God. Look what I’ve done. I’ve hurt so many people.
Carla shakes her head, and a tear spirals down her cheek. She turns around to walk away but luckily, Noah’s right there to stop her. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her against his chest, then he snaps angrily at us, “You both need to sort out your shit.”
Knowing I have to put an end to all of this, I fist my hands at my sides, then say, “It was all an act, Carla. One of us just forgot. Don’t worry, there’s no relationship.”
Forest turns to me, shock tightening his features.
Carla pulls away from Noah, looking at me. “It didn’t look like that.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I lost control,” I try to repair things as quickly as I can. “Call it temporary insanity.” I give her a pleading look. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I love you and don’t want this to come between us. Can… can’t we forget this happened? I’ll do anything to fix things.”
Noah takes hold of Carla’s hand, and giving us a look of warning, he says, “Sort this shit out now. It’s affecting everyone.” He begins to pull Carla down the hallway, muttering, “Let's give them some privacy.” I watch until Noah drags Carla into her room and the door slams shut behind them.
Forest’s eyes narrow on me, and anger tightens his mouth. “Are you serious right now? An act?”
I shrug, trying to play it all off as nothing. “Yeah, we made a stupid mistake. I’m sorry for letting it get carried away.” I even manage to joke. Maybe it’s because I am a joke. A fucking pathetic one. “You know me… I’ve always been an overly emotional fucked up girl.” I try to chuckle, but it sounds empty. “I’m sorry I messed up everything.”
Forest stalks to me, a dark look making him angrier than I’ve ever seen him. “Carried away? You think us sleeping together was us just getting carried away?
My heart. It’s hard to lie to Forest so he can go back to Kennedy.
I can’t stop the tears as they fill my eyes. “It was a mistake, Forest. I’m sorry.”
It meant everything to me.
“Stop fucking saying that,” he shouts at me.
I wrap my arms around my waist, wishing I could turn back time to before I destroyed the only healthy relationship in my life.
Chapter 17
FOREST
I’m a minute away from losing my shit. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My heart is pounding against my ribs while I’m filled with confusion and anger.
A mistake?
Carried away?
Glaring at Aria, I struggle to keep my calm. “You and I both know this was real. Don’t even try to fucking deny it.” I take a breath and push a frustrated hand through my hair. “I’m sorry about what happened with Kennedy. I talked to…”
“You and Kennedy always made a great couple,” Aria interrupts me. She lifts her eyes to mine, and it’s hard to find my best friend in her blue irises. Her expression is distant, as if I mean nothing to her. “It was all an act, Forest. I agree we lost control, but a relationship will never work between us.” She takes a deep breath, then shrugs. “Hey, at least I know I can climax, right? The rumor about you is ancient history. Let's take it as a win and move on.”
I can’t believe she just said that. Is that all I was to her?
She begins to walk toward the hallway, but I grab hold of her arm, forcing her to stop because I’m far from done with this fight.
Gutted by what she just said in such a nonchalant manner, I snap, “Good to know I was useful for one thing.”
She tries to pull her arm free from my hold, but I shake my head. “You don’t get to walk away and pretend nothing happened.”
“I’m not pretending,” she says, a frustrated frown settling on her face. “I’m trying to fix things.”
“Then fucking tell me what’s really going on here instead of all the lies!” I exclaim, having zero patience left.
Before she can answer me, the front door opens, and Hana comes in.
Aria tries to free her arm again, and when I don’t let go, she cries, “Let go of me!”
My fingers instantly jump away from her skin.
Hana steps forward. “What’s going on here?”
“A misunderstanding,” I mutter.
Keeping her head low, Aria nods.
“Didn’t sound like just a misunderstanding,” Hana says. “I could hear you from the elevator.”
I look at Aria and ask, “Can we just go to the bedroom and talk this out?”
She shrugs, then walks down the hallway to her room. I follow her inside and shut the door behind us. When Aria turns to me, and there’s no sign of the love we shared on her face, I shake my head. “What happened, Aria? I thought we were good.”