Chamber of Magic

Chapter Four - Truth be Told

დ. Ellora. დ

“Stop,” I grumbled to myself as I sat down on the chair across from Adam’s desk. I tapped my foot nervously on the floor as I waited for Adam and Manny to arrive for some kind of meeting. Yesterday Manny had told me that it would be a good idea to meet with them. I wasn’t sure what the big deal was or what they wanted to talk to me about, but I was curious none the less.

“Ellora,” Adam said as he entered the office and walked over to his office chair. Sitting down, he smiled over at me and I felt myself blush.

“Hello, Adam,”

“Manny should be here soon,” he opened up his laptop and became quite busy with whatever it was that he was doing. Uncomfortable was only half of what I was feeling as I wondered why he chose to ignore me instead of having a conversation. Surely, he isn’t still worried about what had happened a few nights ago? I frowned as I thought back to that night and tried to figure out if I had maybe offended him in some way for him to act so coldly towards me. Maybe it was his own embarrassment that made him act this way.

“Sorry for being late,” Manny said as he entered the office. Adam closed his laptop and Manny pulled a chair over to where Adam was sitting. “Alright, let’s get down to business,” Manny looked over at me and I nodded. “So, Ellora was asking me about cases and such and I offered just a small amount of information on the current case we are working on,” he was informing Adam, who just nodded but didn’t look my way.

“Do you think she is even ready for that?” Adam asked him.

“Well, ready or not, she is one powerful individual and we don’t have anyone else even remotely close to her kind of ability,” Manny argued.

“That is true, but she is still new to this place, to us and what we are trying to do here,” Adam spat out. I frowned as I listened to them talk as if I wasn’t even present in the room. “I mean, we don’t even know what the hell is going on yet and you want to bring a newbie into this?”

“For the last two months, we have been dealing with a lot of crazier and weirder things. If she can benefit the team then why are we even questioning it?” Manny threw back at Adam. I was just about to open my mouth when Adam stood up and glared down at Manny.

“This isn’t a game; this is real life with real people and real dangers. We can’t expect her to go on a hunt and not get hurt or worse hurt others. She needs training and that’s the end of it,” at this point, Adam was basically shouting, and Manny had also stood up.

“I’m not f*****g stupid, if you had just given me a chance to explain, you would realize that I’m not talking about taking her on a hunt but for her to start training so that she can join us!”

“STOP!” I suddenly yelled out, having enough of watching these two go at it like children. They both turned in shock to look at me and I stood up from the comfort of the chair. “Look, you called me here to talk and I came here to listen. What I didn’t do was come here to watch you two argue like hormonal teenagers,” I turned to leave the room when Manny rushed ahead and stopped me.

“Ellora, please, I am sorry,”

“Me too,” I heard Adam say from behind me. I turned to look at him.

“Yes, I am still new and still learning about what it is that you are all doing here, but I am not stupid, and I’ve been adapting and exploring my ability since I got it. So,” I turned back to Manny. “Whatever it is that you want me to know or learn, then I’m fine with it. Training or whatever you want me to partake in is great. I am here for the right reasons, if you two can’t come to some kind of agreement then leave me out of it, understand?” I didn’t wait for them to respond as I pushed passed Manny and left the office. I understood that Manny recognized my ability and my power, I understood that he wanted to utilize what I could offer to help with these cases and hunts. However, for some reason, Adam was kicking against it and making me feel less of myself.

“f**k him,” I cursed as I made my way upstairs to my room.

დ. Adam. დ

“Firecracker isn’t she,” Manny commented as Ellora stormed out of the office. I smirked as I sat back down.

“That she is,”

“She’s right though,” Manny sat down in the chair that Ellora had been sitting in. “I mean, I am sorry for not discussing my thoughts with you first,”

“It would’ve helped had we been on the same page,”

“Yeah, anyway, I think we should invite her to join our training session tonight,” Manny advised, and I nodded.

“I agree, inform the others so they can be prepared, and we don’t need a repeat of what just happened,” I told him and then I added. “I agree that she would be an asset to the team, but she needs to have a full understanding before we even think of taking her out on a hunt,”

“Of course, see you later,” Manny said as he got up and left the room. I sighed as I was once again alone. Ellora is going to be the death of me, I thought to myself as I sat forward and opened up my laptop. I re-opened the tab at the bottom of the screen and continued reading.

