Ade called Hilary Monday evening. In true Hilary fashion, she answered so quickly the phone barely rang. "You're back," she said, slightly breathless.

"Yeah." Ade would've laughed, but recently he couldn't bring himself to even smile. "When do you want to do this?"

"Are you free tomorrow morning?" she asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, well then let's meet around ten at Grind."

"Yeah, sure whatever works for you."

Hilary sighed, the sound rushing down the line. "You'll get over this," she said. "I promise."

"Thanks. Look, I should probably go. Daniel ordered food."

This was in fact a lie. Daniel wasn't even in the flat, instead he'd headed to Abi's the moment he'd unpacked, leaving Ade with nothing more than a pitying stare that made him wonder if Miriam had told anyone. Or, more specifically Abi. For if she had told Abi, there was no doubt in Ade's mind that Abi would tell Daniel. Thankfully, Daniel wasn't the type to spread gossip, thus containing the hypothetical but no less embarrassing reality. Still, Daniel or no Daniel, Ade didn't feel like discussing things with the only other person to cause such irreparable damage. Maybe more, for with Hilary it was real in a way he never managed with Miriam.

Throwing his phone onto the other sofa, Ade turned on his side and grabbed the remote from the coffee table. Flicking through Netflix, he settled on a mind-numbing comedy, pressing play just as the intercom rang. With a sigh, he heaved off the sofa and shuffled to the front door. Daniel may not have ordered food, but he certainly had, so he pressed the button to open the door without checking who it was. He should've checked.

When he opened the door, he was met with a sheepish looking Wes rather than his burger. He had half a mind to slam the door shut, but Wes held out a hand. "Please," he said, "just hear me out."

Rolling his eyes, Ade quirked a brow and leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.

Wes cleared his throat. "Right, so I, uh, just wanted to apologise."

"For?"

"Well, what you walked in on. I know we haven't been friends for a long time, but it was a pretty shitty thing and I, uh, well wanted to apologise."

"You've said that already," Ade scowled.

"Yeah." Wes itched the back of his neck. "Look, I didn't mean for it to happen."

"What? Like you didn't mean for it to happen with Hilary?"

Wes' brows furrowed. Ade felt an intense need to throw something, at Wes specifically, right in the face. Something with a bit of weight. Something that would cause semi-permanent damage. Then it dawned on him that the brows, the silence, all meant one thing. One infuriating thing.

"Don't tell me you forgot," Ade sneered.

"I—"

"Just quit the nice guy act," he said. "You, Wes, are as much an arsehole as I am a dick. You fucked my girlfriend, man, and now Miriam—"

"I didn't sleep with Miriam," Wes interrupted.

"Bullshit," Ade hissed.

"I'm serious. I have no problem owning the shit I've done. I did sleep with your girlfriend." He said it so flippantly that Ade went from wanting to throw something to wanting to throw him. If only he weren't so damn tall. "But," he said in a far more solemn tone, "I didn't have sex with Miriam."

"It doesn't matter what you two did," Ade decided. "You still stole what was mine."

Wes rolled his eyes. "Miriam's not some prize to be won. She's a person. A person who chose me." Ade's mouth opened, but Wes raised a hand. "I don't say that to hurt you," he insisted, "but it's the truth of the situation. Now I didn't come here to rub salt in the wound, but I do want you to know that I am sorry for how things went down with both Mer and Hilary."

"Yeah, well so am I." With that, Ade slammed the door in his face.

Wes had some nerve showing up like that, apologising almost as if it would make up for his sins. And boy had he sinned. Then again, something in Ade told him that he should've known better. That the moment he knew about Wes, he should've aborted his mission. Even more so when he actually saw them together. They existed in-sync, so completely embroiled in this weird symbiosis that only a mad man would try to separate them, making what Ade witnessed Saturday night feel like fate, as inevitable as it was hurtful. It also made him the mad man. A role he never intended to play.

~*~

Hilary was seated at a table at the back of Grind partially obscured by a large pillar. She'd already ordered two large white americanos and croissants, waving a dismissive hand when Ade thanked her. "It's the least I could do," she said, winking almost over the rim of her mug as Ade realised this was the first time they'd seen each other since the breakup. Naturally, he'd caught snatches of her around campus, and he'd also gone through a phase of drunk calling her, but this was the first time they'd sat, face to face, and talked.

Hilary looked the same as ever, with big brown eyes, pouty lips and enough gold jewellery she glittered. She placed her mug on the table and tore off a piece of croissant before placing it delicately on the tip of her tongue. Ade watched, transfixed, as she chewed carefully and swallowed, her slender neck constricting. He'd always felt there was something rather elegant about her. The way she moved, practically floating through the world. Even now, when he wasn't sure if he should still hate her, or if he ever did, her grace drew him in.

