Game On, Pretty Boy. ♕ RUCAS

♕ Chapter ThirtyFive ♕ - A mosaic of shattered pieces

"Riley." He cut me off in the middle of my sentence, his voice lacing with severity. His eyes wander down on the snow covered ground for a split second before they meet mine again. "I'm sorry that you're hearing this from me," he pauses, "but it was all a bet."

I blinked a few times, trying to grasp what he was saying. "What do you mean?" I asked, unsure if I should even dare to.

Charlie motioned toward the bench behind me, suggesting they sit and continue the conversation. He follows me as I walk over to the wooden bench and take a seat, Charlie taking a seat next to me. I couldn't read his expression. It was oddly worrying, you know, seeing as he bluntly said that something was a bet. A bet about what? And what does it have to do with me?

"I really didn't want to be the one to tell you, Riley." He starts after a good few seconds of silence. "But you deserve to know the truth, and Missy said-"

"Wait, wait," I stopped him and I was sure that he could see the confusion in my face, "Missy said what? On another note," I put my index finger up and furrow my brows, "what does this all have to do with me? Because I'm getting really confused."

"Lucas."

I don't know how to explain the ginormous rock that I just felt dropping in my stomach as the name left Charlies' mouth. I froze and, quite frankly, I didn't know what was going to happen next nor what the next words to come out of Charlies' mouth would be. But it didn't feel good.

"What about Lucas?" I ask in a low voice.

His jaw tensed when I asked and he shifted slightly in his spot before he continued.

"Lucas made a bet with his friends about making you fall in love with him.

My entire body went numb and my ears started to ring. I could feel the rock drop even further and it started feeling like my breath was suffocating me, the cold night breeze feeling like spikes in my skin. The hot tears in the back of my eyes burning like an open fire.

"N-no," I managed to barely let out, my throat was dry and my voice hoarse, "no, he wouldn't."

"Riley-"

"He wouldn't do that to me!" I stood up, my legs trembling as I turned my back to Charlien, but I wasn't going to sit down and listen to this nonsense.

"Riley, I understand-"

I swiftly turn around to face him. "Understand what!?" He looked at me with pity and I shook my head. "Don't."

"Don't what, Riley?" He uttered under his breath.

"Don't give me that pity-look. I don't believe you, Charlie." My heart was racing and my head was throbbing as I tried to lower my voice to not scream. "Did Missy say this? Because you do know she loathes me, right?" I raised a brow. "She'd say anything to try and get between me and Lucas."

He shook his head and stood up. "No, she didn't. I told her."

I furrowed my brows, confused. "What?"

He let out a sigh. "A while back I was walking down the hall in school and around a corner I overheard Lucas talking to his friends." There was that ringing in my ears again. "They were talking about you and about the bet about making you fall in love with him that he made months back."

I shook my head furiously. "No, no."

"Riley, he tricked you and used you!" He raised his voice, grabbing a hold of both my arms, keeping me glued to my spot. "I asked Missy about it and she wasn't surprised. Later on she comes to me and tells me that Brandon had accidentally told her about it and asked her to keep quiet about it.