… ❝ Larry Knight entered the building of Waltz Design at approximately nine-fifteen pm. The guard that was on duty that night, Kyle Brooke, greeted him as he recognized the worker and assumed, he was just there to enjoy the Christmas party that was being held on the tenth floor. Larry Knight proceeded to that floor and inside the elevator, he removed the oversized jacket he had been wearing, as well as a bag filled with amo. The camera revealed he had one handgun and a automatic machine gun. Kyle Brooke admits that he wasn't paying any attention to the monitors, which is a shame. The members on the tenth floor were enjoying the Christmas party and were completely unaware of what was going to happen next. As Larry left the elevator and entered the open plan office area, he let loose and fired the automatic machine gun at numerous staff members, including the CEO of the company and his wife. Max and Lucy Waltz died at the scene as well as six other staff members. Suzie Storm and her husband David, Wayne Roberts, Amy Swift, Tina Cross, and her partner Josie Kombis. Twelve other staff members were seriously injured but survived the attack. Larry Knight then took out the handgun and promptly committed suicide by shooting himself in the head. Sources say that he was unhappy about a promotion that he didn’t receive and wanted revenge ❞ …

“What a nightmare,” I muttered as I closed the article. Poor Ellora. I had searched and found the article as I was curious as to what kind of traumatic way her parents had been killed. Although she had briefly mentioned it when we had first met, it was quite different to read about it. I sat back in the chair and thought about Ellora. She was constantly on my mind and yet I didn’t want her to be. I didn’t like this overwhelming feeling I had to kiss her or touch her. It was difficult being in her presence especially knowing that she knew how I felt about her. The ability that she had invaded my thoughts, my desires and worse, my fantasies. I blushed as I thought about the night of the party. She had looked so sexy dancing with Riley. The way her hips had moved, the way she had been smiling. I got hard just thinking about it. The same way I had gotten hard watching her, imagining myself behind her, my hands on her hips, pulling her against my shaft. Then later, going up to her room to apologize and she had opened the door wearing her skimpy little outfit had nearly driven me insane with desire.

“Adam?” I looked up to see Riley standing in the doorway.

“Come in,”

“Thanks, I am sorry to just barge in here, but I wanted to ask a few questions,” I frowned at her words and wondered what she could possibly want to know.

“Of course, come in and make yourself comfortable,” I watched her carefully as I knew she had become Ellora’s best friend.

“No, I don’t need to be comfortable, I just wanted to ask you what your relationship with Amelia Jones is?” she asked me in such a way that I felt myself blush.

“Um, I don’t know what you mean,”

“Don’t play dumb, Adam. It’s a simple question. What is your relationship with Amelia Jones?” she asked me again.

“Honestly, that is none of your business,”

“Well, you may think that, but since you have shown an interest in my best friend, it just became my business,” she wasn’t impressed with me at that moment and I did understand where her concern was coming from, even though she didn’t need to be concerned.

“Fine, but I insist you take a seat,” I gestured for her to sit down and she gave me a threatening look and sat down.

“Well?”

“I don’t have a relationship with Amelia,” I admitted.

“But?”

“But I did sleep with her,”

“You did what?” she shouted out.

“Sshh, yes, I did sleep with her. It was about three months ago. It happened one night, I was drunk, needy and she was available,”

“Woah,”

“I understand that it sounds quite bad, but she had been pursuing me since she got here, and I admit to being weak and taking advantage of her. She seduced me Riley and I didn’t fight it. However, the next morning, I apologized to her and avoided her after that,” I couldn’t believe I was telling her this but then again she must’ve had a reason to ask me and I was worried Ellora would hear about my actions from someone else. At least this way, with Riley knowing the truth, I wouldn’t have to worry too much. “Amelia has tried on numerous occasions to repeat what happened that night, but I have informed her that I am not interested in her. That I had never been interested and that it was a mistake,”

“She doesn’t believe you?”

“Whether she believes me or not is irrelevant. The point is I won’t hide from the fact that I am a man and I was weak in giving in to something we all call hormones,”

“You used her for s*x then?” Riley asked me and I blushed again.

“Yes, I did. It isn’t something I am proud of and I cannot even begin to explain myself. It is simply that I gave into my desires as a man and I have my own regrets to deal with. Now, Riley, I have to ask how you know that there was something going on between me and Amelia?”

“I overheard Amelia talking to Annie about you and the way that she was talking, well, let’s just say that it was enough for me to come here and question you about it,” I had to admit though, she surprised me. Although Riley was outspoken, I never thought she would have the balls to confront me about my past actions. Also, I had to wonder who else knew of my dirty secret. If Amelia could discuss it with Annie, then she might have mentioned it to others. I would have to deal with it as soon as possible.

