Page 150 of Trapped With You

“I know, Darla, and I don’t blame you. I just wish you had more faith in me. You should have talked to me the minute you received these. I could have shown you the truth then. Fuck, I too should have tried harder to talk to you. All I know is we shouldn’t have wasted months being angry at one another. That’s not you and me. We’re supposed to be stronger than this.”

Her hardened shell slowly broke, my words having the desired effect. “Before receiving these screenshots, Callie spent weeks rudely throwing it in my face how close you two had gotten—more than you and me. I’m ashamed to say all those comments got to my head. I wished it didn’t bother me, but I felt sad and angry whenever I saw you both laughing togetherbecause it felt like an inside joke that I wasn’t in on. It also made me feel like a third wheel. Like dead weight, Ella, that you were unable to shed since you felt some type of loyalty to me given our past. And after I received these screenshots, it was the final nail in the coffin. I was appalled by you and Callie. That’s why I distanced myself without a confrontation. I didn’t want to waste my energy on people like you. It wasn’t worth it. I believed karma would do its thing, and you’d get what you deserved for being horrible friends to me.”

Before Callie, there was Darla. I’d known her since we were toddlers. No one meant more to me than her. Callie knew it, too. Now I knew that everything she said was to drive a wedge between me and Darla.

She must have been jealous of us.

Darla and I had the kind of bond that was akin to sisterhood. She was my twin flame. Everybody knew it. No matter our differences, our friendship had always been tight. We were always seen together, talking and laughing, walking down the halls of St. Victoria in our matching cheer outfits and pompoms.

Nothing could break us apart. Or so we’d thought.

Nevertheless, Darla and I wouldn’t let this destroy us anymore. We’d come back stronger than ever. I knew it.

“I’m sorry, Darla. I’m so goddamn sorry.” I closed the distance and hugged her with all the strength I possessed, needing her to know that without her a part of me was lost. “You’re not a third wheel. You’re not dead weight. And there’s no inside joke. Callie was wrong. You and I have always been the closest. She knows this, too. You’re my best friend, you’re my sister, you’re my co-captain. No one could ever replace you. Your presence in my life is priceless. I’d never want to hurt you. You mean too much to me. I love you and I’m so fucking sorry again that this happened to us.” My voice was ragged with emotions. “I’ve missed you so much. I’ve had one of the worst summersand all I wanted was to pick up the phone and call you. To come over and see you. To just have you by my side. And I’m so saddened that we lost this much time.”

Halfway through my admission, Darla wrapped her arms around me just as tight. A teardrop touched my collarbone. “I missed you and I love you, too.” Her voice was watery. “This has been the worst summer of my life as well. All I wanted was you by my side, but I was so hurt and furious. I should have confronted you so we could have resolved this earlier. I believe everything you said, Ella, and I’m not mad anymore.”

We hugged each other, breathing in this newfound truce, and pulled away only when a knock at Darla’s door alerted us of a new presence.

Dacia Hill leaned against the doorframe, watching the scene with a cool smile. Long blond hair. Blue eyes. Periwinkle minidress. Looking every bit the ice princess she was renowned for being. “Well, if it isn’t my favourite duo reunited once more.”

“Have you been eavesdropping this whole time?” Darla asked accusingly.

“Mhm.” Dacia sauntered in and took a seat on Darla’s bed, crossing her legs. “Berto let me know Ella was here, so we listened to the entire conversation with our ears pressed against the door. We wanted to know the juicy details on why you stopped being friends and hear your mend your friendship once and for all.”

Alberto, bless his soul, had the bad habit of eavesdropping on everyone’s conversations. He was here for one thing only: the tea. I wasn’t surprised he dragged Dacia with him. “Where’s Berto now?”

“In the kitchen, helping the staff prepare dinner for us.” Dacia clasped her hands together and rested them on her knee. “Now tell Ella who sent you the screenshots, Dar.”

Darla cleared her throat. “They were sent to me by theSecrets of St. Victoria account a few days after prom.”

Secrets of St. Victoria was a social media account run by an anonymous individual who shared dirty secrets of the institute’s populace. It was known for stirring the pot and pitting people against one another. Till this day, no one was able to figure out who was behind the account.

“And you think Callie is involved in all of this, right?” Dacia asked me.

I brought a fist to my mouth, debating how much I should let these two know. “Okay, so here’s the thing. Cade and I did something badover the summer.” For their own safety, I wasn’t going to tell them about Kian Wilson. “A few days after that, Cade was drugged and assaulted the night of Josh’s party by four guys wearing Guy Fawkes masks. Obviously, Darla, you know this last bit, because you helped save him, which I cannot thank you for enough. Then on Initiation Night, a guy wearing a Guy Fawkes mask attacked me in Balthazar Building.”

They gasped, spitting curses.

Then I gave them a rundown of my entire Initiation Night, talking about our dares, what happened between Cade and me, and how we ended up in the confessional before getting arrested. By the time I finished, both sisters gaped at me.

“With all that being said, you can probably understand why we came to the conclusion that both of those attacks are linked.” I shrugged. “And somehow, Callie has a hand in all of this.”

They were still silent. I knew it was a lot to take in.

“I’m sorry, Ella, you didwhatin the nurse’s office?” Darla finally spoke, covering her mouth in a scandalized fashion. “In the middle of a competition?”

“First of all, it was towards theendof the competition when I was convinced we’d lost anyway.” I blushed under their scrutiny. “Second of all, I was overcome by passion after hearing how much Cade still loves me, okay? The setting didn’t matter!”

“Personally, I’m still stuck on the fact that you’ve already fucked in the confessional booth.” Dacia looked impressed. “Damn, that’s…blasphemous.”

My entire face probably resembled a tomato. “Can we move on from my sex life and talk about the real situation at hand?”

“That you’re into sixty-nining without locking the door?” Darla side-eyed me before her and Dacia cackled, ribbing me good-naturedly.

“I hate you both, truly.” I ran a hand over my face. “I can’t believe I’ve missed you two menaces.”

Their laughter soon faded and Dacia shook her head with a smile. “No, you love us. Just as we love you. And for what it’s worth? We’ve missed you continuously over the summer.”