AN:
Hi guys, thank you for all your comments. It's wonderful to hear about what you think of the story.
This chapter will be different because it will be told in Vaughn's POV.
***
Two weeks ago...
I love her.
The words couldn't be more fucking true as my mind now revolved around the image of her waiting for me back home. A smile formed on my lips as I texted her that I would drop by Austin's place. I began to drive my car, heading to his place as I still thought about her. About us.
What a lucky bastard I was to have her by my side. A scoff left my lips as I imagined Jake's reaction once he found out. Yeah, I was in love with my best friend's sister, but hell with that. I would make sure that I would tell him how serious I was about Melanie, and to do that, I had to meet the guy in person.
It might have started long before I met her. I remembered how Jake always sounded happy when he talked about her. While I was visiting him, I used to steal a glance at what his sister looked like from the family photos, just out of curiosity. My favorite picture of her was the one framed on the cabinet near the piano, in which she had a big smile on her face while wearing a Harry Potter sorting hat. Weird, I know, but I couldn't just get it out of my sight. Maybe it's about that beautiful genuine smile on her lips or the fact that her eyes were shimmering with happiness.
The moment I first heard her voice was when her call went into a voice message and she spoke through the phone speaker. There was something about her laughter that made it ring back in my ear, and that happened once while I was laying Camila on the bed. Fuck.
During those times, I couldn't help but wonder about this girl, who seemed so naive, so pure, so innocent. So kind and beautiful. But then, it turned out that Santa Claus was real. Because this year, I met her. And until now, I still thought that she was fucking too good to be true for me.
Before I met her, I thought that Jake had a serious problem with his overprotectiveness. But now, I didn't think that I could hold myself from tearing other guys who had the guts to stare at her for more than five seconds.
It was funny how fate had made us together. It was surprising that she was able to pull me out of my shell ever since Camila left me.
I stopped the car as I arrived at Austin's place. The guy greeted me when I entered his house and offered me some nachos. What's with the sudden attitude? This dude practically knew that we could grab any food in his house without his consent, just like the last time he almost kicked me out of his house after I stole the last slice of his favorite pizza.
He leaned back against the cabinet while I settled in the couch. He got this serious expression on his face that somehow made me alert. I was no psychologist, but anyone could tell that he didn't just call me to share his nachos from the way he looked agitated, even to the point that he didn't dare to look at me in the eyes now.
And once he did, guilt and sympathy was all over his face. "Dude, I'm sorry. But there's something you need to know," he said and suddenly started to pace around. "Shit. How am I gonna do this?" Funny guy was now talking to himself.
I frowned. Well then? Stop beating around the bush and just tell me.
He faced me again and took a deep breath. "OK. I was wrong to keep this stuff away from you for months, but I thought..." He let out a sigh, not knowing how to speak. "I knew that things would get awful, so I was waiting for the right time to do so. And I once thought that I could do it when Jake left for his intern..."
His words only made me wonder more about what the hell he was talking about.
He looked at me carefully, as if he was in some kind of trouble. "It happened exactly eight months ago when we just finished our celebration of winning the game at Jake's house," he said quietly, like he was afraid that I would explode in a matter of time.
Of course, I remembered that time. It was when Camilla broke up with me. Through phone call.
"You weren't there, you know it. You had to do research out of town," he said, reminding me again. "I was about to leave when I noticed that I didn't have my car keys. So I went back into the house, and..." he faltered. "I heard something from the hallway to the bedrooms."
"I know it was wrong of me to eavesdrop, but the voice was too familiar to be ignored," he continued as he handed me his phone, making my frown grow even deeper. "I think you should see this." His last sentence was barely a whisper.
Slowly, I took his phone. Something about the air made me feel like a weight pressed on my chest, robbing me of breath. I played the video, and my eyes widened in shock.
My hand shook as I held the phone, looking at the most unbelievable scene before my eyes. There in the hallway toward his bedroom, Jake was kissing Camila, holding a bottle of champagne in his hand while they slowly proceeded toward his room.
"Jake," Camila plead, and she seemed unable to stop him kissing her that she kissed him back instead. I felt sick in my stomach. My mind started to go crazy, and I was losing it.
"Wait till I show you what we can do in my bed, you beautiful as fuck," Jake rasped between kisses, and Camila moaned. He brought her into his room and shut the door.
My hand was shaking so hard that I dropped Austin's phone.
"I didn't plan to record it. I just impulsively did it, and Goddammit, my hand was also shaking the entire time," Austin said, frustration evident in his voice. "She was there, the entire night. Jake must have hidden her in one of the bedrooms."
I didn't think that I could hear more about this. This couldn't be real.
"When Jake left for the intern, I thought it was the right time to finally tell you this," Austin kept going. "But then, Melanie happened to you. And I'd never seen you so happy, man. I had to refrain myself from telling you, because this would ruin everything."
I felt that my blood was getting boiled even more with every second passing by. My fists were clenched tight on my sides, preventing me to bulldoze everything that caught my sight.
"But then, she came to me. Camila came here," Austin said, and I snapped my head toward him, my body still shaking with rage.
What did he just say?
"Camila visited me," he whispered. "She...she was devastated. She--" Austin couldn't continue his words, but the menacing look in my eyes forced him to do so. "She's pregnant. With Jake's child."
I felt that my world stopped. Darkness enveloped me, ripping my soul.
"She said she was trapped," Austin rasped. "She was drunk because of Jake, and she was forced --"
"Stop it!" I roared. Fuck. "Just, stop it." My voice was shaking uncontrollably.
That son of a bitch.
I could still hear my best friend's words echoing in my ear, loud and clear.
"Look, Vaughn. I'll be leaving for my intern in Texas soon," Jake said as we stood in the patio at the back of his house. "Can you look out for Melanie while I'm not around?"
"Yeah, sure." I smirked. "Don't worry about her."
Jake had betrayed me. He'd stabbed me behind my back. He'd played with my woman. He'd made her fucking pregnant. He'd ruined her future.
But what did I do?
I'd kept my promise to my best friend. I took care of his sister. I protected her.
I-- I fell in love with her. I cherished her.
My eyes stung, and I could feel them getting wet. But I couldn't see anything. I could only see red.
Something at the back of my mind spoke, trying to pull me out of the darkness. Something about Melanie.
Melanie. Home. Melanie...
But I couldn't continue it. I really couldn't see anything at all. My vision was getting blurred. And all I could see was red.