Chapter 5 — Arianna
1400 Words
I stared at my phone after sending the text.
He replied immediately.
“What time?”
“I’m heading there now . I’ll let you know .”
“Alright .”
That was it.
No questions.
He never seemed to care about my life.
My life was officially a f*****g mess.
The moment class ended, I grabbed my things and headed toward my car.
My driver was already waiting.
The drive back to the residence I shared with Camille felt longer than usual.
This is the last place I want to be.
The suite was quiet.
I knew Camille was there.
Her shoes were by the entrance.
I walked straight toward my room.
“Ari.”
Not now.
“What?”
She hesitated.
“Can we talk?”
I opened my closet .
Luckily, most of my stuff were still in my box.
“You always make everything about yourself.”
“I liked him too Arianna.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“You’re joking.” I said in disbelief.
“No.”
“I never wanted this to happen.”
“I knew how you felt about him, so I never told you how I felt.”
Camille’s voice cracked slightly.
I shook my head.
“You talked about Luca all the time, Ari.”
I stared at her.
“And?”
“And I liked him too!”
“So instead of telling me, you decided to sleep with him behind my back?”
Her mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
“That makes so much more f*****g sense.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“Then how exactly was it supposed to happen?”
“Luca asked me out. I said no because of you.”
Camille’s eyes filled with frustration.
“I knew you liked him. I knew how badly you wanted him.”
“So why?”
Her expression broke.
“Because I still liked him.”
I stared at her.
“And?”
“And we started spending time together and eventually .”
I scoffed.
“Clearly, you did an amazing f*****g job.”
“He seemed satisfied.”
“You never even asked me how I felt!”
Camille took another step closer.
“You assumed I didn’t care because I never said anything.”
I stared at her.
“That doesn’t justify what you did.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you saying it?”
Then the front door opened.
Footsteps entered the suite.
“Ari?”
Luca appeared.
“What are you doing?”
I ignored him.
I turned back toward my closet.
“Arianna.”
“Don’t.”
“We need to talk.”
“Is that everybody’s favorite f*****g sentence today?”
He stepped closer.
“I came here to explain.”
“I’m done listening.”
“Ari.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“I never wanted to hurt you.
Slowly, I turned toward him.
“You never wanted to hurt me?”
“No.”
“You knew.”
“What?”
I stepped closer.
“You knew how I felt about you.”
“Arianna…”
Luca ran a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
Everything inside me went still.
“You didn’t want to embarrass me?”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“No.”
“Say it again.”
Luca stepped closer.
“I knew you liked me.”
There it was.
Worse than everything else.
For years.
He knew.
And he said nothing.
I looked down at my suitcase.
Then slowly zipped it shut.
Luca stepped forward.
“Ari, please.”
I grabbed the handle.
“Don’t.”
“Arianna.”
“I said don’t.”
I lifted my suitcase.
And walked out.
I didn’t wait to hear what either of them had to say.
I dragged my suitcase behind me and headed toward the front door.
“Arianna!”
Camille called after me.
The moment I stepped outside.
I took a deep breath.
“Ari, wait!”
The front door open behind me.
Luca caught up with me.
He stepped in front of me, forcing me to stop.
“What?”
“You can’t just walk away.”
“Watch me.”
I tried moving around him.
He stepped in front of me again.
“Move, Luca.”
“Just listen to me.”
“I’ve listened to enough today.”
“Ari..”
Luca looked around.
A few students walking nearby had started slowing down.
St. Clair’s students loved drama.
“I never wanted you to find out like that,” he said.
I stared at him.
“Find out what?”
“That Camille and I…”
“Don’t.”
I pointed toward the house.
“You two can have each other.”
I tried walking away again.
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
A guy who knew exactly how I felt about him.
And let me keep embarrassing myself anyway.
“You always knew.”
His jaw tightened.
“Ari…”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to avoid this.”
I stepped closer.
“You watched me for years.”
His eyes remained on mine.
“Arianna.”
“You watched me wait for you.”
His expression changed.
“And you knew.”
“I didn’t know what you wanted me to do.”
I stared at him.
“You didn’t know what to do?”
“I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“Then why did you?”
I felt my throat tighten.
“You could have told me.”
“Ari…”
“You could have told me you didn’t feel the same way.”
His eyes dropped.
That was enough.
He didn’t love me.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you,” Luca said quietly.
“Embarrass me?”
“That isn’t what I meant.”
“Then what the f**k did you mean?”
“I knew how much you liked me.”
“Exactly.”
“And I didn’t want to tell you that I knew because…”
“Because I didn’t feel want to lose you .”
I stared at him.
He continued.
“I didn’t want to make you feel stupid.”
“That’s f*****g hilarious.”
“Arianna…”
“You didn’t want to make me feel stupid?”
I pointed at myself.
“Do you know how stupid I feel right now?”
I stepped closer.
“Years, Luca.”
My voice cracked.
A few people had stopped walking now.
Some were whispering.
Others had their phones out.
I didn’t care.
“You knew.”
“Ari…”
“I never asked you to like me.”
That did it.
Luca’s eyes widened.
He realized what he just said.
I dropped my suitcase.
I slapped him hard across the face .
The sound echoed through the front of the residence.
Gasps erupted around us.
Luca’s face had turned slightly to the side.
Then he slowly looked back at me.
My chest rose and fell heavily.
“Don’t ever speak to me like that again.”
I grabbed my suitcase.
Then turned around.
And that was when I heard Roman’s engine.
A cast-grey sports car pulled up in front of the residence.
Roman.
He parked directly in front of the building.
I suddenly got a risky idea.
The driver’s window lowered.
Roman looked at me.
“What happened?”
I didn’t answer.
I dropped my suitcase.
And walked toward his car.
Confusion flashed across his face.
I opened the passenger door.
Then leaned inside.
His eyes widened slightly.
I grabbed the front of his shirt.
And kissed him.
For one second, Roman didn’t move .
His body went completely still beneath my hands.
Then something changed.
His hand slid around my waist dragging me closer.
His other hand moved to the back of my head, his fingers tangling gently in my hair.
My heart was beating so hard I could barely think.
This was f*****g insane.
And I didn’t care.
Roman kissed me like he had been hungry.
His grip on my waist tightened.
I leaned further into the car, completely forgetting where we were.
Forgetting Luca.
Forgetting Camille.
Forgetting the crowd.
There was only Roman.
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