ᴋʟᴜᴛᴢ | ʟʀʜ

𝟑𝟓. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮?

This chapter is dedicated to serienty as I ask to not be killed for this (love all your comments and support too bb <3). Everyone...do it with me: Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. 

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Alina wasn't pointing at Luke. She wasn't pointing at anyone.

Shame was evident on the 5'3 girl's round face; shame for thinking the kiss at the club would never come up again, shame for fucking kissing the stranger, and shame for the way the man she truly loved looked at her like she was a stranger.

"Lina," he whispered, glancing around at the faces of his friends with a preposterous chuckle as if there was some kind of mistake. "D-Did you misunderstand the question?" Luke jokingly asked, acting as if he didn't already know the answer.

The only thing the girl could do was shake her head; the words wouldn't form on her lips, lips Alina wished she could erase the memory of. They were tainted, horribly tainted, and she sought to cleanse them but didn't know how to.

Closing his eyes for a moment — willing himself not to jump to conclusions even though she'd given him a response, his heart sunk. He was once again falling into the pit, the same pit it took him so long to climb and fight his way out of. I trusted her. I fucking trusted her. "S-So what does that mean, huh?" Luke inquired harshly, pushing himself off of the floor with his hands.

The black-haired roommate watched his friend pace around in vexation: "Mate, it's probably just a misunderstanding. Don't get-"

With an exasperated chuckle, Luke threw his hands up in the air as he turned to glare intensely at his roommate and splutter, "Don't get what, Ashton? Besides, she's made it pretty clear that it's not a misunderstanding."

Nina apprehensively watched the entire scene unfold with her top teeth clamped down harshly on her bottom lip. She hated being in the middle of these types of situations, knowing what went down but sworn to secrecy because of her friendship and trust in Alina.

With pained eyes, Luke's voice rose in pitch and volume but shook with the edge of a vulnerable man: "Who are you seeing, Alina? Who is it?" To think that I would ever have a solid relationship. To think that anyone would ever be content with just me and not feel the need to resort to somebody else.

"I'm not seeing anyone, Luke!" The girl choked out, speaking up for the first time. She was shocked and honestly offended that he'd think she'd cheat on him. Obviously, Alina understood his worries because of past girlfriends but she thought she was different, seen as better than them. Does he really think that I haven't shown him how much I fucking care enough? Does he still not trust me after all of this?

"Then who'd you fucking kiss? Tell me that at least!" Luke scoffed, not believing that he was having this conversation with her, someone he had trusted.

Rising off of her place on the floor, Alina wished that they could speak about this somewhere else; at least, not with their friends around. Her voice hushed, guilt and despair dripping out of every word, she tried to explain herself, "I made a mistake, ok? I was drunk and...and upset after the fight with you and t-this guy kissed me and I just wanted to forget you so badl-"

As if their bodies were moving unconsciously to separate themselves from the lurking group on the floor, Luke and Alina found themselves in the cluttered kitchen. The room was set apart from the living room by a thin wall but the open structure of the apartment enabled their voices to carry, hardly making a difference to the situation. At least their expressions were hidden.