Chapter 2 Strung

Inez's POV 

"Talk to me, Inez. What's wrong?" Irene's face appeared as soon as her car pulled up close to where I waited for her.

Irene, my bestie, was a natural behind the wheel. Lucky for her, her dad had already hooked her up with driving lessons even before she turned 18 - so she was cruising like a pro.

I sidestepped telling her about the drama with my uncle. Instead, I vented about Ethan probably cheating on me and breaking up with me.

"Ethan broke up with me," my voice cracked after I finished telling her about my hypothesis.

Irene's expression softened instantly. "That idiot. I told you, Inez. I told you that Ethan got something up his sleeve."

"All I wanted was for him to reveal who 'Doe' is, and he got all offended. " I chipped in.

Irene took a deep breath, brushing back her short hair. "Remember that time you guys had a scuffle over some messages, and he lied it was his mother's. Then we fought over it for a week because of it?"

"Yeah, I remember." I chipped in.

Irene waved her hands frantically, "Ethan is manipulative. Sooner or later, whoever Doe is will be in the open, give it time," Irene patted my hand.

"Let's not talk about him again." She added.

Reassured by her warm smile. We drove back to her apartment while we talked about jokes from school.

She led me to her bedroom which was well polished and pinky. Soon we were so engrossed in our conversation that we didn't realize that her phone was ringing whose sound had been muted.

"Your brother is calling?" I nudged Irene.

Irene and her brother lived separately as did their divorced parents. Irene lived with her mother while Adrain lived with their father in another town.

I'd known the siblings since third grade, but Adrain was like a ghost - the less I saw of him, the more at ease I felt around Irene.

"No, it's not my brother." Irene sighed as she picked her phone.

She was hesitant in picking the call. Instantly, I knew it was Dan, her boyfriend. 

"Yeah. She's fine. Okay. Huh. Alright," Irene said curtly to her boyfriend while her eyes watched me.

I zoned out, my eyes drifting to the dresser as Irene chatted on. They were definitely discussing me, but their conversation seemed to have taken a sudden turn.

As much as I wouldn't like Dan to come over - I badly wanted a me-time with my bestie. But Irene's eyes didn't sound like Dan was coming over.

That was a good sign.

"What is it?" I probed once Irene dropped her phone.

Reluctantly, she reached for my hands. "Inez, I promised Dan, I'd meet him tonight. But when your call came in, I told him about it and rushed to you."

My chest fell. There went our girl's night out. I shouldn't be holding back my bestie because my own relationship was faulty.

"You can go, Irene. Don't worry about me." I put in.

Irene's eyes widened. "Are you sure you'll be okay if I leave you for a while?"

I smiled, smacking my friend's arm playfully. "This is not some haunted house, is it?"

Irene laughed to my question. She jumped from the bed while she rushed to apply some lip-gloss to her lips. "Promise me you'll be fine? My mum is on a shift, so just wait till my return, hmm?" She turned to me after applying the lip-gloss.

She grabbed her bag, shuffled her phone and car key. Then she leaned close to me, kissed my cheek and signaled herself out.

When the door clicked behind her, and the roar of her car escaped into the night. I was completely alone with silence.

I pulled out my phone and diary. No calls from my mother, I thought to myself as I stared down at the screen of my phone.

Perhaps she would call another time. She promised me, mother had always kept to her word.

I tried to distract myself, scribbling the details of what had transpired for the day.

I was tempted to call Ethan. But I wouldn't dare. If he won't call me, then I won't call him.

And I wasn't fooling myself when I knew he was cheating on me. It was only a matter of time.

I wandered out of Irene's room, flipping through the shelves of Irene's mother library. She was a scholar and yet a nurse. But every word I read blurred into thoughts of betrayal.

Ethan's betrayal.

Then I heard it - the voices. Soft, muffled, coming from the hallway which was farther from Irene's room.

The door to the room was open. From where I stood, I could catch two figures, but they weren't exactly clear enough.

My heart jumped.

Irene had assured me that the house was well secured. Who could it be?

Curious, I moved close, my feet silent against the floor. The sound grew clearer, a girl's giggle, and a boy's low murmur.

I froze when I saw them. 

Adrain - Irene's older brother, the famous quarterback everyone admired. He was pressing some girl against the wall, kissing her like the world outside didn't exist.

Wasn't Adrain supposed to be in Hartville town?

What was he doing here?

Irene hadn't said anything about him coming to the house.

My breath caught.

My heart raced.

I shouldn't be watching them, but I couldn't look away.

His kiss was hungry, like he needed more than just her lips. He yanked her dress, pulling it up to palm her curves.

His hand moved to her hair, got tangled in it while his confidence radiated in every movement.

Something inside me stirred, something I didn't expect.

I used to like Adrain.

But that was a long time ago.

When Irene said she couldn't stand the thought of any of her friends dating her brother - I knew it was time to pull back.

But why was I feeling this way for a boy I'd repeatedly told myself that I felt nothing for.

Then, clumsy me - I moved and my elbow hit the doorframe with a loud thud.

The girl pulled back, startled.

Adrain's head snapped towards me, his eyes narrowing.

"Sweat face?" His voice was sharp, surprised.