“Thank you for coming to me, I am sure you could’ve gone straight to Ellora and informed her about my indiscretions and that may have hurt my chances of pursuing something with her,” I leaned forward in my chair and placed my hands on the desk. “I find myself very much attracted to Ellora,” Riley’s eyes went big and I rushed to continue. “Not just her physical beauty but also her mind. She is smart, funny and has a way about her that draws me in,”

“Well, I suggest you inform Ellora of your little deed with Amelia before she hears it from someone else and I suggest you kill any fantasies Amelia may have about you,” she stood up and I nodded. “Trust me when I say this to you, Adam, Ellora is not the kind of girl that will tolerate secrets, lies or deception. Do yourself a favor, if you truly like her then be honest with her,” Riley turned and walked out of my office and I sighed. She was right. I picked up my phone and sent Amelia a message.

Adam    ➺ Can you meet me before dinner? Say at six?

Amelia  ➺ Sure, everything ok?

Adam    ➺ Will talk to you later, meet me at the park

Amelia  ➺ OK, see you then

I put my phone back in my pocket and sighed yet again. I had known Amelia would come back to bite me in my ass, I just didn’t realize just how bad it would be. I had to stop this before it became a serious problem.

დ.დ.დ

I sat down on the bench and waited for Amelia to show up. We didn’t have a lot of time to talk before dinner was served and I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. I looked up at the darkening sky from between the tips of the trees.

“Sorry, I’m here,” I glanced over at an out of breath Amelia as she sat down. “So? What’s up?”

“Amelia, are you telling people we are in some kind of relationship?” I asked her as I turned to look at her. I wanted to see her facial expression.

“No,” she said with a straight face. I wondered if Riley had been grasping at straws but quickly pushed that idea away.

“You must be, since people are coming up to me and asking me about it,”

დ. Amelia. დ

I silently cursed Annie as I stared at Adam.

“Look, I’ve told one person about what happened between us. If she has been spreading rumors around about it, then I will handle it,” I was going to wring Annie’s neck for talking about it.

“Who is the one person?” he asked me carefully. I frowned. I didn’t want to tell him, although, since Annie is my best friend, I was pretty sure he would figure it out.

“Annie,”

“Now why would Annie be spreading rumors about us?”

“No idea, but I will get to the bottom of this. I’m sorry if people are confronting you about our relationship,”

“Ugh! Amelia, we are not in a relationship,” he barked out angrily.

“Ok, fine, sorry,” I mumbled out, little did he know that I did plan on having him.

“I’m sorry Amelia, I told you it was a mistake and it never should have happened. You are a smart and beautiful young lady and I took advantage of your sweet and yes, sexy nature. However, it will never happen again, and we will never be anything other than friends. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, I understand you,”

“Good, you better talk to Annie and stop this silly thing. I won’t have others thinking we are more than just friends,” he informed me. From his tone of voice, I could tell that there was a lot more to it than that, but I wouldn’t push him. He looked annoyed enough as it was and I wouldn’t poke the bear. Not yet anyway. I nodded at him and he got up. “Don’t be late for dinner,” he said before walking off. I stayed seated for a while longer as I thought about our short conversation. I had no idea who had gone to him or why, but I would deal with Annie accordingly. Adam will come begging to me. I just had to play my cards right. I slowly stood up but instead of heading back to the mansion, I walked along the path. I didn’t bother looking around as I went off the path and into the woods. I needed to make a call and I couldn’t take a chance of someone hearing or see me.

“What?” he shouted out as he answered.

“It’s me,” I said quickly.

“Yes, I know it’s you, what the f**k do you want?” he sounded angry and I wondered if I should’ve waited to call him.

“I just wanted to know when we could meet,” I explained.

“Listen to me Amelia and you better be listening really good. I will contact you when I want to meet, do you understand me?”

“Yes master,” I said and then he hung up. I groaned out. Why did he always have to be so rude? I hadn’t heard from him in three weeks and I had a lot to inform him about. Yet, he dismissed me so easily. I quickly made my way back to the mansion and into the kitchen. Already people had dished up and where seated all over the place. I spotted Adam and Manny but ignored them as I made my way over to the island and grabbed a plate.

