Val frowned at her, kicking her foot away. "I had a right to demand payback! You're just being spiteful!"
"But you still do," she retorted. "What if Landon and I had a crush on each other? One that was big enough that we felt the need to tell our significant others?" She paused the game and turned to Callie. "You would hate me, or at least dislike me. No?"
Callie hesitated. "I wouldn't hate you.. I know you probably hate me, and I'm sorry, but.. I wouldn't hate you." She shrugged. "It's not worth my time to worry about."
Val leaned back, crossing her arms. "It's not about trust. It's about the fact that your significant other feels something for someone else and these feelings are strong enough that they need to be talked about. They can't be ignored. You'd be pretty hurt too."
"You can make up your mind what you want," she replied shortly. "Either break things off with your significant other or don't mention it at all. Don't leave them hanging like this. It's cruel."
"There's nothing you can do," she said, frustrated, her voice raising slightly. "You and Arlo have created this situation already. You have told us something unnecessarily and now every time you two spend time together, your significant others, the people who love you and care about you, are thinking in the back of our heads that you two have feelings for each other that can't be ignored. That's a pretty tough situation that you've put us in and you two, or Arlo at the very least, don't seem to understand why it's such a big deal."
She stood up, clearly agitated, folding her arms across her chest as if to protect herself. She was silent before she sighed, dropping her hands. "I know you are," she said quietly, turning on her heel. "Tell Landon I'll get the photos some other time, okay? I'll see you later." She headed for the front door and closed it quietly, leaving a silence in her wake.
Callie frowned, shutting off the game. She rubbed her hand over her face tiredly, the feeling of guilt returning.
Val got home late that night, her hair messy and dark circles under her eyes. Arlo was asleep on the couch, his glasses askew as he waited for her. Val watched him for a long time, her hands in fists in her pockets. Finally, she sighed and took out a blanket, draping it over his sleeping form. She took off his glasses and placed them on the coffee table before kissing his cheek. "I know you're sorry," she murmured, too quiet for him to hear. "I know you are." She stood up and sighed before heading to the shower, slipping off her coat.
