I wanted to go home. I hated this damn party, and I wanted to be as far away from Cartia as I possibly could. Everyone was right about her, and after the past week happened I wanted to be away from her. I thought the feelings I had for her were genuine, but in reality I was completely blindsided. If I would've just went home after the party Mr. Addeo had thrown, I would've been safe and sound with Ava.
Confused as to what I'm talking about, well let me just take you back.
Flashback
"Chase, where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you." Cartia asked coming out to the balcony.
I furrowed my eyebrows, knowing the big mistake I just made. "I was talking to Ava."
Cartia ignored my comment, "My dad's been waiting for you, he has an offer for you."
"What offer?" I asked confused.
Cartia smiled and grabbed my hand, "Let's just say, it's going to be epic for your future."
I nodded and let her lead me towards her father who was waiting behind a desk in a room. He had papers laid out and a large man in a tuxedo was behind him. I assumed he was security, but the question was, what did he even want?
"Ah Chase! Sit down son, we've got business to discuss." I followed his orders and sat down, Cartia sat on the arm of my chair and rubbed my neck. "I've got an offer that you won't be able to resist."
"Let's hear it then." I said.
"I'm willing to offer you a straight path into the NFL, for just a year of your time here at UCLA." Mr. Addeo said clasping his hands together.
Woah, this was insane. My ultimate end goal was finally coming true, this was what I had worked for. "Are you serious?" I asked in awe.
He nodded his head, "My pumpkin here told me you had potential and well she was telling the truth, I want you to excel in life and signing this contract will give you just that."
"What's the catch?" I asked seriously. There wasn't anyway this could be happening without anything bad coming along the way. This was too good to be true.
Mr. Addeo chuckled, "Smart boy. In exchange of giving you a path straight into the NFL, all I want is a few appearances with you and Cartia, that is all."
I raised my eyebrows. "What do you mean appearances?"
"Seeing as you two are quite the close pair, all I want is for you and Cartia to go on friendly dates."
That wasn't so bad, but still it seemed odd. Cartia looked at me and nodded her head innocently. "Just sign it Chasey, it's gonna be worth it trust me."
I took a deep breath trusting Cartia. After all I knew she wanted the best for me in the end of it all. I grabbed the pen in excitement, ready to jumpstart my life. Without thinking twice, I signed the fine piece of paper. Cartia squealed and hugged me tightly. However, all I was thinking about was Ava and how she would react to this. I should call her.
Mr. Addeo extended his hand, "It's going to be a pleasure working with you son." I shook his hands, and he collected the papers shoving them into the desk and locking it swiftly. After, him and his bodyguard exited, I relaxed into the chair.
I began to pull out my phone and was about to dial Ava's number, but Cartia snatched it from me. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Um, calling Ava. I want to tell her it's finally happening." I calmly said.
Cartia bitterly laughed then got completely serious, "After everything I did, you still want her?"
I turned to look at Cartia. She was angry. This wasn't the Cartia I had grown to like. "Yes, she's the love of my life. The only reason I ended it with her was because of pure jealousy and well, I thought I liked you."
Cartia smirked, "It was inevitable that you would catch feelings for me, look at all I did for you. Yet, you over look it."
"I didn't over look it, I am thankful for that. You just don't understand."
"Well, I don't care enough to. In fact, I don't have to pretend to care about you and Ava, because you're mine now." Cartia stated.
I got out of my chair and frowned, obviously confused at what she was implying. "I'm not, in fact I don't want anything to do with you anymore. This isn't the Cartia I know."
Cartia grabbed my arm, "Too bad. You just signed a contract that makes you stay with me in exchange for your football career. Whether you like it or not, you are stuck with me for a year and by then Ava would have had to move on."
I yanked my arm away from her, "You're sick."
Cartia pouted, "Boo-hoo. Always read the fine prints."
"So what, you're going to force me into this with you?"
She nodded, "You have to declare us a couple in a month, and if you don't, you're off the team and you owe me 100,000 dollars. Simple as that."
I stayed quiet, realizing what I had gotten myself into. This was bad, and there was no way I was going to have that kind of money to pay them off. I was screwed and stuck here. Being in debt my entire life and getting out this mess would be worth it, if I got to stay with Ava. I would do anything.
"Screw you and the contract, to think I had any type of feelings for you." I gritted. "You manipulated me, you will never take Ava's place."
