Loving All Over Again | ✓

Chapter Thirty: Secrets

Aliana's POV

My grin was still plastered on my face when I opened the front door. I still couldn't really believe that Ashton had asked me out on a date. Now I just wanted to know where we were going.

I hung up my winter stuff by the door before heading upstairs. It sounded and looked like everyone was already sound asleep. That is, until I heard gagging coming from the upstairs bathroom.

I furrowed my eyebrows at the noise. 

The bathroom door was closed but you could still hear the gagging coming from inside. I knocked quietly on the door, not wanting to wake anyone else in the house. I laid my ear on the door and waited.

"Don't come in," said a groggy voice from the other side of the door. And it sounded shockingly like Fiona.

"FiFi. It's me, please let me come in," I pleaded her, putting my hand on the doorknob. But just as it gripped it, the door swung open. I jumped back in surprise.

She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "What do you want?" 

I opened my mouth to reply, but I stopped when I saw her appearance. Her hair was snarled and ratty, her pajamas were wrinkled, and her face was red and her eyes were droopy.

"Say something instead of staring at me," she snapped suddenly. 

I met her eyes. "What happened to you?" I asked softly. She crossed one arm and gripped her other elbow.

"Just...just the stomach flu," she whispered, sounding unsure, but I didn't push it.

I nodded. "Okay. Well, if you need me, I'm here." 

She swallowed. 

"Goodnight." I said before turning towards our room and entering.

And I couldn't help but wonder if Fiona was lying.

***

The birds chirping outside woke me up the next morning. I groaned and rolled towards the window. Birds sat on the tree outside my window, chirping away. 

I glared at the birds before getting out of bed groggily. I did not want to wake up at seven in the morning on winter break.

I didn't bother changing out of my sweatpants and t-shirt before heading downstairs. It was winter break, after all. I could stay in my PJs if I wanted to.

But I stopped in my tracks when I saw Fiona sitting on a barstool at the counter, her forehead on the granite. I walked slowly, cautiously, towards her.

"Fiona?" I asked quietly. Her head shot up and she swiveled in her seat. She met my eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my gosh, Ali. You scared me." She put a hand over her chest, taking a couple of breaths.

I looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry." I walked over the the fridge and pulled out the milk carton. "What are you doing up so early?" I asked her.

"What are you doing up?" she shot back. I glanced at her.

"Fucking birds couldn't just let me get a normal amount of sleep." She stared at me emotionless. "Now answer my question." I pulled the box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch out of the pantry, waiting for her to reply.

"Couldn't sleep, I guess," she replied. I turned around and set the box on the counter.

"You guess?" I questioned as I pulled a bowl out of the cabinet.

"Yes." 

I poured the cereal in the bowl, then poured in the milk. "Are you feeling better today?" I asked her, putting the cap back on the milk.

"Yes," she repeated. 

I lifted up the cereal box her way. "Want some?"

She shook her head. "No." 

I put it back on the counter. "Fiona, you can't just not eat. It's morning, you need fuel."

"Sugar is fuel? That stuff is full of artificial crap."

I stared at her in shock. Fiona's favorite cereal was Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Something was up. 

Like, seriously up. Fiona never turned down Cinnamon Toast Crunch. "Fiona, be honest with me. Are you not telling me something?"

"No," she said.

"Stop replying with one word answers. That's not really giving me proof," I said, crossing my arms and leaning back on the counter behind me.

"Okay, fine." She stood up and and stared straight into my eyes, her green eyes boring into my own. "Maybe if you weren't so distracted with your boyfriend, you would have realized that something is SERIOUSLY WRONG with your best friend!" she yelled before turning around and racing upstairs.

I stared after her in shock. I was missing something. 

I knew Fiona more then anyone else in the world, and she was not like this.

Fiona was a funny, caring, easygoing person. She always knew how to brighten the mood, or make something boring something fun. Homework for example. She used to make homework into a fun game, asking me and Zora the questions and telling us that if we guessed them right, we'd get to have a piece of her candy that she stashed under her bed.

And me and Zora were candy obsessed, so of course we agreed to the game.

Fiona was honestly always the person I looked up to. She was just the person I wanted to be. She was just so... I don't know. Amazing? Perfect?

She was just always there for me, especially when I was having troubles with my dad and such. 

It was hard having my best friend ignore me, and hang out with my other best friend. Sometimes I'd just lay in my bed at night and remember the days when the trio was still a thing.

Now it felt like a total twosome.

I missed the times when we all hung out together and went to the mall, got our nails done, went to the movie theater and watched those cheesy romance movies that everyone seems to hate but we love.

It was those simple things that I took for granted. If I had known that Fiona was going to start acting like this, I would have talked to her more often, and hung out with her more often.

But Fiona had a great point. I was ignoring her a little. And by that, I mean a lot. I kind of pushed her aside and let Ashton into my life, all without realizing it.

I really should've taken her feelings into account. I should've hung out with Ashton less and hung out with Fiona. I was a bad friend, a horrible friend.

And all I wanted to do was go back in time and fix everything. Hung out with Ashton less, hung out with Fiona more.

And at the beginning I talked about how living with your best friend was like having a sleepover every single night, it truly was. And I missed those spontaneous sleepovers where we talked late into the night and ate junk food.

And all of that left me feeling like a self-centered, horrible best friend, secret keeping person, and I didn't want that.

I hadn't told Fiona all about everything with Ashton, like the kiss and everything else. I hadn't even told her about our France trip yet.

But it was too late. Something was up with Fiona and I couldn't fix it this time, like I had fixed every other problem we had.

Secrets were being held, and I hated it.