And that tips me over the edge. “Goodbye, Warren.” I press the end button and squeeze the phone in my hand. “What the hell?”
My phone rings again and I’m about to go off on Warren if it’s him, but instead it’s Ellie. For a second, I pause. What if she’s calling to ask about the party? What am I going to say? Am I ready to tell her I slept with her brother? Definitely not. Holding the phone in my hand, I contemplate answering, and of course, by the time I decide to answer it’s too late. I click on her name to call her back, but she does it first.
“Hey,” I say.
She huffs. “Girl, we got some things to talk about. I’m on my way. Be there in five.” She hangs up and I close my eyes. Tanner obviously told her what happened between us. Great. The day can’t get any worse.
Hurrying to my bathroom, I take a look in the mirror. My eyes are blood shot and I look like complete and utter hell. If Ellie sees me like that, she’ll have questions. I quickly put on some concealer under my eyes and rub a little foundation over the rest of my face. It helped a little with the dark circles, but my eyes were still puffy and red.
The doorbell rings and I groan. “Here we go,” I say to my reflection in the mirror. Ellie rings the doorbell again and I huff. “I’m coming,” I shout. “Geez, give me a second.” This time she bangs on the door. I jerk it open and she’s standing there with her hand raised, dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a Tarheel sweatshirt with her blonde hair in a messy bun like myself. Her lips are pursed and there are daggers in her eyes.
“You okay?” I ask, pretty sure I’m about to get an earful.
She marches past me and tosses her purse on my couch. “What’s going on between you and Tanner?”
I hold up my hands. “Nothing. I ended it. It never should’ve happened.”
Her brows furrow. “What exactly happened?”
All I can do is stare at her. I don’t know what to say. How can you tell your best friend you slept with her brother? Her eyes widen and she slaps a hand over her mouth. “Oh my God, you slept with him?”
Averting my gaze, I turn my head away. It’s not until I hear her bursting out with laughter that I jerk my attention back to her. Holding her stomach, she laughs so hard I can see her face turning red. The whole thing confuses me. I thought she was mad at me and now I have no clue what the hell she’s laughing at.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
She holds up a hand and stands up straight. “I get now why Tanner was so pissed at me.”
That catches me off guard. “At you?”
“Yep,” she replies, nodding her head. “I just wonder why two of the smartest people I know are actually really dumb.”
“Surely, you’re not talking about me.”
I glare at her and it makes her giggle. “I sure as hell am. When my brother called me this morning, I expected to hear how you two had such an amazing night. Instead, he tells me it’s my fault that you two can’t be together.” She walks toward me and shakes her head. “What in the world is that mess? Why is he blaming me?”
Groaning, I close my eyes. “Because I told him we can’t be together.” My eyes burn and I open them, the tears falling down my cheek. I didn’t think I could shed any more. “I don’t want things to come between us. Getting involved with Tanner could complicate things. The last thing I want is you having to pick sides.”
Ellie snorts and looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind. “Seriously? That’s it? I know how to stay neutral, Soph. You’re my best friend and always will be. If things don’t work out between you and Tanner, I’ll still love you both. Don’t let me be the reason you two stay apart.” Her eyes soften. “He cares about you, Sophie. He always has. That’s why I wanted him to take you to the party in the first place.” Smiling, she places her hands on my shoulders. “You two belong together. He can make you happy. God knows you deserve it.”
I wipe my tears away. “You’re not mad?”
“Hell no,” she replies, grinning wide. “But now that you’re with my brother, I really don’t want to hear all the sexy details. That’s just gross.”
Relief washes through me, but there’s still a sharp pain in my chest. If Ellie’s okay with it, maybe things can work out. “We’re not together, Ellie. He was pissed when he left here.”