BETRAYAL

“I DID IT FOR YOU—it was for your own good.” Madison’s pathetic and completely untrue excuse unleashed a sickening pang in my stomach.

“You don’t do anything for anyone but yourself, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to figure that out.” I whipped my head around to address Caleb. “And what about you? Did you have an elaborate plan for my own good too?”

“No,” Caleb insisted. “I only came here because she told me you would need me.”

“He’s high, Cassidy. He doesn’t—”

I shoved my hand in Madison’s face to stifle her lies and turned back to Caleb. “What did she tell you?”

He leaned against the thick oak tree that was hiding the three of us from the party and pressed his hands to the sides of his head like he was literally holding himself together.

“Well?” I snapped at him, taking one step closer and stopping, my arms stiff at my sides while I swallowed down the quaver I felt creeping up my throat.

He met Madison’s eyes with an expression somewhere between surprise and insult, then looked at me. “You want to know why she invited me here? She and I share a common goal.”

“He’s lying, Dees.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “I can’t believe you set me up like this—with help from my friend.” I bit back the last word, blinking away tears. Madison was not my friend anymore and there was no way I was going to give either of them the satisfaction of making me cry. “How could you?”

“How could I?” Caleb’s brown eyes widened, and he dropped his hands. “You’re cheating on your boyfriend. I’m a free agent.” He crossed his legs at the ankle, resting his full weight on the tree.

I coughed a short breath. “Yeah, and what’s your specialty? Freelance betrayal? Do you charge per day or is there a flat rate for breaking up happy couples?”

“You and Ethan aren’t happy together,” Madison cut in. “If you were, you wouldn’t have stooped so low behind his back.”

I started to speak, but nothing came out. She was right. Something was off with Ethan and me. We weren’t happy the way we used to be, but that didn’t mean I’d stopped loving him or wanting to be with him. There were other factors that had nothing to do with him for why I was unhappy. It just felt easier to push away someone I knew wouldn’t leave than to face the real problem.

“I never would’ve even talked to him if it weren’t for my paren—” I leveled a death stare at Madison. “You’ve known this whole time, haven’t you? And now you’re using it against me? I trusted you.” She broke into sloppy tears in response. I turned to Caleb. “I thought you understood what I was going through, but I guess that was a big act.”

His expression softened. “I do understand, Cassidy. She told me, but I didn’t expect to…”

“To what?” I spit at him. “Betray our friendship with an ultimatum?”

Caleb looked away from me into the woods that hid Aimée’s house from the rest of the world and quietly answered, “To care so much to take it that far.”

A frigid breeze swept through the lifeless branches hanging above us, causing goose bumps to prick my legs. Even if he was telling the truth, no matter how he felt about me, the damage was already done. He was nothing more to me now than a mistake I couldn’t take back.

“You’re not caring, you’re inebriated, remember?”

“So that’s how it is now?”

I squared my shoulders and inched up my chin as if I was above his affection. I wasn’t, but I was so mad I wanted him to think I was, to feel bad about it.

His expression changed, like he was finally going to get serious. He pushed off the tree, glanced over my shoulder, and leaned forward to whisper against my hair, “I’m not the only person who wants you to choose me.”

Snapping my head away from him, I forced down the anger burning under my skin and met Madison with the unguarded eyes of a friend. “Why would you do this to me?”

Tears streaked her reddened cheeks. The more she cried, the more I couldn’t stand to be near her. After what she’d done, she couldn’t even give me an explanation.

I turned on my toes to leave, but stopped when I saw Ethan walking toward us. I grabbed Madison by the arm and pulled her in the direction of Aimée’s house. “You’re coming inside with me.”

Caleb took hold of my other hand and pulled me back behind the tree. “Cassidy, I can explain.” He flicked a look at Madison, who’d conveniently stopped crying so she could eavesdrop, then lowered his voice. “But not here. Meet me on the bridge?”

I peeked past the tree again. Ethan was only a few feet away now. “Fine. I’ll meet you there, but later. You need to leave now. And don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

Caleb nodded. “See you on the bridge.”