Inevitable Moments ☑

30 | Bye

Pursing my lips, I think about what he said.

"If it's any consolation, I don't think the purpose of their bet was to hurt you. I think it's three boys who genuinely like you and their stupidity and egos got in the way. You just happened to be in the crossfire."

My eyes blink as I feel tears start to well up again. "Why do you think that?"

His half smile turns into a full smile. "Believe it or not Vienna, I went to high school."

Laughter escapes my mouth, surprising me. "Who knew out of all people Jared could cheer me up. "Thank you. I hope you know how much I appreciate your help tonight."

He nods his head and stands up, walking to the door. He opens it and a squeaking sound fills the room as the metal door swings open. "Come find me if you need a ride home tonight."

"I will, thank you Jared."

Before I leave the trailer, I wrap my arms around Jared, pulling him in for a hug. I know it's probably unprofessional, but he's helped me out in more ways than one.

He recovers after being surprised and hugs me back. "Bye, Vienna."

"Bye," I say to him.

He waves and smiles, closing the door.

I look around me, knowing where I want to go next.

*****

A mixture of weeds and flowers are in my hand as I walk to the intersection. The intersection that Bethany Moore crashed at.

The fair sounds become distant as I get closer to the intersection. Eventually the only sound I hear is the crunching of dead grass underneath my shoes.

I stop at the pole Bethany had crashed into and bend down, putting the flowers I had picked from the field in front of the pole.

With my hands, I lower myself to the ground and lean my back against the pole. The lights that surround the intersection flash through their pattern. Red, green, and yellow. All I do is watch it, enjoying the piece and quiet.

I'm broken from my trance when I hear someone clear their voice from behind me.

He stands there watching me with his hands shoved into his pockets. He looks unsure of himself, as if he doesn't know if he's over stepping or not.

I turn back around and watch the lights flicker again.

He comes to sit next to me and watches the lights as well. After a couple of minutes, he finally speaks.

"We never meant to hurt you. That was never our intention."

Gulping, I nod my head and try not to cry again. "I know." I pause, taking a deep breath. "But it still hurts."

The emotion in his eyes tells me he know's what he's done and that he regrets it.

Maybe Jared was right after all. Maybe I'm just the victim of some stupid boys' stupidity.

But a part of me refuses to be the victim. Yes, what they did sucks and makes me want to cry all over again, but at the end of the day I know who I am and what makes me me.

Boys don't define me. Their actions don't define me.

What I do defines me and I'm not going to be the victim.

"I'm so sorry," he whispers.

My eyes connect with his once more. "It's going to take time, but I want to be able to forgive you."

His eyes widen as he stares back at me. "Really?"

I nod my head. "Yes, but what y'all did really hurt me."

He runs a hand through his hair while his other hand clenches and unclenches, repeatedly. His eyes leave mine and he stares at the ground. "I'll always regret it. That bet was made out of jealousy and I'll always regret hurting you because I was jealous. I still am jealous."

An alarm starts going off in my head. "Why would you be jealous?"

"Why do you think?"

A/N: So so so sorry this took me forever to get up. Work has been crazy busy, leaving me with little free time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and get ready for some drama to happen in the next chapter hehe.

Also! If there's any mistakes, this has not been edited in the slightest so please forgive me haha. Anyways, hope you're all staying safe and well! <3