little time she had between periods making out with Greg in the halls, she'd been distant at lunch as well-or maybe I had been and was just trying to thrown the blame on her.

Having been friends since we were six, I should have been more than comfortable telling her of River's current living situation, but there was a hesitation I couldn't move past no matter how hard I tried.

"What?" I eventually muttered, tearing my eyes from the boys jogging around the football field.

Daisy raised one of her perfectly threaded brows and nudged me with her shoulder, "Girl, you've been eying him all day. I thought you'd been there and done that."

I felt my top lip curl just the slightest in disgust over the thought. I'd spent a year and a half completely obsessed with River. I knew that it had been because he was forbidden-far more than all other guys. He was my brother's best friend, it'd break bro code, and it'd end catastrophically if I were to ever allow the feelings to become more than just a fantasy. Fortunately for me, the second he stabbed Caleb in the back, those feelings had been drowned out by anger and hatred, and they were far stronger than any other feeling I'd ever felt for him.

"Stop making me feel crazy." Daisy mumbled, slowing to a stop and throwing her arm in a wide gesture toward the football field. "Tell me why you've been staring at him all day."

I sighed, slouching forward slightly, "I'll tell you if you promise you won't say anything to anyone. Not Greg, and definitely not my brothers."

She gasped, looking somewhere between horrified and shocked, "You're not sneaking around with him, are you? Caleb will kill you!"

I immediately shook my head. "No, what the hell, Daze, you know I would never do that!"

"Okay, okay, sorry." she crossed her arms across her chest, pushing her cleavage up a little. "Go on."

I scanned our surroundings to ensure Steven and Caleb were nowhere in sight and leaned forward.

"River's living in my attic."

There was a long, dramatic pause before my best friend started laughing so hard tears started to fall.

"No, Scar." she said breathlessly once she'd collected herself, face still as red as her lipstick. "I need the truth."

"That is the truth!"

Seeing I was serious, her smile started to falter. "You mean, River is—"

"River is what?"

Both of us jumped and whirled around at lighting speed. Caleb had snuck up on us sometime in the last couple minutes and was approaching with his hands in the pockets of his basketball shorts.

"Infuriating." Daisy eventually saved me my brother's wrath and closed the distance between us, wrapping one arm around me as she whispered, "Text me."

I nodded and she disappeared into the parking lot in search of her boyfriend. Once she was out of sight entirely, Caleb moved and secured the spot in front of me she'd occupied seconds before.

Of my three brother's I'd always joked that Caleb was the bastard child of the bunch. While the rest of us were dark brown hair and dark eyes, my brother had been blessed with height, bright blue eyes, perfect teeth, and dark blonde hair. Right now his hair was a mess, and his eyes were hooded with exhaustion, but he still managed to force a smile.