"Stop staring," Hilary said with a light sprinkle of laughter. "You're making me self-conscious."

"You're never self-conscious," Ade said.

She pursed her lips, hiding a smile. "It's a blessing and a curse," she said, finally giving in, lips parting to reveal a set of ultra-straight teeth that reminded Ade of her brace face phase. Even then, he'd thought her so beautiful it physically hurt to look, but then he was fourteen and she didn't even know he existed so everything about her made him ache.

"So?" Ade picked up his mug and swallowed a fortifying gulp of coffee. "Miriam?"

"Yeah." Hilary sat back in her seat and frowned. "Miriam."

"I'm guessing you met her through Wes," Ade said, swapping the coffee for the croissant.

Hilary made a face. "Wes? What's he got to do with this?"

"They're like childhood friends or something," Ade explained.

"Oh." Hilary's face fell. "Is that why you were asking about him the other night?"

If she were anybody else, Ade would've shrugged the question off. He'd soon rather run through campus stark naked then admit what happened. But Hilary knew him in every way that mattered, so he told her the truth. The whole truth.

"Shit," she muttered beneath her breath. "I'm so sorry Ade."

"Don't be," he said with a shrug. "It's not like it was you this time."

She winced. "I'm sorry about that too, I—"

"I know." And for once, he truly did. "So?" he asked, turning to the more pressing issue. "How do you know Miriam?"

"I don't actually know her," Hilary said. "But she is known in certain circles."

"For?" Ade shifted in his seat.

"She basically helps girls get back at their cheating boyfriends," Hilary said. "I mean, well not always boyfriends. Fuckbuddies, situationships, you name it. Girls go to her, there's some kind of payment and then suddenly the guy's embarrassed in some sort of way."

Ade felt his stomach sink. "Some sort of way like what?" he asked.

Hilary shrugged. "It's all very cloak and dagger," she said. "But trust me, Miriam does not date, not really. If she's around, then you're just another one of her victims."

"I don't know." Ade shook his head. Miriam hadn't seemed like that girl; she couldn't be that girl. "She didn't once pursue me," he explained.

"Obviously not," Hilary laughed as if he'd told the best joke she'd ever heard. "If she did that you wouldn't have taken the bait. Trust me, she's a master at what she does."

"How many guys has she done this to?" Ade asked beneath his breath, leaning in conspiratorially.

"I know of two not including you," Hilary admitted. "But it's hard to say."

"And you didn't tell them that they were being set up?"

"Of course not," she said. "The whole reason Miriam's gig works is because none of you dumb-dumbs know about it."

"So why are you telling me?"

Hilary reached across the table and placed her hand on top of Ade's. It was warm, soft, comforting. "I feel like I owe you the truth," she said.

"That simple?" Ade wanted to shift his hand away, knew it would be for the best, and yet he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Yeah," she said. "You may have a shitty reputation, which is deserved, but beneath all that you're a good guy. You just need to start showing more people that. And anyway, what Miriam does is kinda fucked, don't you think?"

"Of course it's fucked," Ade said. "Why would she do that?"

"Only she could tell you."

But no amount of curiosity could ever bring Ade to ask.

Sahar called and Hillary left, leaning down to hug Ade before she disappeared. They could never be friends, of that he was sure, but he also knew that he could finally put her behind him for good.

Just as Ade was about to leave, he spotted Wes. Under normal circumstances, he would've ignored him, but instead he strode straight over and said, "We need to talk." He then marched back to the table he and Hilary were sitting at and waited for Wes who eventually appeared with a takeaway cup to hand.

"You summoned me," Wes said, withering stare and all.

Ade refused to waste any time and jumped straight to the point. "Miriam's a fraud," he said.

Wes shook his head and laughed. "Are you serious? Get over it, you were barely seeing each other."

"We were never seeing each other," Ade corrected. "It was all a lie."

"Why, because she left with me?"

"No, because she lets girls pay her to ruin guys lives."

Wes paused, mouth agape, then laughed some more. "Are you fucking kidding me? Give it a rest, Ade."

"You think I'm joking?" Ade snorted. "She's a fucking liar, Wes. In fact, I'm sure she only finally deigned to hook up with you because she probably heard about what went down with Hilary. How else was she going to hurt a guy like me?"

"You don't know what you're talking about. Name one other person she's done this to."

In the dark recesses of Ade's mind, Kojo's words sprang to the forefront. "I'm pretty sure Kojo was one of her victims," he said.

"No." Wes shook his head rather forcefully. "I know Miriam, she wouldn't do this."

Ade let out a puff of laughter and stood up. "Why don't you ask her then," he said.

Wes said something in return, but Ade tuned him out. This, he decided, was no longer his problem. In fact, now he knew the truth, it wouldn't be anybody's problem ever again. 

***

Please vote, comment and share.

Misslaughalot_

xxx