Chapter Text
I woke up that next morning with a headache and a hangover. But the most shocking thing was how I wasn’t alone. Cuddled into me was a sleeping Henry, blonde hair tousled. And then pieces of the night before came crashing back into place. Me singing karaoke, us kissing in the rain, and heading back to our hotel room. Careful not to wake him up, I inched away from him until I was out of bed. I then put on clothes, stepped into the bathroom, and called Nora
“Alex? What’s wrong?” I could hear the concern in her voice.
“I fucked up, Nora.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean I got super drunk last night and slept with Henry.”
“Oh shit.”
“What do I do? He hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Wait for him to wake up, see if he remembers. But Alex, I really don’t want to see you getting hurt by him again.”
“It was a mistake, Nora. I won’t do it again”
“Just be careful. I have to go. Call me later, okay?”
“I will” I ended the call. What was I going to do? I exited the bathroom, to find Henry awake now, staring at the ceiling, eyes wide. “I take it you remember last night then…” I trailed off as his eyes met mine.
“This can’t happen again and I mean it.” He spoke urgently.
“For once we're on the same page.” I agreed. Sleeping with Henry only meant getting my heart broken once again. Neither of us addressed the words spoken last night, I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up if he had been drunk and not actually meant it. Henry got up to get dressed and I headed into the bathroom again. When we both were done, we headed down to the buffet for breakfast, meeting the others. However, to our shock, it wasn’t just the boys there. June, Nora, Beatrice, and Emilia sat, waiting for us.
“Surprise!” Emilia got up and planted a kiss on Henry’s lips. The same lips that had been on mine mere hours ago. I was going to be sick. Nora looked at me, concerned, while June was engaged in conversation with her fiance. Cal and June explained to us the plans for today, snorkeling. I faked my easygoing attitude, avoiding even glancing at Henry and Emilia. When we all headed back to our rooms, I grabbed the stuff I needed and left, right when Henry entered with Emilia by his side. I gave a tight smile to her before heading back out. My chest ached at the sight of them and I knew I needed to avoid them as much as possible if I wanted to make it out alive. Nora, thankfully, was waiting outside for me and I hugged her, as if it would make the burning pain go away.
“I wish she wasn’t so nice. That would make things so much easier.” I whispered in her ear and she nodded. When we all left to go snorkeling, I made a point to stay away from Henry. It would only make things worse. There was a nice distraction though, one of the other guys on the tour with us, Victor, was attractive and flirting with me. It kept my mind off of Henry and the pain that came with the thought of him. My intuition felt Henry looking but I ignored it. I needed to move on, for real this time. When we all finally went into the water, there were hundreds of beautiful fish. Victor pointed some out to me and it was nice. When we all got out of the lake, us guys headed to the boy’s locker room.
“So, Alex, you have plans tonight?” Victor lazily smirked.
“He does.” A voice came from behind me, Henry. What was he doing? “He’s here on a bachelor’s trip, not to go on dates.”
“My bad” Victor held up both hands and retreated.
“The hell was that?” I turned to Henry as we stepped outside, fully changed. The rest of the group were nowhere to be seen.
“You shouldn’t be going out with random guys. He could be a serial killer.” Henry said, defensively.
“That sounds like my problem, not yours. Oh my god, Henry, were you seriously jealous?”
“I-well-”
“You have no right, when you have your own girlfriend who you’re already stringing along.”
“You don’t understand, Alex, stop.”
“It’s clear as day. Your girlfriend has no idea that you’re gay and you’re using her as a coverup. And now you act jealous of me for talking to another guy. I don’t understand you, Henry. One second you’re acting like we’re still together, and the next you can’t even look me in the eye!” It was at that precise moment, I noticed Henry’s gaze drift behind me. I turned and felt my heart drop. Emilia stood, frozen in place.
“Is this true, Henry?” Her eyes were wide with shock. If he lied to her about this, there was no way in hell I’d ever forgive him.
“I’m sorry, Emilia” He breathed out.
“You were just using me to cover up your sexuality? I thought you loved me, Henry. I thought you were different. And you and Alex too? I should’ve known something was up.” She looked crestfallen. “I won’t be a pawn in your game anymore. This is over.” She walked off and Henry stared off. Thank god there was no one else around, this would’ve been all over the tabloids.
“You always have to run your mouth, Alex.” He looked upset, which made me even more irritated.
“God forbid I call you out. This isn’t a game, you can’t just play with us for the sport.”
“You think I don’t know that? That I don’t live with the constant guilt? For the record, everything I said last night was the truth.” Henry looked me in the eyes and I could see the pain.
“You broke my heart, Henry.” My voice cracked.
“I know, love. And I hate myself every moment for it.” He placed a hand on my cheek.
“I should hate you for everything that’s happened.”
“Do you?” He met my gaze.
“I don’t. That’s the worst part.” I admitted. I tilted my face up and he inched closer to me.
“What the fuck, Henry?” I heard a voice behind me and jumped apart from him.
“Cal…please let me explain”
“What is there to explain? You used my sister as a beard! She loved you!”
“I know it was wrong. I do care for Emilia, just not in that way.”
“Bullshit! And Alex, why didn’t you tell me? You let me believe you were friends and not exes. Was he the guy who you were heartbroken over when we first met?”
I slowly nodded “I’m sorry, Cal. You’re right. I was just scared and didn’t want anyone to know.” I admitted, and his gaze softened.
“I just wish you had trusted me.” He sighed. “Do June and Nora know?”
“They do.” I nodded and Cal let out a sigh of relief before turning back to Henry.
“I know it’s a complicated situation, but did you really have to hurt my sister?”
“I shouldn’t have, but when I realized I was in too deep.” Henry spoke.
“Whatever is going on between you two is none of my business anymore. I won’t share anything with the press. All I ask is you leave my sister out of it.”
“I will from now on, I promise”
“We should head back to the group” I said after a moment of silence and Cal and Henry nodded as we walked back. All I knew was that now, something had shifted. And things would never be the same.