Stardust and Kisses

Trap Unveiled

Aaron

I sat there, staring at Heather, feeling like the ground was shifting under my feet. Veronica. Pregnant. The words kept bouncing around in my head, but I couldn’t seem to get a grip on them. It didn’t feel real, none of it did. The timing was all wrong, too perfect.

And now, Heather was suggesting something I hadn’t even thought of. Could Veronica have set me up? I wanted to laugh, to tell her she was being ridiculous, but the more she spoke, the more the pieces started fitting together in a way that made me sick to my stomach.

I couldn’t deny it. The rumors, the media storm—it had all started after that night. The anonymous tip, the fallout. I thought it was just bad luck, wrong place, wrong time. But if Veronica had been behind it, if this was all some kind of plan… I didn’t even want to think about it.

I stood up, unable to sit still anymore. My chest felt tight, my pulse racing. "You think she set me up?"

Heather didn’t say yes, but she didn’t say no, either. She just gave me this look—like she wasn’t sure what to believe yet, but she wasn’t ruling anything out. I hated that look. I hated that this was even a possibility.

"Fuck." I ran a hand through my hair, pacing like a caged animal. "If she’s been playing me this whole time—"

"Then we need to know," Heather said, cutting me off. "We need to figure this out before she makes another move."

I stopped pacing and turned to look at her. I felt like I was unraveling. I could barely think straight, and she was the only solid thing in the room. I wanted to say something—anything—that would fix this, but nothing came to mind. Instead, I just stared at her, my throat tight.

"Heather, I’m sorry. For all of this."

She didn’t look away, didn’t flinch, even though I could tell this was hitting her hard too. There was frustration in her eyes, sure, but there was also something else. Understanding, maybe. Or at least, determination. "Let’s just figure this out, Aaron," she said, her voice steady. "We’ll deal with everything else after."

It wasn’t much, but it was enough. I nodded, trying to focus on what she was saying, trying to shove down the panic crawling up my throat. We had to talk to Veronica. We had to get answers.

But there was this part of me that was terrified. What if Heather was right? What if Veronica had been pulling the strings this whole time, and I hadn’t seen it? What if everything I thought I knew was a lie?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get even worse. But no matter what, I wasn’t going to let Veronica—or anyone—control my life anymore.

"Alright," I said, my voice a little steadier now. “I'll confront her."

And as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized there was no going back.