𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙨 || 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙫𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧

chapter 13

COSETTE

I gasped in shock and pushed Mat away, my hands on his chest. "Mathew." I gently touched my lips as I glanced at him in guilt. "We can't."

He scoffed. "You're not even dating Anthony, so what's the problem?" I rapidly blinked at him in surprise.

"I can't, Mat. I like him." I said, shaking my head. I felt so guilty, what am I supposed to tell Anthony when he gets back?

Mat suddenly chuckled, running his other free hand through his hair. "This is getting ridiculous, Cosette. Don't you see Anthony is using you?"

My heart instantly froze, my blood cells turning white, I held my breath in confusion.

"What?" It came out as a whisper, my voice creaking a bit.

"He's using you to get over his ex. He still isn't over her, he loves her too much." He explained and sighed, seeing the look on my face. "I had to tell you the hard way. I'm sorry, Cosette. You deserve better."

It almost felt like everything was in slow motion. I didn't know what to feel; nothing but anger and sadness filled me up when I heard the unfortunate news.

Suddenly, Mat gently grabbed my shoulder and pulled me into a tight hug, he knew I needed one. A tear slipped from my eye when Mat slowly rubbed my back.

"Thank you, Mat," I whispered, hiding my entire face in his shirt. I tried my best not to sob, but a wet spot on Mat's shirt was to prove that I did. "You deserve to know, Cosette. I'm not sure why Liana hasn't told you about it."

I slowly pulled away and blinked at him, confused. "She didn't tell you, did she?" Mat asked me and I shook my head.

"I'll just talk to her, I guess," I mumbled, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly.

"I'm really sorry. Not about Anthony but the kiss as well. It was really stupid of me," Mat rubbed the back of his neck, tilting his head to the side as an apology.

I smiled. "It's ok, Mat. I appreciate the help and everything." I nodded and Mat looked relieved, smiling at me.

"Yeah, no problem."

•••

"Hey, how was the study?" Anthony asked and I shrugged, clearing my throat.

I had to lie to him. I couldn't exactly tell him that his best friend and I have been hanging out in my dorm for two hours straight.

"It was alright. Boring though." I playfully rolled my eyes and he just hummed. "But hey, I saw the highlights, you were awesome!" I pull out a fake smile.

"Yeah, thanks. It wasn't that bad." He chuckled. Asshole.

I couldn't believe he dared to laugh in front of me after everything he's done to me. Dating or not dating, using someone to get over your ex is still a bad thing.

Especially when my view on Anthony has completely changed-I don't even trust him anymore and never will. It was really selfish of him. I wanted to tell him that I liked him and I did. A lot.

But what he did really broke my heart. It was way worse than what people used to give me dirty looks randomly. Now, I'm scared that my heart will never be restored. I didn't even think about what I was going to do after talking about the situation with Anthony.

My mind hasn't been anywhere lately but what Mathew said to me. I was going to make sure that I got the answer to myself, even though I already have one.

I cleared my throat and blinked rapidly, catching his attention as he closed his phone and hid it under the pillows.

I noticed his movements and ignored them, it didn't bother me anymore. I knew what he was thinking of anyway. I put on a fake smile. "So, for your small celebration, you wanna play truth or dare?" I teased, playfully.

"Yeah, sure." He nodded his head, closing his hands together.

"Ok, I'll go first. Pick one."

"Truth," Anthony quickly replied.

"Have you ever slept with someone more than 2 times?" It took me a while to get that question out of my mouth as I asked, out of curiosity.

Anthony thought hard. He hummed when he realized. "Yep. I did." He confidently answered and I mentally mumbled something to myself with a disgusted look.

Of course, he didn't see my face. I was hiding it as I glanced at the ground.

"Ok, truth or dare, Cos."

I hummed. "Truth."

"Have you ever stolen money from your parents' wallet?" Easy question, I thought to myself.

"Nope." I was always a good kid. Though I might've done some stupid stuff in the past, I would never even think about stealing my parents' money when they earned that themselves.

"Oh, wow. You were a nice kid back then?" He raised his brow.

"Sometimes." I playfully rolled my eyes and he chuckled. "Truth or dare, Anthony."

I wouldn't be surprised if he said the truth again. "Truth." I was right, I thought. I smiled cheekily to myself.

"Did you use me to get over your ex?" I looked at him, emotionless. He sat frozen in his spot as his eyes widened in shock. "It's an easy question, babe. What's the answer?"

Silence immediately filled up the entire room. I heard nothing but Anthony's hard, loud breathing. He was freaking out-I knew it. "Cosette..." he began, trailing off.

"What's the fucking answer, Anthony?" I repeated, trying my best to be patient, leaning closer to him. He sighed loudly and rubbed his face, he looked disappointed in himself.

"Cosette, I swear-"

"Yes or no, Anthony." I cut him off, sternly. He gave me an 'i-can't-believe-this-right-now look and let out a loud, deep breath.

"Yes."

I chuckled. "See. That wasn't too hard."

"Look, Cosette, I know what you're thinking right now and I'm sorry. I really am." He tried to lean in and attach his hand on top of mine, but I pulled away just in time.

I shook my head and backed away from him, feeling disgustingly weird under his gaze. He shut his eyes in frustration and opened them for a split second.

"You disgust me, Anthony. I never want to see you again." I stood up. "Get out."

"Ok, Cosette, this is getti-"

"Get. Out. Anthony. I don't want to repeat myself." I glared at him and he sighed, nodding his head.

He closed the door behind him and I was left alone, relieved and relaxed, for the first time in forever. I let out a loud exhale and sat back down, glancing at the ceiling.

I'm proud of myself, I was brave and I did what I had to do. Now, it feels like a whole world was lifted off my shoulder the second Anthony left the room.

The cold breeze hit me and I felt more comfortable in my position than I ever was before. I smiled to myself and slowly closed my eyes in pleasure.

"What just happened?" Liana suddenly asked.