Heart | N.H.

eleven - confessions

"Oh my God. Oh. My God." Annika keeled over backwards on her bed, smashing a pillow into her face. "Callie, please tell me you're not being serious right now?"

Meanwhile, I sat as still as a statue, rendered completely mute by what our friend had just told us. I turned to Annika. "I thought you went out with them? How could you not know?"

"It happened after we split up," Callie said. She was staring stolidly at the wall, refusing to meet either of our gazes. "And no one took advantage of anyone. We were both equally drunk."

"Oh, that makes it all a lot better," Annika said sarcastically.

I shook my head slowly. "I cannot believe... you slept with Harry."

"Please don't say it aloud, it's so strange to hear," Annika said, sitting up and shuddering.

An irritated frown crossed Callie's face. "Why? Why, Annika? It doesn't matter. I had sex with Harry. So what?"

"Because he's one of our best friends?" I suggested.

Annika was normally mild when hearing the stupid things we did, but she was getting into one of her ranty moods now. "Like, where did that even come from?" she questioned, waving her hands in the air. "You two just randomly decided Halloween night would be a good time to bang? Do you realize how weird this will make things?"

"Between us. Me and Harry. I don't see how it concerns you. It wasn't a threesome, last time I checked."

Groaning, Annika and I chorused, "Gross."

"It's just that after your last boyfriend, you said you wouldn't go that far in a relationship again, not without serious thought. And you and Harry aren't even in a relationship," I said hesitantly. "We don't want to see you regret and hurt over a decision again, Cal."

Callie scowled even more. "My last boyfriend? Alex? That was a year ago, Miracle. I'm so over him. I've changed since then. I'm older now, and I think I'm mature enough to sleep with someone without letting them have enough of my heart to break it. I don't love Harry like I thought I loved Alex."

I would be glad to hear that ordinarily, except she was saying it about Harry, and I cared about Harry. Did he feel the same way about this one-night fling as Callie did? I loved my best friend, truly I did, but she could be nonchalant to the point of cruelty sometimes. 

Standing up abruptly, Callie glared down at the both of us. "You know what? You two are just being pathetic babies about this whole thing. Just because you're both virgin Marys-"

"Callie!" gasped Annika.

"-and don't know how to act around boys who aren't exclusively your friend doesn't mean the rest of us are sluts. I don't care if you're judging me for this; you don't understand what's going on in my life right now. I just needed to be wanted for a night, is that so wrong?" 

I was really stung by the first part of what Callie said, but that faded as I heard the sob catch in her throat on the last sentence. Before I could react to anything, though, she fled the room. I heard Annika's mother stop her downstairs, asking what was going on. Callie's response was muffled, and a second later I heard the door open and slam shut.

She was gone. Speechless, I stared across the bed at Annika. "What did we just do?"

"What did she just say to us? I can't believe her," Annika fumed, but her eyes were brimming with tears too. 

"This is going to change things," I murmured.

-

Things got bad pretty quickly with Callie not talking to me. She'd never been the sort of emotional rock of stability Annika was, but she was cut into a place deep in my heart. Having her yanked out was like trying to live life on only one leg all of a sudden.