“Where were you?” Annie asked as she joined me. I shrugged as I dished up a small portion of chicken alfredo and took a garlic roll and finally placed some of the Greek salad onto my plate. I walked away, looking for a place to sit and spotted an open seat just across from Adam. I hurried over before someone else took it and sat down. I glanced at him, but he didn’t seem to notice me. Annie came over and asked the girl sitting next to me to find another spot so that she could sit with me. The girl, no idea who she is or what her name is, got up and left. Annie sat down and gave me a hard look. “What the hell?”

“What? I went for a quick walk,” it wasn’t a complete lie and as I shoved some of the chicken into my mouth, I noticed Adam was watching me. Now he is going to think I am a pig just because of the way I was eating. I took smaller bites of the food and tuned in, listening to the conversation he was having with Manny.

“No, Jessica isn’t the right fit. What about Jordon?” Adam asked Manny, who was shaking his head.

“I’m telling you, let’s play it out and you’ll see. If and that is a big if, but if I am wrong then we will use Jordon,” I tuned out of their boring conversation and glanced over at Annie, who wasn’t eating but rather she was busy on her phone. I took my phone out and sent her a message.

Amelia  ➺ What are you doing?

She looked up at me after receiving the message, but I just continued eating.

Annie    ➺ Um, eating?

Amelia  ➺ You haven’t touched your food though, so what are you doing?

I took a bite out of the roll and watched as she put her phone down and started eating. Silly girl. I thought to myself. Manny left the table and I watched Adam eat his food.

“Can I sit here?” I looked up at the girl that was standing shyly by the open chair. I frowned. Why on earth would she ask to sit there if no one else was? She obviously wanted to eat, since she had a plate of food, yet she waited until Adam nodded. She sat down and gave the people sitting around the table a small smile before she started to eat. I shrugged as I realized she was the new girl that made us all see puppies a few days ago. A mind controller. I looked back up at her and watched her eat.

“Can you always read our minds and s**t?” I blurted out, causing everyone around the table to look at us. I hid my smile as I watched her blush.

“No, I have to turn it on. I mean sometimes, if I am caught unawares or my emotions are all over the place then I have no control,” the girl explained. I lost interest after she said no.

“So, you can control it?” Annie asked her and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Sometimes I wondered just how stupid Annie is.

“Yes, I can control it,” the girl answered with a touch of irritation. I smirked at that. Obviously, the girl thought the same that I had.

“Do you get headaches and stuff?” Annie continued to question the girl about her ability. I noticed that Adam was now picking at his food, that he was interested in the conversation. More so, I noticed his body language. He was slightly leaning towards the girl. His right up was up on the table, just inches away from the girl's arm and he tried not looking at her but failed. Who is this girl? Why does she have his attention? Is this the reason he called her out? Is this the girl he didn’t want to think he was in a relationship? I turned back to listening to their conversation.

“It’s complicated,” the girl said to Annie and I wondered if I had missed something.

“If it’s complicated then how do you manage it?” Annie asked the girl.

“As I said, I don’t always get a headache, it just depends on how much I put into it, most of the times, it’s like second nature to me and I don’t struggle with it at all,” I tuned out again. I had no idea what they were talking about. I was bored. My tummy was full, and Adam wasn’t paying me any attention. I pushed my now empty plate towards Annie and grabbed my phone.

Amelia  ➺ Ugh! Who is this girl?

I watched Annie grab her phone and nod over at the girl.

Annie    ➺ Her name is Ellora, cute, isn’t she?

Amelia  ➺ Ugh, if you say so!

I put my phone down and watched Annie try to flirt with Ellora. The girl was blushing like crazy but just smiled back at her. Adam, on the other hand, looked uncomfortable and then stood up. Excusing himself as he grabbed his plate and left. I did see Ellora watch him leave and I wondered what was going on between the two of them. I decided I would watch them for a few days before asking any questions. I stood up and grabbed my plate.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said to no one in particular, I left them and took my plate into the kitchen.

“Amelia, you got a minute?” I put my plate in the dishwasher and turned to see some girl waving me over.

“Who are you?” I asked her. How many newbies were there?

“I’m Riley, listen I just wanted to ask you, what is your relationship with Adam?” I was completely taken aback by this question. Did Annie say something to her? Or did she hear it from someone else?

“Where did you hear that Riley?” I questioned her. She blushed and looked down.

“I’m sorry but I overheard you talking to Annie about him and from the sounds of it, you two are in some kind of relationship,” I was shocked. I didn’t think anyone ears dropped anymore. Well, I may be naïve about it, but still.

