The Wrong Bride

Chapter 26

"Hey."

She turned around and gave me a wry smile. "Hey you're here."

The anxiety was curling into my stomach. I took in a deep breath. "So...what did he say?"

She folded her arms and pursed her lips together, slowy shaking her head. A pang of nausea rose up my throat. That was what she always does when she was about to say something I didn't want to hear. I wanted to ask her to stop, but I was a second too late.

"I'm sorry Viv." She said softly. "He said he only see's you as a friend. Nothing more. He doesn't like you that way."

I froze, staring blankly at her as I was completely dumbstruck.

No, no please, please let this be a sick joke.

"D-did he read the letters? All ten of them?" I asked, failing to hide the fact I was wounded, in my tone.

She nodded. "He even read it twice. He um-gosh, I don't know if should even say this."

I lunged towards her, studying her face intently. "What? What did he say? Tell me." I begged

"He feels..." She paused, "Ashamed."

The word struck me like a ton of bricks.

"Ashamed? W-what do you mean?" My voice broke as my eyes burned with threatening tears.

She shook her head. "He told me he thought it was stupid. He only saw you as a friend, he just...he told me to tell you he deserved better, Viv. He laughed at it the second he was done reading it. I-I really didn't wanna tell you this.

I felt my heart bend, crush and crumple in ways I've never felt before. Never in my life, have I felt it ache this brutally in my ribs. All I could manage was a sharp exhale. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move. I could only just feel it twist unbearably in my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Viv. This is all my fault."

I harshly wiped away the tears from the waterline of my eyes before they even fell. "It's not your fault, its mine. I'm so stupid...god..." I shook my head, feeling like an absolute idiot. "I thought I-" I felt my voice tremble. I swallowed hard. "I thought I had a chance."

She swung her backpack to the front, unzipped it and pulled out the letters. "Here, I thought you might want them back."

"They don't matter anymore." I sniffled. "Could you do me a favor and throw them away for me?"

"Of course." She gave me a tight smile.

"Viv!"

I turned around and my heart sank when I saw him charging at me at full speed with a huge grin on his face, revealing his aqua braces. His satchel bouced against his hip as he ran.

When he got to me, he wasted no time and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground, squeezing all the air out of me.

"Betcha thought you could avoid me for more than a day." He chuckled and slowly set me down on my feet. "Why didn't you answer my texts?"

I stared at him, stunned. Like an eyewitness to a double homicide.

"Hey. Vivitron." He snapped his fingers in front of my face and I blinked. "What's wrong?" He frowned.

"She's just tired, we slept really late last night." Hannah spoke.

Liam's eyes darted to his left. "Oh, hey Hannah. Didn't see you there."