Cartia mimicked a fake crying face, "Whatever. Not like I wanted to take that fat bitches place anyway. I'm better always will be."
"Don't you dare call her that, I'll find a way to give you that money, because pretending to like you after all of this is much worse."
"Chase, I really really like you. And, well, I didn't think I had to come to this but, if you dare to leave me... I will come for her and for her family. I don't think it'd look good on her record if she got expelled from UCLA, huh?"
Cartia kissed my cheek and left me in the room alone. I was the biggest idiot there was. Not only was I meant to leave Ava forever, but I had to pretend to be in love with this fool. This was my fault and I would forever pay the price for it.
Present
There I was, pretending to be happy with Cartia even though I knew her ill intentions. There were so many times I tried to contact Ava, the past couple weeks but Cartia ended up finding out and well, she made me change my number and delete Ava's.
This was hell.
But suddenly, my hell had turned into complete paradise when I saw her. She was dressed as a bunny, the cutest one at that. Cartia has probably already seen her, and she pulled me tightly against her. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes.
As soon as I saw Ava's face, I knew this was worse for her. She looked like I had just murdered her dog, I wanted to just reach across the room and hold her and beg for her forgiveness. I couldn't break our eye contact together, but then Beck came dressed as Hugh Hefner. I realized they had come together. Did she already move on?
Beck held her hand and walked past us, Ava completely ignored me. A few of the guys around me were congratulating him for having Ava as his date, but that only pissed me off more. The urge to walk away and yank her to me was getting stronger.
Cartia noticed and grabbed my shoulder, "Don't you even think about it."
My cowardliness led me to stay here and watch Ava head into bedroom with Beck. I wanted to go home and just cry, and beg for forgiveness. But I couldn't. I had already hurt Ava enough, and well, if I was selfish enough to explain myself to her and possibly win her back. I would never forgive myself for allowing her to be expelled. I wished I could at least go back in time and redo my mistakes.
"Will you dance with me?" Cartia asked hopeful.
I rolled my eyes, "Will you stop holding me hostage?"
"Believe it or not, you liked me before this entire contract situation. Why can't we just go back to how it was, and forget about this?" She asked.
I gave her the 'did you really just ask me that?' look. "I thought I did, but I was just blinded by the glitz and glamour you came along with. I will never, and I mean never, like you. You're evil Cartia."
Cartia glanced at her feet and frowned. For the first time ever, she was speechless. I hoped her friends around us heard our conversation, but to my dismay they all minded their business. It almost seemed like they had all gone through this before, and that I was possibly not the first person she had tricked.
"I'm gonna go find Julian." I said leaving her behind.
As I navigated through the house, my mind kept replaying what Ava and Beck were up to in the room. It bothered me a lot, but what could I even do about it? This was my doing. I just imagined him making her laugh and possibly bragging about the three different yachts their family owned. I prayed Ava would fear water out of the blue.
As I spot Julian, I also saw Arabella clinging onto him. There goes my night without an argument. Arabella was the type to say how it is and not hold back, and well, I was a jackass so we always butted heads. There was no doubt in my mind that she would give me a piece of her mind. I greeted the boys and nodded my head towards Arabella, who narrowed her eyes at me.
"Will you just chug this damn drink with me?" Vince pleaded at Julian.
Julian shook his head, "Yeah, no way. I'm trying to stay sober for my honey here."
Arabella swooned into his arms but quickly masked her feelings with a scowl. "I'm not your honey." she said.
I wondered why she fought him so much, he was clearly falling for her.
"What about you man?" He asked me.
"Hell no. I don't drink during the season, and neither should you. Looks like your belly is getting bigger." I joked.
Vince shoved me chuckling, "Fuck off dude, ladies love this dad bod."
"They may love your dad bod, but they probably hate your personality." Flora said snatching his bottle and taking a sip.
We all laughed at her crude remark towards Vince. She was right though, he was a complete douche. He never knew how to respect women, and well, when he spoke all that came out was shit. What do you expect from a guy like that?
Everyone relaxed and began to vibe with the music. I stood near the back, focusing my gaze at the rooms Ava was in hoping to see her come out. Arabella began walking towards me and crossed her arms over her chest, "Where's your little girlfriend?" She asked referring to Cartia.
"She's not my girlfriend." I deadpanned.
Arabella scoffed, "She might as well be, if you ditch your own girlfriend for her."
