Fluke

29: Scientific Method

No. No. No. Anyone but Brett.

With a mouth as porous as a sponge, he had to be the one to find out. Murphy had struck again, and as my breathing turned shaky and my heart skipped every other beat, I realized there was nothing and no one to blame but my carelessness (and Logan Two).

"Would you stop shining that light in my eyes?" Logan spat, and Brett turned off the flashlight on his phone.

"My bad," Brett apologized, and instead, his tone brightened the room. "I didn't know you two were a thing."

"We're not. We're both a little drunk, and—" Logan began, but I interrupted with a plea for mercy.

"Please don't tell Darrell, or anyone else. Friends stick together, and we're bestest friends, right?"

"Oh, is this one of those things where the guy isn't into the girl like she's into him, and it's really sad because it always ends in heartbreak for the sweet girl who just wants to be loved?" Brett asked. "I've seen this movie. Always makes me cry."

"It makes you cry?" Logan asked.

"Sometimes. Not usually, though," Brett replied, then put his hand on my shoulder. "As your bestest friend, I think you can do way better than him. He's not even that into you."

"He's not?" I asked.

"What the fuck, Rea? Why are you even listening to him?" Logan asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. He seems really trustworthy."

Logan let out a loud sigh. "Just don't tell Darrell, okay? For some reason that only makes sense to her, Rea doesn't want anyone to know about us."

"My lips are sealed. But what if I told Jia? Would that be okay?" Brett asked.

I shook my head. "No, because she might accidentally lead Darrell onto our track, which absolutely cannot happen because I want him to think that I'm perfectly competent. I want him to think that I'm good enough and that I'm completely submerged in my work, because otherwise, he'll just think that I'm worthless."

"Can I tell Carter?"

I stared at his shadowy figure for a moment before replying. "No."

"Rea, you're the only one who doubts that you're good enough. Everyone else knows that you're the smartest person here—" Logan began, but I interrupted.

"Except for Darrell."

"—except for Darrell, but he's an asshole, so who gives a shit?"

"I give so many shits," I mumbled to myself.

"What the hell is going on down here?" Hailey's voice asked from somewhere in the dark, and another flash of light hit Logan and me straight in the eyes. I squinted and turned away from the burn.

"Poor Reagan's realizing her man ain't shit," Brett replied.

"Brett!" I whispered.

If Brett couldn't even keep his mouth shut about our situation to Hailey, I had very little confidence that he'd be able to keep a secret from his actual friend Jia. Jia knowing wasn't the worst thing I could imagine, but if it was avoidable, it couldn't hurt to keep her in the dark, just so there wasn't another chance of the word getting out.

"You have a boyfriend?" Hailey asked.

"Don't say it so loud. She doesn't want to be associated with me publicly," Logan said.

"Oh," she said, then sat down on the opposite arm of the couch. "We can be friends now."

"I—I don't think it's going to work out," I said.