"Vienna."
All I do is stare at the wall.
The hum of the mini fridge fills the silence in the small trailer, which I'm guessing is the office for the security guards. The sign on the door says authorized personnel only.
The feeling of betrayal is a tough one to swallow. I've never felt this way. It's like a heavy and empty hole is inside of me, mocking me for trusting Axel.
I always had a slight feeling that something was off. The way he always reacted when Seth or Landon were near me, talking to me, or interacting with us. I don't know how I didn't see it until now.
Until my heart was ripped out and stomped on.
Am I being dramatic? Yes, but I'm trying to deal with my feeling right now.
I don't understand why the three of them think it's okay to mess with me like that. What did I do to deserve becoming a bet?
Am I not pretty enough of a girl? Am I weird? I know I am, but does that deserve for me to be made into a bet?
"Vienna," Jared says again, gently touching my shoulder.
I lift my head and look over my shoulder to see him looking at me with his eyebrows furrowed. His look of anger that's usually directed at me is gone. It's replaced by a look of worry.
The emotion he's showing me makes me want to cry all over again, but I don't want to. I know my face probably looks blotchy and swollen from the crying I have already done.
"Yes?" I ask.
"Are you okay? I overheard what those boys did to you."
After finding out about the bet, Jared had told me to go with him. At first I thought it was because I'd smashed the ice cream over Axel's head and I was getting in trouble for it. Now I feel like Jared's just trying to help me.
By telling me to go with him, I didn't have to face the crowd, Seth, Landon, or Axel. Which I'm grateful for.
"I'll be okay."
Eventually.
His face scrunches up, telling me that he doesn't believe what I said. He settles down in the chair across from mine. "Is there anything I can do?"
I shake my head no.
"I can call Elea and have her come get you?"
"No."
The last thing I want is for my best friends to find out. At least for tonight. If my friends find out, that means Hudson will find out. When Hudson finds out, he's going to beat the crap out of Axel, Landon, and Seth.
Jared's silent as he watches me.
"Is there anything else?" I ask, confused why he hasn't said anything about me causing trouble.
"What do you mean?"
"Aren't I in trouble?"
He places his fist against his mouth and chuckles. "No, Vienna. I was trying to help you out. You're free to go whenever you want."
I nod my head and stand up, scooting the chair back with my legs. "Thank you." My hand is on the doorknob when he calls my name, making me turn around to look at him. "Yes?"
"I know what those boys did to you wasn't right, but I can tell they all care about you."
I snort. "How do you know?"
He gives me a half smile. "I don't think you noticed since you're hurting, but you should've seen their faces. They know they messed up Vienna, you could see it on all three of their faces."
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