Page 73 of Don’t Forget Me

“Don’t tell me you fell for her!” he cackled.

But there was nothing to laugh about. “This isn’t funny.”

Zack noticed my blank expression and immediately stopped chortling. Swiftly, he cleaned the tears of laughter that had escaped the corners of his green orbs. “In all seriousness, I was planning on giving you a thousand this week.”

I was baffled. “Her downfall really means that much to you?”

“She embarrassed my sister when she first got here. And you know how Scar is. She won’t let me forget about it for another five years if I don’t use my charms to ruin her. I didn’t do it with that other English girl, and you saw how she was hospitalized. Sorry, but it’s me or that Lysandra girl.”

“Scarlett needs therapy,” I muttered.

“That she does,” he agreed.

As silence filled the space between us, I wished I hadn’t accepted the bet.

“Why did you dare me to talk to her? Why didn’t you just do it yourself?” I asked.

“I tried to speak to her, and she wouldn’t respond to me. You know I don’t have patience for troubled girls who feel all that deep crap. You do.”

And it was then that I realized Zack had used my pride against me to hurt Lysandra. But I wasn’t going to cut her more open any more than she already was. I hadn’t meant for it to go this far. At first, I accepted the dare for the fun of it, but then I saw just how profound she truly was, and I was entranced within a matter of seconds. After that, I simply wanted to be her friend, I never planned to use her and discard her like Zack intended me to do.

My head moved side to side. “Let’s not change the topic. Keep Scarlett away from Lysandra.”

“I’ll try.” He shrugged.

I knew then that my romance with Lysandra would be cut short because of my deception.

An eerie feeling rushed down my back, like I was being watched. I scanned the library, it’d been dark, but the lights blanketed the bookshelves and wooden tables with a wonderful glow. This always felt like home. I was able to enter other worlds, other people’s minds, and other lives through the books that were shelved on the walls. And it was also another safe haven for Lysandra and me.

We got to know each other more when we met in the library. Now, it seemed as though it was being marked with blood as I left this clandestine meeting with my best friend. All because I agreed to a stupid dare. But it was that dare that got me the girl of my dreams.

How was I to deal with this remorse, this guilt, this need for repentance for approaching her with the wrong intentions? How was I to hide this from the person who saw through me so clearly?

This was not a matter I could hide. I could hide nothing from her. Not even the misery I held onto for so long. Yet, I knew deep down, one day she would have to know. One day, she would find out. I had to do everything in my power to stop her from knowing the truth. I’d lose her if she knew. She had received nothing but the worst scars in life; I didn’t wish to be another mark on her heart.

Nonetheless, we spent the rest of the semester deemed as quite the pair. Many knew of our relationship, but none of them approved. I was born into a family of privilege, and she had none.

Students spoke about how my father would disapprove of her. Those same nosy people rushed to report to him that I’d been infatuated with a girl out of our social class. I knew he would disapprove of her for all the wrong reasons, but I was going to prove him wrong. At first I didn’t want her to attend dinner with my family, to protect her, yet she insisted.

Truthfully, I wanted her to meet my mother. And my mum wished to meet her. So here we were, sitting with my entire family around the dinner table. Except Maya. She wasn’t allowed to be among us.

There’d been candlesticks laid intricately across the center of the table. Vases with different flowers surrounded the bench top. There’d been round plates with silver linings mounted with grapes, strawberries, and mangoes. The servants in their uniforms moved robotically from our dining table and into the kitchen with our courses. My nerves made me feel on edge. There’d been nothing but anguish as I watched my father glare at me whenever Lysandra wasn’t looking. She laughed with my mother at a joke I hadn’t caught on to because of his disdainful glances.

It seemed as though he wished to kill me with his sneer.

“How long do you plan to stay here in Edinburgh?” my mother asked with her angelic voice.

“For as long as I can. The academy gave me a scholarship, and right now I’m working a few shifts at a nearby pub to have extra cash while I study,” Lysandra replied sweetly.

How I wished she hadn’t shared her plans out loud. My father would only use them to his advantage.

He cleared his throat.

“And what about your parents? Don’t they have the resources to provide for you, so you don’t have to humiliate yourself in such a way?”

I flinched for her. I knew my mother wasn’t trying to be mean about it, but it sure seemed like it because only I knew just how difficult it had been for her. She remained cool and impassive. Her breathing was calm and collected. How did she do it? How did she lift these walls of confidence so quickly?

“I don’t have parents. I have no choice but to provide for myself. I have goals that I intend to meet to give to my children what I didn’t have.”