Helanie:
I was stunned. It was new for Lucy to have a guy in her room, but I guess that was one of the changes she had made about herself.
"Sorry! I didn’t know you had a guy over—" I bit my tongue, realizing I was probably interrupting Lucy’s private mont.
However, as the guy broke the kiss and turned around, I froze in my tracks and did a double take. One foot was already out the door when I realized who it was.
"Gavin?" I gasped, looking at the two of them making out. Lucy ran her thumb over her bottom lip and smirked, while Gavin stood up to face .
"You know what—forget it," I hissed, waving my hand dismissively. I was so done with them.
"Helanie, please listen to ," Gavin tried to step in my way, wanting to talk, but I dodged him and rushed to the bathroom.
"Gavin! You don’t have to explain your relationship to her or anyone. Why is she trying to control your life?" I had expected Lucy to say sothing like that.
I slamd the bathroom door shut and leaned against it.
"Lucy! What have I told you about my friends? You will not talk badly about them," Gavin yelled at Lucy, and then I heard murmurs—mostly Lucy trying to keep her voice down while talking to Gavin.
But my mind was busy thinking about Benita. She had no morals.
I stayed in the bathroom for a good ten minutes, and by then, everything outside had gone silent. When I walked out with my hair still wet, I noticed Gavin was the only one who had stayed behind.
"Gavin, please, I am not ready for a conversation." I knew he had waited to talk to about the little scene I had just witnessed.
"But I want to talk to you," he said, getting up from Lamar’s bed. I didn’t want to talk to him, but I couldn’t shut him down when he wanted to explain himself.
"Okay, why?" I asked, facing him and sounding exhausted.
"I had a reason," he said. "This is my redemption."
I had a feeling his words had a deeper aning, so I kept watching his face as he explained.
"I asked her what I could do to earn her forgiveness, and she said—" he paused before finishing, "I have to date her until she decides to break up."
I was shocked and couldn’t believe he had agreed to sothing like that.
"Have you lost your mind?" I asked, flicking his forehead with my fingers to snap him out of it.
"I don’t have another choice. Look at her—she’s lost and distracted. She didn’t even want to finish the test. Her only priority is making Sydney happy. Does that seem okay to you?" He sighed. "Look, I know it’ll hurt, watching her cheat on while I have to stay loyal, but once she gets all her frustration out—she’ll be free."
I was stunned to hear Gavin trying to justify it.
"This is a disaster waiting to happen, and it’s trauma for you too. The problem isn’t your breakup with her—the issue is that sothing is wrong with her. She only wants attention through negativity, and by accepting her so-called punishnt, you’re just feeding her belief that her behavior is working." I tried to reason with him because I felt bad for him. But when he lowered his head and avoided my eyes, it was clear how guilty he felt. He was taking full responsibility for his mistakes, while Lucy was taking none.
If I’m being honest, if Gavin cheated, so did Lucy.
The only difference was how they both dealt with it afterward.
"I’ll just give it a try," he muttered, probably hoping we would still support him. I would support him because, at the end of the day, it was his decision. He wanted peace in his heart and confirmation that he did the right thing—even if I didn’t agree with this whole punishnt idea.
"Hey, we brought food for everyone," Lamar said as he opened the door, with Jenny beside him holding bags of food.
"Let’s eat sothing." Patting Gavin’s shoulder, I flashed him a smile to help ease his guilt.
We sat together and ate in silence while Lamar seed to notice Gavin’s awkwardness. Although he didn’t call him out directly, I could tell he was waiting to be alone with him to ask what was going on.
After we finished eating, Lamar took Gavin by the hand and led him to the balcony. The two talked for a few minutes.
"Is sothing wrong with Gavin? They don’t look like they’re having a normal conversation," Jenny finally addressed the elephant in the room, glancing toward the balcony.
"He’ll tell you himself. But you’re right, it’s definitely not a normal conversation," I sighed, feeling bad for Gavin. He was stuck between wanting to be with his second-chance mate and the guilt that was weighing him down.
After Gavin and Lamar finished talking, Gavin ca back into the room while Lamar stayed outside for a smoke break. Gavin and Jenny went to their rooms, while I waited for Lamar to return.
He seed anxious and stressed. Lucy coming in this late had beco normal, but usually, I’d be asleep by then, so we never got to talk. But tonight, as she walked in, she spotted standing beside my bed and smirked.
"So, how are you, Helanie?" She sat on the bed, her legs swinging playfully.
"What are you doing?" I asked. She shrugged, but we both knew what I was referring to.
"Leave Gavin alone," I hissed, and she raised a brow, looking surprised.
"Wow, you’re so quick to defend him. What about my side?" she pouted, making roll my eyes.
But Lamar stepped in, and this ti, he wasn’t playing.
"We did everything we could for you. But you’ve chosen to be cruel, so don’t expect anything from us. You’re not our friend anymore, Lucy. And I’ll make sure I free Gavin from whatever guilt trap you’ve set for him." He pointed at her, making her eyes fill with tears and her jaw clench.
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