Page 45 of The Fate Of Us

He nods at me.“Of course, dude. Besides, if I don’t tell her, it only makes my chancesof getting with her one day that much better.”He says it so casually I almost miss his plan.

But I shake my head at him, stumbling on my words.“What?”

“You honestly might as well just leave us to it, seeing as though she clearly doesn’tlike you in that way.”He spits, elbows on the table, and eyes burning through me.“I’ll cover for you if you want.”

I let out a scoff, my head falling back, my patience running out like a light.“What thehell is your prob—”

“Okayyy, Diet Coke, no ice for Asher.”she places his glass in front of him.“AMinute Maid for me and a Dr Pepper for Nate.”Addy sings as she finds her way back to the table, stopping me mid-sentence.

Her eyes ping-pong between me and Asher, who has a smile stuck to his face thatmakes it seem like in the time she left, we’d been bonding and forming some kind of bromance. Instead, he was showing me the colours I knew he wore before a word so much as slipped out of his mouth.

“So, what did I miss?”

Asher had changed a lot since he was seventeen, in his attitude as well as hisappearance.

In some ways, he’d blossomed into one of Hollywood’s golden boys, and along the way, he'd figured out howto charm his way around every room that had the pleasure of hosting him. He carries himself with a cloak of confidence draped over his shoulders, and what’s worse is that there isn’t any arrogance sewn into the thing.

But let’s face it, I know I’m stubborn. I’ve been holding a grudge against the girl whostole my heart for seven years. I wasn’t going to forgive and forget what he did, like Addy’s stare told me to before.

We’d resumed filming the diner scene about thirty minutes ago, barely making it pastwhere we left off. And for once, it’s not the fact that Addy is so close to me that’s ruining my mood.

Asher is the distraction. The way he’s swanning around the set, staring at Addy likeshe’s his next meal, makes my anxiety shoot through the roof and soar a mile high.

“Let’s try it again, from Addy’s line,” Sebastian mumbles, agitation rattling throughhis words.

A collective groan from the crew echoes through the room, but what upsets me moreis the way Addy throws her head back and huffs out a sigh, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head slightly.

“What?” I ask her, finally shifting my gaze away from Asher the peacock and over toher.

Her eyes spring open, a smile so humourless emerging on her face, hiding herirritation in plain sight. “Nothing.” she breathes, a small chuckle slipping past her smile.

I drop my elbows onto the table and sink my head into my hands. “Look, I’m tryingmy best, but I just can’t get my head straight.”

“It’s not that, Nate.” My head swings over to her, still cupped in my hands. “I don’tcare if this takes all day, but if you don’t stop staring at him like that, then you’ll never get it right. You need to snap out of this silly little… well, whatever it is you have against him, and grow up.”

My eyes met hers dispraisingly, watching her annoyance leap into the fiery pools ofher eyes, before dropping back to the table.

She was right. Every part of me knew she was right. But that didn’t mean I wanted tohear what she was saying, realise that maybe I was holding onto a three-minute longer encounter with a boy who didn’t exist anymore purely because of how he hurt my feelings and objectified the girl I loved.

Stole away the girl I loved.

Kissed the girl I loved.

Won the girl I loved.

So I say nothing. I keep my elbows digging into the table and feel my hands becomeone with my face.

“Now, are you going to stop acting like a child, or are we gonna sit here for the rest ofthe day waiting for you to let go of the past?”

I don’t budge.

In some ways, I’m glad this annoys her. It’s ridiculous that she hasn’t realised that shewas the reason we went our separate ways. I thought Asher being here would jog her memory and bring back every moment of however long their fling was whilst being with me.

If anything, I thought she’d shut down, too consumed with embarrassment, tooashamed to speak, move, or look in his direction… not giggle like a teenager when he flashed her a smile.

But Adaline Moore, I’d figured out, was a lot of things; a beautiful soul, a goodfriend, and an amazing writer. And over the time we’d spent apart, I’d figured out she was also a liar. She was willing to go to any and all extremes to make sure her shiny halo remained extra shiny.

Had that always been the girl I knew? Was she always like this?

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