Currents

Eighteen ~ Hypocrite

Eighteen ~ Hypocrite

"What the fuck?"

My hand gripped the wooden door frame for support as I trembled in the entrance to the dining room.

Like two people who'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have been doing, Austin and Brooke leapt apart. Brooke had the decency to look embarrassed as she slid off the table and smoothed down her dress, her cheeks flushing and her eyes cast downwards.

"Rosalie." His voice soft, Austin glanced towards the open door I'd just stepped through. "Fuck, listen, I can explain—"

"How long has this been going on for?" I stumbled over my words, still unsure whether to be more outraged or shocked.

Realising that my nails were beginning to make small indents in the wooden beam, I released the doorframe, took a deep breath and stood up straight. I'd drank a lot tonight, but alcohol wasn't to blame for the nausea in my stomach.

Mia. God, poor Mia.

"It's not like that," Brooke said. "It just happened and—"

"Look, I can explain." Austin placed his hand on Brooke's wrist to silence her, before thinking better of it and running his fingers through his hair instead. "Hear me out, Rosalie."

With a quick glance over my shoulder to check nobody else had gathered wind of our confrontation, I took one step closer to Austin, my legs like jelly.

"I hope you have a damn good explanation," I said, "because there is no way I'm going to bed tonight without Mia knowing about this."

His eyes widened, face paling. "No! Please. I really like Mia. Honestly, I do. I'd have slept with her by now if I didn't."

"What a gentleman." I scoffed, folding my arms and scowling.

"No," he said again, rubbing the heel of his hand into his forehead. "This is coming out wrong. Please, stop glaring at me. You're making me nervous, and I won't be able to explain if I'm fumbling over my words."

"You're gonna be a lot more nervous when you explain this to Mia."

He sighed and dropped his hands back to his sides. "Okay... The reason I haven't pushed to go further with Mia—romantically or physically—is because Brooke and I hooked up last year. It's not happened since. Except for, well, you know, now." He glanced across at her. "And I didn't mean for it to happen—neither of us did."

I turned my attention onto Brooke, who stood a few feet away, hands clasped together. She shook her head to confirm Austin's statement, ebony curls bouncing off her shoulders as she did so. But that didn't sit well with me.

"Of course not," I said, not concealing my sarcasm. "After all, hooking up with your friends is slutty, right, Brooke?"

She closed her eyes, sighing. "I only said that because I was so embarrassed at what I'd done. Austin didn't want anything serious when we hooked up, and I knew he liked Mia, but I went there anyway because I thought he might change his mind. Do you know how shit it is to like someone and then find out they want to be with someone else?"

Her comment hit a little too close to home, but that did mean I could understand her. No wonder she disapproved so vocally of Mia's flirtations with Austin; Mia was Austin's first choice. Brooke was just a girl he'd used.

"I can't excuse what happened tonight," Austin said. "But this thing with Mia is reaching the point of no return. I want to be with her, but I can't let anything happen unless she knows about Brooke, otherwise the guilt would kill me. And when she finds out about Brooke, she's gonna run a mile."