“No, we are not in a relationship. We had s*x. Once. I was merely saying to Annie how I would like there to be more to us than just being friends,”

“Oh, ok,” Riley said and then walked away. I felt annoyed. What the hell is going on here? Who the hell is Riley and who the hell is Ellora? But the most important question is, what the hell is going on between Adam and Ellora? Because of their actions towards each other, there must be something going on.

დ. Ellora. დ

I excused myself from the table as soon as I had finished eating. Annie had made me feel super uncomfortable with her flirting. I liked the girl, but I wasn’t that way inclined. No offense to her, each for their own, but I wasn’t interested. I had seen Riley talking to that other girl and was curious about it. The other girl had seemed annoyed, irritated and I wanted to know what Riley had said to her. I had just placed my plate in the dishwasher when I heard Adam calling me. I went over to him and smiled.

“Have you made a decision?” I asked him casually.

“Yes, Manny and I have spoken and we both agree that you should partake in our hunter’s training. We both think that you can be quite an asset to the team and if you are on board then we are good to go,”

“Yeah, sure, I’m on board,”

“Great, Manny is on his way to inform the others in team one,” Adam told me. I nodded not really interested in that right now. I wanted to get back to the room to talk to Riley.

“Sure, thanks, Adam,”

“Um, listen Ellora, there is something else that I’d like to talk to you about,” he seemed to hesitate. “Would you care to talk a walk with me?” he then asked after a moment. I nodded not really wanting too but also not wanting to reject such an innocent thing, such as a walk. We walked out of the kitchen, through the dining room and then out the sliding door. A lot of people were still hanging around, some still eating, others playing around with their abilities. I watched them as Adam led me towards what looked like the woods.

“Where are we going?”

“To the park,”

“The backyard leads to a park?” I asked as he pushed open a gate and gestured for me to go through first.

“Yes,” I heard him answer and I shrugged as I saw the path just a few feet away. Adam led me to that path, and we walked along in silence. Along the path were these small pathway lights that shone a bright yellow, giving light to the path. It was quite a setting and I noted it as romantic. Adam pointed to a bench and I nodded as we made our way towards it and sat down.

“What do you want to talk about?” I asked him curiously. The whole scene was quite whimsical.

“Ellora, the other day I told you that I am attracted to you and that I would wait until you are settled in before making my move,” he spoke softly while he was staring ahead of us. I wondered if he thought this was the time to make a move and I silently prayed that it wasn’t. “I’ve heard some rumors around and I wanted to talk to you about it before you found out from someone else,” he glanced over at me and I smiled softly, unsure of what he expected me to say. “Her name is Amelia and she arrived here about five months ago, clever girl. She was sitting across from us at the dinner table,” when he mentioned her, I frowned then. I had noticed her at the dinner table and then with Riley. Adam wanted to talk to me before I heard about it from someone else. I wished that I had gotten a chance to speak to Riley first, but I kept quiet as I waited for Adam to continue. Maybe he had decided he wanted Amelia? “Anyway, about three months ago, we had a party for one of the guys. He had turned twenty-one and it was quite a party,” Adam chuckled and gave me a quick look. “There was a lot of dancing and alcohol,” I thought about Kia’s party and I nodded in understanding. “Amelia had been trying her luck with me, well, since she had arrived, but I had always just brushed it off as some silly little crush. It’s no excuse and I don’t want you to think I am making any excusing because I take full responsibility for my own actions and I’m not trying to push the blame onto her either. All I’m-”

“Get on with it Adam,” I interrupted his ramblings.

“Yeah, right so anyway, that night I gave in to her and we slept together,” he looked at me and I shrugged, giving him a blank look. “The next morning, I told her it was a mistake and how sorry I was for leading her on and all that,” he paused again and this time I didn’t keep quiet.

“You keep looking at me, what are you wanting me to say?”

“I don’t know, Ellora, I just don’t want you to hear about it from someone else and get the wrong idea,”

“Adam, look, this all happened before I even got here, why would it bother me?” I asked him curiously. What wrong idea did he think I was going to get? “I’m not that girl Adam, I’m not going to get jealous or upset because you slept with someone,”

“I mean, I had s*x with her,”

“I figured; I may be naïve but I’m not stupid. I do know what s*x is and the different terms it goes by. So once again, what do you expect me to say to you? Because I don’t give a s**t what you did before,” I turned my head to one side as I studied his features. He looked so stressed out and I wondered if there was more to the story.

