BLUE BLOOD

37 | it's about time you stopped

It was his turn to ask questions. He shifted to face me, intensity in his gaze and... curiosity. Not the usual lust or objectifying look I get, but pure curiosity. "Have you ever gone out on the street in New York? Or maybe some big city?"

I blinked, confused at the shift of conversation. "Yes? Down at the luxury-"

"I mean the streets where normal people walk."

Involuntarily, I scrunched my nose in disgust at the question. "Of course not."

"Exactly. If you took a walk down the streets every so often, you'd realize that this life-" he gestured all around, "is only an illusion. And it's an empty one. It's meaningless."

"Then why are you still here?" He had no right bitching about privilege or how spoilt we were standing there in his quality clothing. No right at all. Even I had more rights than him.

"Where would I go?" he questioned, his gaze becoming distanced, "I've waited for years. I'm still waiting."

"For what?" I was getting more confused by the minute, yet I couldn't bring myself to stop speaking to him. He was... interesting.

"No one," Avery snapped his gaze to my face, breaking his trance. No one?  Interesting... not nothing, but no one. "As much as I've enjoyed your presence, I think it's time you told me a secret."

He knew I had been stalling. He had been entertaining this knowingly. Fuck. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone this secret, but I was getting desperate. "You better keep your promise. I'm trusting you here."

His expression hardened. "I don't break promises."

I took a deep breath and told him a secret.

x

I stumbled through the halls with burning eyes and a hammering heart. This is what you get for trusting him. This was karma's twisted way of reminding me it would never happen, not after what happened years ago.

"You can sleep with whoever you want, as long as you're discreet," I had once told him so dismissively, so unattached to the possibility. Now, just the thought of them together made me want to empty my stomach.

These were our rules. My rules.

And he had followed them.

I let out a humorless laugh. How ironic. This was all because of me. All because I chose to trust him. When would I learn? Calvin, who told me I was the most beautiful girl in the world, cheated on me with my own sister. Erik, who told me he wanted to marry me, did too even though we grew up together.

Maybe Avery would have eventually cheated as well, despite all my beliefs of him having an admirable, even noble, character.

Was that innocent girl the reason why he never returned to my dorm on some nights? Was she the reason why he was never there when I woke up in the mornings?

Amidst these thoughts, I pushed open the doors to the dressing room with the intention to change out of the dress. The delicate dress he had made for me.

My eyes closed tightly. I turned and pressed my body to the door, slumping down to the carpeted floor. Just when I thought I was alone at last, a voice echoed into the large dressing room, startling me so much I jolted up to my heels.