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The guilty look on her face is all the answer I need. Fran starts sobbing so hard that she begins coughing. But my heart has turned to ice. I turn on my heels, grabbing my wallet on the way out.
An old truck comes bouncing up the drive, and as I get closer, I can see it’s Ashley. I hurry to the passenger side and hop in. “Please get me out of here. Quickly! Please!”
He puts the truck into reverse as Adam and Fran run toward it. We’re quiet as we make our way back down through all the trees.
“Do you know if my aunt and Adam ever slept together?” My voice doesn’t even sound like me it’s so void of an emotion.
“Couple of years ago. Adam was nineteen. I don’t recall it being anything serious. He was horny, and she was lonely.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. Numb. I’ve become completely numb. I don’t even know how to process this. She never said a word to me about that. In fact, she didn’t allude to them even knowing each other well. When, in fact, they were very well acquainted with each other. And him! How could he do this to me? He never hinted at having any kind of relationship with Fran. Then to sleep with me? Worse, he stood me up on a date and set me up as bait for his friends while he was with her. She wasn’t only my aunt but my friend. He was my first. I was preparing to make us work. Not to be a summer fling, but to have a real relationship. I was going to keep living with her.
I’m so stupid. I’ve been such a fool. Adam has given me sign after sign that he’s a shit human being. The red flags were everywhere, and I chose to ignore them. The idea of a gorgeous older guy giving me attention seemed to be all that was important at the time. It didn’t matter as long as he was fun. Plus, he took my mind off the one guy I really wanted.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known a person, they only need a minute to crush your soul. I developed feelings for Fran and Adam within weeks, but I’m going to spend years healing from the damage they caused. I’ll spend more time hurting over them than our relationship even lasted.
I wipe my tears and give Ashley a curt nod. “Thank you for your honesty. Um, so what’s the earliest ferry boat to the mainland?”
“Six in the morning.”
“Can I crash with you? Will you make sure nobody bothers me? Like you did at the movies. Please.”
He doesn’t answer, but he does drive us to his house.
