“Is this the—?”
Henry sits up quickly and I prop myself up on my elbows.
Rosa stands in the doorway with her mouth hanging open. “What the hell is this?”
Henry lies back on the bed, still trying to steady his breathing. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.
I glance between him and Rosa. She folds her arms across her chest and twitches her hip. I stand slowly. “Rosa, I can explain.”
Rosa backs away from the door. “How long has this been going on?” Her eyes shift from me to Henry then back to me again.
I can’t face her. So I just keep my eyes on the floor. I know she knows I’ve been keeping this from her. She knows me that well.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” There’s a hint of anger in her voice mixed with pain.
Lifting my head I catch a glimpse at the look on her face. She’s sneering. Eyes narrowed. Shaking her head. It actually surprises me that it took her this long to figure out what was going on between Henry and I. “Seri
ously, Rosa.” I give her a desperate look. “Let me explain.”
She backs away, shaking her head and bolts down the hall. I’m up in a flash, chasing her. I catch her, yanking her by the arm right before she starts down the steps. She moves away from the stairs and rests against the wall. Rosa scowls, keeping her head turned in the opposite direction. “Ro, would you look at me?”
She ignores me.
“Ro! You can at least let me explain!”
She drops her head down and shakes at the floor. “I tell you everything,” she says, sounding more hurt that anything. “Everything.”
I place my hand on her shoulder. “I couldn’t tell anyone.”
Her head snaps up. “Why? Because of Callie? Did you think I would tell her?” she asks accusingly.
“No,” I say. “Of course not.”
Rosa peers down the hall at the cracked open door to Henry’s bedroom. She tilts her head toward the door. “Because of him?”
I nod. “Please don’t be mad.”
The hard look on her face softens and she sighs. Then she playfully slaps my shoulder. “You little slut! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Here I am, worrying about you and you’re off with the next Abercrombie model getting your freak on.”
“I’m not a slut!” I exclaim. “I love him.”
In the beginning of my time with Henry, I’d thought the same thing. I kept thinking how I could be such a slut. So careless with my precious innocence, but I came to the realization that when feelings as strong as the feelings I had for Henry were involved our acts weren’t wrong. In the past, I’d been a thinker. I let my brain do the talking. That’s not smart, Riley. Or you don’t want to get in trouble. One thing I learned from loving Henry is that he taught me to follow my heart.
Rosa cocks her head to the side. “So, I’m assuming Callie doesn’t know about you two.”
“No,” I say. “She doesn’t.”
“You better hope she doesn’t find out.”
I roll my eyes. “Callie Banfield doesn’t scare me.”
Rosa harrumphs, “Well she should.”
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Dude, don’t you remember what happened when she found out about Cari Struthers?”
“Cari who?”