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“I just—.” She pulled from my grasp, exhaling harshly. “I don’t want to fight again. I’m going to take a walk.”
My fingers glided across her soft skin as her hand fell from mine. “You believe me? That there’s nothing I can do.”
I stared at the back of her head, watching as she tipped her face to look at the sky. “I want to because you promised.”
I should’ve felt some tiny piece of guilt as I watched her walk away. Some corner of my soul that still existed should tell me how wrong I was to condemn Zara to a life with Angelo.
But it didn’t. I didn’t have a soul.
All I had was a heart. And it was walking into the darkness away from me.
37
Ariella
Twigs snapped under my feet as I walked the familiar path through the woods. They were the same ones Adam and I used to see each other. The ones that would lead me back to my father’s house if I kept going straight. Instead, I veered to the left, heading towards the clearing.
I was drawn to it like always. Whenever I was scared or upset, it gave me comfort. It was my refuge. My safe place. The sounds of the forest gave me peace. The smell of the flowers brought me calm. The moon lit the area perfectly for when I wanted to sketch.
I needed that relief tonight. My mind felt like it was turning over and over. I wanted to believe Adam about my father and Zara’s marriage.
But I was beginning to realize that Britney’s betrayal cut deeper than I’d ever imagined. I thought I hadn’t dated because I missed Adam. But maybe it was because I couldn’t trust.
I was broken. I didn’t believe people were good. In fact, I knew they weren’t. People were the worst. As a species, we couldn’t help but lie, cheat, and betray each other.
I wasn’t like Zara. I hadn’t been born with the naive notion that things could get better. Or if I had, my father had killed it before I remembered.
Adam had promised to help her. Just like he’d promised to always be there for me years ago. Both had turned out to be lies.
I saw the clearing come into view, but I couldn’t make it all the way down. I slumped to the ground at the top of the hill. The grass was dewy, soaking my leggings, but it didn’t matter. Nothing seemed to matter right now.
I took a deep breath, pulling the scent of the night into my lungs. The flowers and grass. I tried to ground my senses. I felt the cool air brush across my skin. Heard an owl in a nearby tree.
But it didn’t help. I wrapped my arms around my legs, resting my cheek on my knee.
I sat there for a long time, staring into the distance, waiting for the feeling of peace. For the calm to come. But it never did.
Because it wasn’t a feeling I was waiting for. It was a person. It was him.
Maybe I wasn’t born trusting. And I certainly hadn’t learned how to. But if I wanted anything besides loneliness, then now was the time.
I needed to trust Zara to take care of herself. Trust Adam to love me. Trust myself to make the right choices.
I took one more breath before I stood. I didn’t feel peace but instead hope. Hope for a future I desperately wanted.
But the feeling was fleeting as I turned. Instead of the trees, I found myself staring at the barrel of a gun.
“Britney.” I breathed in shock. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you, of course.” Her lips twisted into a smile that was more nasty than happy.
“Me?” I swallowed thickly as she kept the gun pointed to my chest. “Why don’t you put that down so we can talk? You don’t want that to go off accidentally because you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Her lips twitched as she aimed the gun lower. My heart stopped as she fired. The bullet lodged into the ground a centimeter from my toe. “I know exactly what I’m doing.”
Cazzo.Who was this person? This wasn’t the girl I’d grown up with. Or the bimbo who was sleeping with my father. This person was darker. Calculating.
“Okay,” I spoke softly, still not understanding what was happening. “How did you know I’d be here?”
