Diamond
@The_Axel_Fletcher: Heard you and Richards are over. Too soon to ask you out?
Disgust crawls up my throat as my eyes skim over the Instagram DM on my screen. He sure didn’t waste any time, did he?In all fairness, he’s not the only one. I’ve been receiving messages from guys left and right since the news broke.
It’s guys from the basketball team, mostly.
So much for the bro code, huh?
Any other girl would find the attention flattering, and sure, I’ve been answering a few messages here and there, but it doesn’t even come closeto making me feel better. If anything, it feels like I’m a piece of meat and the guys are a bunch of salivating dogs begging for a taste. I’m about to leave Axel on “Read” when my phone chimes with a message.
Also from Axel.
He texted me.
Because sliding into my DMs wasn’t enough.
Axel:Come on, baby, say yes. I can make you feel so good.
I’m glad I skipped breakfast when I read his message. I’m pretty sure I would’ve thrown it back up.
I may be flirting with randos to pass the time, but this guy is on some serious crack if he thinks I’d ever let him near me. I should’ve known better than to flirt with him to piss off Finn all those months ago. It’s made Axel think he might have a chance with me when, in reality, I think he has the sex appeal of cow shit.
“Are we ever going to talk about it?” Aveena’s voice is but a faint echo as we saunter toward the school gym. Gym class is the bane of my existence, but at least I don’t have to worry about seeing Finn there.
I’ve been looking over my shoulder for a week now. Finn and I have English lit and math together, but lucky for me, his cheating ass hasn’t been at school since he pulled up to my house and traumatized my family.
My dads just wouldn’t let me hear the end of it. They weren’t fans of Finn before, but now? They hate him. The only silver lining is I’m no longer grounded. My dads took pity on me after listening to me sob for eight hours straight. Plus, their goal was to keep me away from Finn, and now they don’t have to.
“Dia?” Aveena urges.
“What?” I say, my eyes fixated on my conversation with some guy from the basketball team. His name is Seb. He’s cute, tall, charming—the perfect rebound. Granted, he’s a bit boring, but I’d take “boring” over “cheating asshole” any day.
“Are we ever going to talk about your breakup?” Aveena asks, and I have to stop myself from sighing. She’s been bugging me about Finn for days. She keeps on saying that I’m in denial, and maybe I am, but so what?
I’ve just recently started sleeping again. I’m finally able to stop picturing Remy clawing at Finn’s back as he comes inside her. I no longer hear Finn’s voice as he tells her what I thought was our thing.
Everything but you.
Everything but you.
Everything but you.
It’s been haunting me, but I figured I could either wallow in self-pity or try to enjoy the rest of my senior year. I chose option two, but Aveena isn’t making it easy.
I understand where she’s coming from. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what happened with her. I told her Finn cheated, but that’s about it. I didn’t mention the sex tape or Finn’s obvious past with Remy. I was afraid if I got into the gory details, I’d never stop crying.
“Can’t break up with someone you never dated,” I point out, and disapproval spreads all over her face. She doesn’t believe my “careless” persona for a minute. She knows me too well, but right now, I don’t need someone who knows me. I don’t need someone to let me cry, hold me until I can’t breathe. I need someone to make me forget.
To distract me.
And if that distraction happens to have rock-hard abs and be a part of the same basketball team as Finn?
So be it.
* * *
Finn