Page 58 of Wanna Bet?

She was crying so hard she could barely breathe. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"What bet?" The question sounded hollow, even to him.

She flinched and then answered. And every word felt like a knife. By the time she finished, deafening silence filled the car.

Jace stared straight ahead, unable to look at her. Unable to process what he'd just heard. Every memory suddenly felt uncertain. Every moment questioned. Every smile, every touch, every kiss. Was any of it real?

"Myah—" His voice cracked.

She immediately started crying harder. "It stopped being a bet."

He laughed once. The sound of it was bitter and broken. "It stopped?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

She sobbed. "I love you." The words shattered inside the car.

Jace closed his eyes. Because hearing them should have made him happy. Instead it hurt. Fuck, it hurt, because he wanted to believe her. He wanted to believe every word. But right now he didn't know what was true or real. Except that his chest felt like someone had ripped it open.

Finally he looked at her. Tears covered her face. She looked devastated, and somehow that made it worse. Because he still loved her. Even after this. And he hated that this was the moment that he was admitting that to himself. That he loved her.

"I need you to get out."

Her face crumpled. "Jace—"

"Please." The single word nearly broke him.

She stared at him for several seconds. Then nodded before slowly opening the door and stepping out. She stood on the sidewalk as Jace gripped the steering wheel. Every muscle locked tight. For one terrible second he almost called her back. Almost forgave everything. But he couldn't, not yet.

Myah stood beneath the parking lot lights crying, watching him.

Jace pulled away, and for the first time all day, the future he'd imagined disappeared completely. Leaving only confusion, anger, and heartbreak. And the devastating realization that the girl he'd fallen in love with had been keeping a secret big enough to destroy them both.

Chapter Fourteen

From: Headphone Guy

​Myah, please pick up the phone. We’re worried about you.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Myah had always thought rock bottom would feel dramatic.

She imagined screaming matches. Doors slamming. Tears streaking down her face while rain poured from the sky as though the universe itself had decided to participate in her misery. Instead, rock bottom felt quiet. It felt like staring at the ceiling for three hours because getting out of bed seemed impossible. It felt like thirty-seven unread text messages. It felt like her phone lighting up and immediately wishing it hadn't. It felt like waking up disappointed she had woken up at all.

A week and three days. Ten days. Ten days since she'd sat across from Jace in his car and told him the truth. Ten days since she'd watched his face crumble. Ten days since she'd destroyed the best thing that had ever happened to her.

The apartment was dark despite it being nearly noon. The curtains remained shut. Laundry sat in piles around the bedroom floor. Empty energy drink cans crowded her nightstand.

The air felt stale. Everything felt stale.

Myah rolled onto her side and buried her face deeper into the blanket. She was exhausted. The kind of exhaustion that seeped into her bones and hollowed her out from the inside. She reached blindly for her phone and the screen lit up. No new messages.