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I manage to suck in a breath of air and somehow find the strength to pull free from his arms. It feels like I’m stuck in a daze of pain as I lift my eyes to his and hiss, “You were supposed to be different.”
Forest tries to reach for me, but I step back, and then I see Kennedy walking towards us.
When he opens his mouth to say something, I shake my head. Everything is just too much to process. My eyes settle on Forest’s, and I whisper, “You were supposed to be the one.”
I turn away from him and walk back to the art building, to the one thing that’s the only constant left in my life.
Chapter 16
FOREST
Needing time to process how fast the night went to shit, I don’t go after Aria but instead head to the dorm.
“Forest,” I hear Kennedy call, but she’s the last person I have time for right now. Walking into the building, I skip the elevator and take the stairs up to the suite.
When I get to my bedroom, I slam the door shut behind me and pace up and down the length of my room.
Fuck.
Just… fucking fuck.
Part of me is angry at Aria for obviously not trusting me. She didn’t even bother giving me a chance to fix things.
‘It shouldn’t have happened in the first place,’ my mind snaps at me.
I close my eyes at the frustration bubbling up in me. I can’t catch a fucking break. Aria wanted to keep our relationship a secret, pretending that it was still fake. If it was up to me, the whole world would’ve known by now.
My mind keeps racing from one thing to the next, only driving the realization home that things are so fucking bad, I don’t know how I’m going to fix it.
I finally manage to calm down, and walking out of the suite, I go look for Kennedy. Luckily, I find her in the restaurant with Carla and Mila.
“Kennedy, can I talk to you.” I gesture to the entrance. “Outside.”
“Sure.” She excuses herself, and I ignore Carla’s frown as I turn and head back out of the establishment.
I walk to the side of the building, so we’re out of the way of the entrance, and turn to Kennedy. “That was not cool,” I snap. “Aria and I are in a real relationship. We just didn’t tell anyone yet.”
Shock flutters over Kennedy’s face. “How was I supposed to know that?”
Fuck, the fake relationship.
Relenting, I say, “Fair, but we haven’t seen each other in a year, Kennedy. You can’t just walk back into my life and pick up where we left off.”
Anger begins to tighten her features. “I was under the impression you’re single. We ended on good terms. Can you blame me for trying to get back what we lost?”
Movement catches my eye and glancing to my right, I watch as Carla shakes her head at me before she walks to the dorms.
Christ, now I’m in trouble with my cousin as well.
I turn my attention back to Kennedy, and taking a deep breath, I say, “Okay. I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I love Aria. I’m committed to her.”
“I get that now,” she mutters. “God, I feel like an idiot.”
“I should’ve told you sooner,” I admit. Realizing this could’ve been avoided if I had corrected Carla when she informed Kennedy that the relationship is an act, I say, “I’m sorry.”
Kennedy shrugs. “Hey, it is what it is.” She takes a deep breath then asks, “Does this mean we can’t be friends?”
“No, of course not, but Aria and I will need some time. Just give us some space. Okay?”
“Sure. I’ll apologize to her when I see her again,” Kennedy offers.
Well, that didn’t go too bad.
Kennedy gives me an awkward smile. “Thanks for telling me, though.” She shrugs, then closes the distance between us and hugs me. “Aria is lucky to have you.” She presses a kiss to my cheek then pulls back.
I take a step away from her. “Yeah, let that be the last hug and kiss, okay?”
Kennedy shakes her head and lets out a huff of laughter. “God, it’s innocent, Forest.”
“Still.” I begin to turn away from her but freeze when my eyes land on Aria, where she’s watching us from the dorm.
There’s zero emotion on her face as she turns around and heads into the building.
Fuck my life.
ARIA
Hiding in the art building, the pain cuts so deep I know the scars will never heal. I wipe away the tears on my cheeks with the back of my hand and take in a deep breath.
God, it was a mistake thinking we would be fine, that we could pull this off.
‘How about we continue with the fake relationship. Use it as a trial period to see if we can last longer than two weeks.’