“It’s just that I know Amelia expects more from me and I’m not interested, and I don’t want you to hear about it and think that I hid it from you on purpose. I want to have a relationship with you based on truth, honesty, and trust,”

“Oh, now I understand, well Adam as much as I appreciate you pulling me one side to tell me this, I still don’t care. I trust you until you give me a reason not to,” I was tempted to roll my eyes. He was being somewhat of a drama queen and it wasn’t attractive.

“As I said, I just wanted you to know before you heard it from someone else, that’s all,” he smiled, and I shook my head.

“You are weird, I get your reasoning, but I think it’s pointless. We all have a past. We all have done things we aren’t exactly proud of. I don’t judge you for it, so long as you stay true to yourself,” I was getting bored with the conversation and just wanted to get back to my room so that I could talk to Riley. This whole Adam thing was like a moot point to me. I really like Jareth and I want to see where that goes. Guilt suddenly hit me, and I looked away from Adam. Since he is being so honest, I suppose I should be honest with him. “Um, actually Adam, there is one thing I should mention to you,”

“What?”

“I think you are really cute and all, but I do have a small crush on someone else,” I didn’t look at him as I spoke. I didn’t want to see his reaction.

“Oh, I wasn’t aware but not surprised. Does he feel the same way?” he asked me.

“I think so,”

“Well, Ellora, I won’t stand in your way of happiness. If it works out for the two of you then that’s great. If not, I am always here for you,”

“Thank you, Adam,”

“Come on, let's head back,” he stood up and my curiosity got the best of me and I turned on my power and quickly read his thoughts. Invasion of privacy, I know, but I didn’t care.

“Of course, there is someone else, I’m just not good enough for someone as beautiful as her. I’m such a fool, bearing out my soul only to be shot down,” I quickly shut off my power as I heard his inner voice. He was hurt. He was upset and disappointed. Even though he had said he just wanted me to be happy, he was sad. I waited until we were back at the mansion before stopping him.

“Adam, please, don’t be upset about this,” he turned to look at me and I could see in his eyes how unhappy he was feeling.

“Don’t read my mind,”

“I don’t have to read your mind to see that you are upset,” I felt bad for peaking, but I didn’t want him to know.

“It’s alright Ellora, I am a grown man and can take care of myself,” he turned and walked away from me, leaving me alone in the dark cool night. I sighed as I eventually went inside and made my way to my room. Opening the door, I looked around and was relieved to see Riley sitting on her bed with her laptop.

“Hey, where were you?” she asked me as I closed the door behind me.

“I went for a walk with Adam,” I informed her as I started taking off my clothes.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, he wanted to tell me that he had s*x with some girl, Mia?”

“Amelia?”

“Yeah sorry, Amelia and I told him not to worry about it and then I hurt him by telling him I was interested in someone else,” I stood in my black lace bra and panties. “I didn’t want to hurt him, but I rather tell him before well, you know,”

“Before he gets his hopes up,”

“Yeah something like that,” I went into the bathroom and took off my underwear before climbing into the shower. I still wanted to ask Riley what she and that girl had talked about.

“Oh, by the way, that thing that Adam told you,” Riley had come into the bathroom and I stuck my head out from behind the shower curtain and looked at her.

“Mmm?”

“Yeah, I asked Amelia about it, she told me that they had a one-night stand basically,” Riley sat down on the toilet and I frowned.

“Must you do that while I am in here?” I asked her.

“Yeah sure, why not?” I shrugged and went back to bathing myself. “Anyway, what did he say to you?” she questioned me.

“He just told me about having s*x with that girl, that it didn’t mean anything. He didn’t want me to find out about it and judge him or something. I don’t care what he does, I mean, yeah, I respect him for being open and honest with me about it, but because I like Jareth, it's hard for me to feel anything other than friendship right now,” I finished showering and got out. Riley handed me a towel and we both went back into the bedroom.

“I think its sweet for him to pull you aside and talk to you,” Riley commented as she climbed into her bed.

“I agree and that is why I told him I like someone else. I don’t want to give him false hope. I mean, he is a sweet guy, a good guy but he isn’t the one for me. So now, that he knows that, he can decide for himself what he wants,”

“Good move, although, I do feel sorry for him. He deserves happiness,” Riley gave me a small smile before turning around and covering herself with her blanket. I finished drying myself and pulled on my pj’s before getting into bed. I felt bad for hurting him, disappointing him but yet I also felt that he deserved to be happy and right now I was not the girl to give him that.