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My heart isn’t about to shatter so completely it’ll be little more than a bloody mess.
He knocks again, and this time, a response floats from behind the door. "What do you want?"
"Holly, we need to talk."
There’s a pause. "Why?"
"You left things unfinished the last time we met."
Holly falls silent, giving my stunned mind precious seconds to try and process this. Chase and Holly know each other. They’ve met before.
Chase just paid money to see her.
The door opens as Chase’s head starts to turn, and I quickly retreat back down the stairs. I no longer want to be found. Right now, I don’t even want to be here.
"Not out here," Holly urges, her voice soft and urgent. "We can't discuss this here."
"You know more than I thought," Chase murmurs.
"Obviously."
"Is that why you helped Aria?"
The only answer is the faint closing of the door. When I slip back up the stairs, they’re gone. Chase and Holly are now in the room.
I stand there, stunned, scared, uncertain for what feels like a lifetime. What am I supposed to do now? Cry? Scream? Pretend this whole awful day was just a nightmare?
My feet take an instinctive step back, the urge to get out of this club and never come back totally overwhelming. But then I lock my muscles. I clench my hands.
I refuse to run.
Anger propels me up the stairs. Fury has me grabbing the doorknob. Rage has me discovering it’s unlocked and shoving it open.
The plush bedroom decorated in red and black is empty, but the door to the bathroom is cracked. I storm toward it and shove it all the way open.
Devastation has me brokenly whispering one word. “Chase?”
Holly jumps back out of his arms, but it’s too late. What’s seen cannot be unseen. Chase holding Holly.
Chase kissing her.
“How could you,” I gasp, hating that my voice quivers. Tears well up, and my hands shake uncontrollably.
Chase looks stunned, a deer caught in headlights. It takes him an eternity of seconds to take a step toward me. "Aria, wait. Let me explain," he stammers.
But I don’t want to hear it.
"Both of you. Holly, how could you?" I take a stumbling step back.
Why did I have to follow them?
Why couldn’t they lock the door?
Why couldn’t Chase love me…
Holly looks equally shocked, her gaze darting between me and Chase. "I didn't know it was you coming up the stairs. I would have never done that," she says weakly, as if her words can undo the damage.
A knot twists in my stomach as I grasp the painful truth. Chase was never interested in me; I was just a means to an end, a pawn in his quest to find Holly. I feel so fucking stupid.