I clenched my fists, ready to punch something. My jaw began to tick, and I was bound to explode all of the emotions I had been hiding. Telling Arabella off wouldn't solve any issue, and well, I didn't blame her for coming at me. I deserved every bit of it. Hadn't I learned my lesson with the entire Trish situation senior year?
"You had sex with him?!" I heard Flora yell across the space.
I glanced up and saw Ava's eyes wide holding Beck's hand. She didn't even spare a look at me, could she feel the tension? I wanted to cry at the thought of her with anyone else intimately.
"We just had a couple drinks, that's all." Beck said giving an uneasy smile at everyone staring at him.
A wave of relief washed over my soul, and I finally let out the breath I was holding in. I felt Julian put his hand on my shoulder to comfort me. Turning to look at him made me want to throw up. The look of pity and his realization in what was going on had me stuck. I could never get anything past him, I hoped he didn't ask me any questions. I couldn't lie to him as well.
Suddenly, Ava had made eye contact with me finally. She sent me a shy wave and a small smile, but I couldn't bear to return the gesture. I didn't trust myself to be able to stay away from her, so I looked away. My frown was permanent on my face nowadays. How could I let myself enjoy this party when I knew I had ruined the best relationship I had.
"Um, what's everyone doing?" I heard Ava say.
"I'm trying to get someone to try and defeat me in this chugging contest."
I rolled my eyes knowing how stupid he looked asking her. Ava doesn't drink, well, she used to refrain from any alcohol. I gazed at Ava and knew she was at the brink of being completely drunk. The way her steps faltered and she kept running her fingers through her hair.
"I'll do it!" Ava yelled excitedly. Guess I'm the idiot.
"You will?" Vince asked grinning.
I was pissed, he knew Ava wasn't meant for his sick game. "No, she doesn't drink." I huffed out.
I couldn't hold back any longer. Ava puffed up her chest and glared at me, I knew she hated when I spoke for her but she didn't know any better. Especially if she was this drunk, I just didn't want anything to happen to her.
"Actually I do now, and you know what, let's raise the stakes." She challenged Vince.
I groaned, hating where this was going.
"A girl with demands, I love it!" He said ignoring me and grabbing whatever cheap bottle he could find.
Ava smirked at me and began to walk away but I gripped onto her hand and pulled her close to me. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Having fun. Don't you have a little girlfriend to tend too?" She asked a hint of emotion behind her eyes.
Girlfriend. That's when it clicked in my head that she was referring to Cartia holding on tight to me earlier. "Ave, it wasn't like that. She was falling and she held on to me."
I rolled my eyes in annoyance, "potato, potatoh. You still stayed with her."
If only she had known the circumstances right now. I wished she had known that I made a mistake lying and leaving all the time before, and if I could take it back I could. A hundred million times.
"Winner makes the loser do something." She said ignoring me.
C'mon Ava, please don't drink that bottle.
"Vince is ruthless, you sure you wanna do this?" I asked her, hoping she'd back out.
A small part of me knew after this bottle was in her system, she might do something she'd regret or do something that would eventually break my heart. Of course I had faith in her, but when she was drunk and upset she never seemed to be able to think right. At the end of the day, I wanted to be her savior but I worried I was way too late.
Ava ignored me and made the deal with the devil. Julian offered to countdown for them, to which I got a bit more upset at him. Vince and Ava began to chug their bottles, causing me to wince. This wasn't her. Ava ended up opening her eyes and flipping me off, so I stepped away not wanting to see this disaster unfold firsthand. Luckily the sofa was near so I could still see. If she needed me I would be near for her. I was shocked at how quick she was downing the bottle, maybe actually impressed.
She ended up winning and doing her little victory dance, which made me smile. Ava made me smile, day and night. I rested my head back onto the couch and closed my eyes for a moment, hoping to get a bit of peace for my mind. Perhaps if I had closed my eyes for long enough, I could pretend everything was back to normal and I would be at home with Ava in my arms.
Speak of the devil, Ava had planted herself next to me and rested her head onto me. I waited for her to realize it was me, and jump out of my arms and leave but she never did. Instead, her hands patted my face and she slumped back down.
"Sorry for flipping you off earlier," Ava said.
I couldn't help but reach out to her and run my fingers through her soft brown locks. She immediately leaned to my touch, I was feeling giddy at this. "It's okay. Sorry for telling you what to do." I admitted.
Ava simply shrugged her shoulders, "At least you still care, right?"
