The moment I saw Veronica walk through the cafeteria doors, calm and quiet, I knew she had no clue about Max's arrest, yet.
If she knew she'd be in front of me, asking for answers. Because that's how she was, always looking beneath the surface and there was a lot beneath the surface of Max's arrest.
I watched her stare at the phone Ashley just handed her.
Her shoulders tensed, and even with her back turned to me, I knew she was swearing up a storm right now.
3...
She looked up from the phone.
2...
She stood up from her chair.
1...
Her eyes locked onto mine.
Spitfire!
She marched towards where I was sitting, her eyes never leaving mine. A torrent of emotions swirled through those dark pools. It was stark and turbulent, edgy and guarded. So, so many barriers.
"Can we talk?" She looked around the table at my friends and added, "In private."
"Of course," I mumbled, before following her. She led me out of the cafeteria, and into an empty classroom nearby.
"I have a–"
" –few questions." I finished for her and she nodded.
"You are behind Max's arrest, aren't you?" she asked, but she already knew the answer to that.
"Yes."
"He was arrested for drug dealing." She frowned, looking at the phone in her hand. "There are pictures, videos, and even a few confessions from the people he has sold the drugs to. All solid proof, how did you manage to get them?"
"Being in the right place at the right time."
"And...?" She prompted. "How were you at the right place at the right time? I doubt it was all a coincidence."
She got me there. This was the part I was a little reluctant to tell her.
"Heather helped, " I admitted.
"Heather? His girlfriend?" She looked shocked and I nodded. "How did you manage to do that?"
"I didn't. Courtney did, they're friends. I don't know how she did it, but she gave me enough information to gather some damning evidence."
"So, Courtney knew about all of this too?" She tried to sound unaffected but failed, I could see it in her eyes, hear it in the little waver of her voice. She was hurt. That was what I was afraid of.
"I didn't have a choice, she was the only one who had any chance of getting through Heather. She was my only chance."
"I just spoke to you a few days ago. Why didn't you tell me?"
"I- I wasn't sure that I could pull this off." I shrugged. I didn't want to get her hopes up in case the plan fell through. But most of all I just wanted to keep her away from this mess.
She gave me a jerky nod before looking away. "B-but what if Max hurts Heather? He doesn't treat her right, if he gets any clue that she is involved with this he might hurt her. "
A small smile played on my lips as I looked at her. She was always looking out for everyone. It was why I loved her, it was also why I feared for her.
"Don't worry. I've made sure that none of our names will pop up if they try to look into the matter. I've taken all the precautions to keep our names clean. She'll be fine, he'll never know."
"How does this help us, exactly?" She shot me an exasperated look.
"The internet never forgets. He is in the public eye now. He has a record, he'll think twice before he does something drastic."
She slowly nodded, quickly catching on while she stared at me, her eyes calculating. "He will always be paranoid that whoever leaked this, will come back with more."
I nodded. I'd twist his mind till he didn't know who to trust, where to look, or how to fucking breathe.
For the first time in years, instead of simply watching and tolerating his shit, I was finally about to do something about it.
"I put out all the evidence I gathered on the internet, first. Then I sent it anonymously to the cops. It was all over the internet in no time, everyone in this town knew about it and it wasn't something they could sweep under the rug, they had to make the arrest."
"But you and I both know that he'll be out soon. His father will make sure of it."
"I know. But he won't be off the hook for a while. Andrew's campaign is ruined, Max's reputation is down the drain. It's the beginning of his fall," I promised, trying to make her see this as a win. No matter how small. No matter how temporary.
She smiled– a small reluctant smile and it gave me life.
"No matter what happens, we'll get through it, together." I tried to reach for her hand, but she stepped away.
"Actions are the only thing that has any meaning," she muttered, her smile vanishing. "You say that we're in this together. But what I see is you keeping me in the dark while you go play superhero."
I winced at her words and a spike of anger rushed through me. Why was it so hard for her to understand my point of view?
I didn't keep things from her because I thought that she couldn't handle it. I knew how strong she was, she had a fighting spirit that couldn't be subdued. But she had already fought her fair share of battles. And because of everything she'd been through I wanted to keep her from feeling anything bad ever again.
Everything I did was for her. Always for her. But she didn't see that.
Yet, I was also pissed at myself. Looking into her eyes, I felt like there was a giant wall in between us, growing taller with every passing second and pretty soon we wouldn't be able to see each other. We'd be lost.
How did I let us get to this? She and I were on different sides when we were supposed to be together. A team. Always.
"You still don't get it, do you?" She asked.
"Don't guilt me for trying to protect what's mine!" I snapped. I was frustrated, we were moving around in circles, and I wanted this to end. "I can't let anything happen to you."
"I don't want you to protect me!" She placed her hands on my chest and shoved me, her eyes brimming with tears. "I...I just want you to love me."
"I do love you. I love you so fucking much!" Did she not know that by now?
"Then don't walk away. Stay. No matter what happens, stay. That's the only thing I want from you, " she said and quickly brushed away a stray tear off her cheek. "Don't fight for me, fight with me."
It was then that I finally got what she's been trying to make me understand for so long. Or maybe I'd always known just how badly I had screwed things up with her but had simply chosen not to acknowledge it.
But I couldn't look away anymore. I couldn't look away from what I'd done.
It was unbearable. Watching her trying to hold back her tears, nearly broke me, and for the very first time, I forced myself to face the fact that maybe I had messed things up beyond repair.
Maybe I'd already lost her.
I had broken her trust and walked away from her when she needed me the most, without any damn explanation. I broke her heart. How do I get back from that?
No. No, I can't lose her. That was not an option. I just had to figure out the best way to fight for her, make her understand.
"Tiger, I'm so sorry. For hurting you, for everything I put you through. I didn't mean-"
"I know." She interrupted me. "I'm not mad at you anymore."
"You're not?" My heart leaped in my chest.
"I'm not. I understand your point of view, I know you didn't mean to hurt me." Her lips twisted into a sad smile and she looked away. "But you did. You did hurt me and you can't take that back."
"I can't."
"And it's not going anywhere anytime soon."
"I understand." I nodded, my shoulders sagging in defeat.
Time. She needed some time. I could give her that, as long as it didn't take her forever to get back to me.
"What next? What else have you planned?" She changed the subject, and I was disappointed but I played along.
"Now we wait," I answered and she frowned. "I've just set things in motion, tiger. I am hoping things will fall into place on their own from now on."
"How can you be so sure about all of this?"
"I'm not sure. I can never be sure, but it's a gamble I'm willing to play."
***
An:- Thoughts?
Ps- thank you for reading! 🖤