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“Youdon’t think I have the right to get upset that you lied to me?”
“But I didn’t,Laney,” I repeated. “That’s what you’re refusing to understand. I didn’t know Stone before that Monday, and that’s the truth.”
“Fine,” she conceded, but she was snide about it. “But why marry him, Rylee?”
“What?”
“Why agreeto marry him?” she asked. “Why not have just a normal Circe contract?”
My head reared back. “AnormalCirce contract? Do you hear yourself?” I scoffed. “There’s nothingnormalabout any of this, Laney.” I shook my head in disbelief. “We’re talking secret societies, and blackmail, and destructive consequences. This shit isnotnormal.”
“If that’s howyou feel, then why go through with it?”
“Are you serious?” I snapped.
“What?”
“You were there, Laney,” I reminded her. “You read his texts. As a matter of fact, you’re the one who had said it was a no-brainer to accept.”
“That’s before I knewStone would bemarryingyou,” she cried out, confirming my suspicions. Laney had a thing for Stone. “How was I supposed to know you’d be getting in over your head?”
I wasstarting to get pissed, and Alexander’s remark about Hera’s jealousy streak started to bother me more than it should. I told myself I wasn’t jealous, but I also wasn’t going to spend the rest of the school year arguing with my roommate over a guy.
“You know, Laney, you’re standing there upset because you think I lied to you, but you don’t see me getting mad at you for keeping such a huge secret from me?” I pointed out. “When you told me all about The Order, I hadn’t gone off and gotten pissed because you hadn’t told me.”
“I was sworn to secrecy,” she defended. “I couldn’t say anything. Besides, it wasn’t any of your business.”
My back straightened at that. “And how, exactly, is my marriage to Stone any ofyourbusiness?”
Her face took on an ugly shade of red. “I thought we were friends,” she flung back. “But I guess I was wrong.”
“Wearefriends,” I corrected her. “That shouldn’t change with my marriage to Stone.”
Laney shook her head. “You’re making a big mistake, Rylee.”
My hands landed on my hips, and I cocked my head. “And what do you propose I do, Laney? Break the contract and risk his wrath, along with the wrath of The Order?”
She hadthe audacity to shrug a shoulder as if the consequences weren’t a big deal. “Call Alexander and explain the situation,” she answered.
“Oh, really?” I replied. “And explain what, exactly? That my roommate is pissed that I’m marrying Stone Lexington, so…what? Please, tear up my contract?”
“What about August?’ she asked, and that confused me further.
“What about him?”
Hereyes widened a bit before darting away. “Nothing,” she mumbled, and I’d had enough.
I bent over and gathered my laptop and books, then headed towards my bedroom. I wasn’t going to play these games with her. I wasn’t going to engage in whatever drama she was trying to bring to the table. If she wanted to be mad at me for Stone, well, then that was on her.
Any other time, I wasn’t that girl. If one of my friends was interested in a guy, he was automatically off-limits as far as I was concerned. However, Laney has never mentioned anything about liking Stone Lexington. We’ve been friends for years, and she’s never once voiced her interest in him. Had she, I would have walked right back out that haunted house Friday night, and never looked back. Plus, I would have explained why if it had been necessary.
Laney had even had an opportunity to say something that night we’d all been studying when I had first mentioned Stone.
But. She. Hadn’t.
So, I wasn’t going to stand here and let her beat on me with her jealousy when I haven’t done anything wrong.
With all my stuff gathered in my arms, I looked at her. “Look, Laney. I’m not going to argue with you about something that doesn’t even really concern you,” I told her, and it was obvious she didn’t like hearing me stand up to her. She must have thought our friendship would make me choose peace over war. “If you have a problem with Stone wanting to marry me, then I suggest you take it up with him.”
