Page 107 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
And I’m right back to where I started when I drove over here looking for a fight. But now…
No amount of fighting is going to make this pain go away.
And there’s nowhere left to run.
I scrub a hand over my face, only vaguely aware that Rina’s still talking about all the excitement of the night and the gossip she’d heard about me and Bailey. About Bailey and Grayson. About Grayson and Macy.
“You know, I always liked Bailey. I’m glad she finally saw Grayson for the lying cheat he is,” Rina says.
“You knew he’d been cheating on her?” I ask. “I mean, before you?”
She shrugs. “I suspected. He’s that kind of guy, you know?”
Clearly, Ihadn’tknown. But I do now.
“Anyway, Bailey deserves better.” She leans over and nudges my arm with a playful smirk. “I’m glad you two finally worked things out between you.”
I let out a muffled grunt as her teasing comment stabs me in the chest better than any knife ever could. “I guess you didn’t hear the part where she and I were just pretending to be together to get back at Grayson.”
She laughs. “Oh no, I heard. But I also heard you two have been all hot and heavy for weeks now.”
She holds up her phone like it’s proof when I glance over. “Trust me, Zack. No one wasted any time filling me in on how quickly my boyfriend moved on.”
I flinch and part of me thinks I should apologize—until I remember that this all started because she cheated on me.
“Honestly, I was surprised at first,” she says, her tone all thoughtful as she stares at her phone. “But then, the more I thought about it, you two kind of make sense in a weird sort of way. I always felt that tension between you guys. And you know what they say about love and hate, right?”
“Yeah, well...” I don’t finish.
I don’t know what to say.It’s not real. It never was.I can’t bring myself to say that, so I just shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.” To a confused Rina, I add, “It’s over now, anyway.”
“Oh.” She looks startled. “Is that what you want?”
I blink in the face of her oh-so-blunt question.Is that what you want?
Such a simple question.
Such an obvious answer. “No.”
Her expression turns sickeningly sweet with sympathy. “Oh, Zack.” She leans in closer until her arm presses against mine, like she’s trying to physically give me support. “So that’s whatshewants?”
Yes.Maybe. I settle on, “Probably.”
“Probably?” Rina frowns. “Did you even ask her?”
“I...” I clamp my mouth shut.No.
“Ugh,Zack.” Rina whines my name in a way that is familiar and irritating. It’s a tone that says I’ve disappointed her. Again. “You didn’t even try?”
You stopped trying.
My heart slams against my ribcage. She’d been right that night. I had stopped trying. It was so much easier not to try. Not to care. Not to get hurt.
“...but Bailey deserves better.” Rina’s still talking. She’s lecturing me. I guess for old times’ sake?
I don’t listen. My thoughts spin out of control, and my heart races away from me like it knows what I’m about to do before I even decide to do it.
“I’m going to do it,” I say softly.
