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WYNNIE

After I was dressed, I knocked on Evelyn's hotel door, expecting to find her inside getting dressed.

"Khangela? Oh, hey," I covered my eyes as she answered the door in a soft towel.

"You need something?"

"Just was looking for Trippy. I was bored," I shrugged.

"She's still getting ready, I believe. I decided to get all dolled up in here," she stated.

"Oh. So Evelyn's in your room?" Ugh, I've been calling her Evelyn more and more ever since me and Khangela have been around each other. It just sounds so superficial when I say my best friend's name. Evelyn is hardly the same person as Trippy and I'm starting to realize that more and more.

"Yeah."

"Oh. Well thanks," I awkwardly waved to her, starting to walk to the door over.

"Wynnie?" Khangela called out into the hallway.

"Wassup?"

"Do you like Evelyn?" she asked with a sharp gaze.

I chuckled to myself, then sighed. "I don't like Evelyn. I like Trippy."

The look of rage that crossed Khangela's face was almost hilarious if the guilt weighing my feelings down didn't cancel that emotion out. My best friend and Khangela could be perfect together, but here I am, confused on whether I should act on my feelings that I've had more than enough time to work out when she was single.

I entered Khangela's unlocked room, the door knob ice cold. The room was silent when I walked in. Instead of finding Trippy in the shower, I saw her on the bed. Her back was to me and she was slumped over.

I slowly approached her, reaching forward hesitantly to lay my hand on her back. "Trippy?"

"I don't know if Khangela is who she seems.."

"What do you mean by that?" I frowned.

"I found this. In her bags." Trippy revealed copies of DM's and Instagram profiles. Pictures of Trippy and a lot of notable ex's. "Close the bedroom door first. I forgot that I left it unlocked," she sighed heavily.

I closed the door then came back to sit besides her.

"Trippy, what does this mean?"

"Khangela never crossed me as the crazy type. Not even once," my best friend shook her head. "I don't even know what this could mean."

"She brought this with her on the trip. For what? To stare at who you were before when y'all are tryna forge a new future? Or because she has plans to do something with this?"

"I don't know," Trippy said through gritted teeth.

I sighed. "Hey. I'm just tryna help you out. What background info do you even know about her?"

"She's fine as hell? She's reasonable? She's all this and that. I never thought to ask her much more about herself. I mean...she's an orphan too. I know that."

"Even if she did tell you anything about herself, it might not even be all true. What if she's only with you to dig up dirt?"

"Doing this because someone she knows hates me?"

"Maybe she's doing this for one of your ex's or an enemy?"

"Wynnie. Look at my life. Who do you know that I've fucked over this bad? I mean, she has some of their addresses. This is pure evidence that she's at least a stalker. None of this can be excused. If she wanted to know more about old me then she just could have asked."

"My thing is...if she could find all of this out, why didn't she know about what me and you used to do?"

"Maybe that was just a front to get me to admit it when she already knew. A chance for me to come clean on my own?" Trippy played at my mind game.

"But why ask for you to confirm that? To make herself feel better? Or to have an actual confirmation on more dirt against you?"

We sat in silence for a moment.

"The play will be starting soon. We'll be late. I might as well plaster on my good girlfriend face and enjoy the show," Trippy said shakily, giving me a large smile.

"You don't have to do this, Evelyn. Be this fake girlfriend who spoils Khangela with funds we both know you don't have. You have no reason to stay with her," I told my friend.

"I do. I need to know how much she knows and if she's really the girl that I was starting to fall for, Wynnie."

"You're scared she's gonna blackmail you? What did you do, Trippy? I honestly don't remember you ever doing anything that could-

"I'm cheating on her, Wynnie."

My eyes widened.

"No way. You guys have been together how long and you're already cheating? I mean, there isn't a certain amount of days you should begin cheating in a relationship, but damn."

Trippy held her head in her hands.

"It wasn't intentional. It's not consistent cheating either. I never planned for any of this. But it can't get out what I'm doing. And if she has that info-

"Are you fucking around with multiple people? Is that what you mean by not consistent cheating?"

"No. It's one person," Trippy looked at me through her hands.

"Trippy, a lot of people will probably look down on you for cheating if this gets out but you won't be fucking cancelled or some shit. You'll be fine. You should leave her."

I watched my friends face. "Trippy, what is it? Is there something bigger you're not telling me?" I searched her expression of despair. "A man? You're pregnant? Trippy- God, I won't tell."

"It's- It's another stud, Wynn."

"Evelyn?"

We flipped around to see Khangela coming through the door. Trippy shoved the papers down and we guiltily faced her girlfriend.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough. The last part. About...your cheating."

"Khangela. Baby," Trippy tried to walk towards her with outstretched hands, her expression filled with a need for mercy.

"Don't come near me!"

Khangela's eyes snapped to me. "Is it her? Are you cheating with her? You came in here to convince my girlfriend to be with you, didn't you? To discuss her cheating," she spat the last part at Trippy.

"No. No. It's someone else. It's not Wynnie," Trippy said quickly, "and I know that doesn't make things any better, K."

"Hmph," Khangela turned back to me, arms folded, "Must suck for you as much as this sucks for me too, huh?"

"Why?" Trippy looked between us two.

"Khangela, just shut up. I'd never try to do anything serious with Trippy. She's yours," I snapped, angry but my eyes were pleading her to stay quiet.

"Tell her how you feel, Wynnie."

Trippy's gaze silently slid over to mine.

"I'm leaving," I laughed, pushing past the both of them.

"Your best friend is infatuated with you," Khangela revealed not even giving me a moment to leave the room.

"That's not true. Me and Wynnie are just friends, K."

"I don't know if you actually believe that or if you're just a stupid bit-

I closed the hotel door behind me and went to my room, dead set on packing my shit up and finding my way back to Earment. I was furious about all of this that Trippy was going through but most of all, I was torn up inside that Khangela would reveal such a thing about me. That shit was private. That was up to me to tell Evelyn or not.

Feeling all of this inside made me realize that I was no better than Khangela...or even Trippy.

I'm not in the right here either.