More than you know.
"I'll never stop caring about you, you'll always be my person Aves."
She completely changed the subject, maybe she thought otherwise. "I was hoping you would like my costume, my booty is out!" She giggled.
I laughed with her at how blunt she was being, of course I loved her costume. She smiled and kissed my cheek lightly, and lingering for a few seconds after. Could this mean we would be back? I would tell Ava everything she needed to know about Cartia and how I was manipulated. This could be my chance again.
"Who's taking you home?"
Ava, once again, shrugged her shoulders. "Ander's DD."
"Can I take you?" I asked hopeful.
Ava shook her head and put her finger on my lips, "Mm, nope! I may be stupid drunk, but I still know you're with Cartia dummy."
Damn, Cartia. Hadn't I mentioned it wasn't like that. This was for her, I was doing this only to see her be better.
"I'm not dating her, I'm still in love with you." I breathed out.
She squinted her eyes in disbelief, "So why did you leave me?"
"We shouldn't talk about this when you're drunk." I responded quickly. I didn't think this was the appropriate place for me to actually tell her how I feel and the truth. Leaving her was the worst thing I could've done.
She tapped my chest lightly, something she used to do a lot."Tell me, I'd rather risk not remembering than asking you sober again."
This was my chance, this was the moment I had been waiting for all night. But how come the words never left my mouth. I desperately felt the need to be selfish and keep her all to myself, but as much as I wanted her back this wasn't the way. Which is why I lied my ass off.
"Because I'm confused, and well, you're too good for me Ava. I took it for granted." It was the shittiest excuse ever, but in a way it was true. She had stuck with me throughout this entire first half of the year and what did I do? Oh yeah, I was manipulated. She was too good for some bum like me.
Ava stayed silent and picked at her fingers. I couldn't let this be the last of our talks, I needed to know more about her. Was she over me and moved on with Beck? Did she still love me? So many questions rushed through my mind.
"Are you with Beck?" I finally asked.
She shook her head and I was relieved to know she hadn't moved on so fast. "This is like the second time we've hung out."
I nodded my head, playing it cool. "Oh, yeah I just thought you were. You guys kinda match."
She laughed again, "So do you and Cartia. Also, the creativity behind your costume is a 3/10."
Don't even remind me Ava. Before tonight I threw a fit before wearing this damn jersey and wearing this stupid paint on my face. However, this was better than wearing my entire paddings so I made Cartia suck it up.
"You know how I feel about costumes." I reminded her.
"Yeah, I know you hate them." She concluded.
There was a reason why I refused to attend any halloween parties last year. This was not me. I actually thought it was dumb and just an excuse for douchebags to dress half naked to show off their bodies. Vince would be an example.
This felt nice. Just us two talking and laughing about certain memories or gossiping on other people around us. Maybe it was the fact that was completely intoxicated, but I didn't care. If this is what I would get, then I'd take it over nothing.
Then, rain started pouring down on my parade. Cartia marched up to us and she sat on the arm of the chair, as close as she could to me. "Hey Ava! You look so cute as a bunny!" She smiled down at Ava who got up without a word.
She was slipping away again. "Ava." I called out but she ignored me. I watched her walk away, and soon enough I got up to go after her.
Cartia pulled me back, "I tried being nice! Didn't you see how she shrugged me off?"
"I don't think I asked." I retorted walking away again.
She was right on my tail as I maneuvered around people to find Ava, maybe I could sober her up and we could work it out. If it meant even being her friend first so be it. I needed her in my life, even if it was distant. I knew that our business wasn't finished, I knew she still loved me. She was worth every penny I would owe.
But that hope I had, was gone once I saw her kissing Beck passionately. She actually moved on. I was completely wrong and I was blindsided. The world stood still as I watched them kiss, this suddenly felt like karma. The urge to go up to Beck and kick the crap out of him vanished my body but instead sadness replaced that violent nature. I was too late.
"Let's go home." Julian said surprising me.
I tore my gaze from the pair and sauntered off to wherever Julian had parked. Cartia's voice becoming more distant as I walked away. Getting into the car, all of my emotions hit me. So I yelled, and punched the dashboard. I hit it repeatedly until a hint of blood was peaking through my knuckles. Julian stopped me and instead he hugged me.
That night, I cried until I couldn't cry anymore. Perhaps Ava had moved on, but I knew for the rest of my life, I would search for someone just like her.
***