Oh, no, honey. That ain't going to happen.
"Tell me, can anyone join this party, or is it two people only?" I drawl.
Emotional Masochist, Indeed
Charlie | The Past
Keatonjoltsuprightsoviolently he yanks free from Rianna, sending her sprawling to the floor. For a split second, the absurdity of it all claws a laugh out of me. Until I notice Keaton, bare and reckless, no condom in sight.
That'swhen the first crack appears in the ice surrounding me.
"Charlie," he chokes out, his horror-filled eyes growing wet.
Holding up a hand, I roll my eyes. "Save me the tears, asshole. Don't pretend you feel bad about cheating on me now." I shake my head with a caustic laugh that makes him flinch. "You act like this surprises me. It was only a matter of time, Keaton. You're so goddamn blind to her that me...the person you've been with for eight years doesn't matter."
"Don't say that. You matter. You're the only one that matters."
Amelia laughs. "Dude. The fact that you're standing in front of her with your dick still hanging out from fucking that skank ass over there, I'd say you're full of shit."
He shoots Amelia an angry glare after pulling up his jeans. "Not your business."
"Oh, but it is," I snap. "She's my best friend." I cock my head. "Funny enough, I'm not going to fuck her, though."
Watching his eyes shatter does nothing to ease the ache twisting inside me. Unlike him, I choose not to lash out for the sake of pain, no matter how my soul claws at my ribcage, crying for vengeance. I won’t become that person.
"You definitely should, Char. I'd have you forgetting this douchebag's name in a heartbeat. I'll eat that pussy so good, baby," Amelia croons, and I can't stop the laughter when I glance over and see her licking her lips.
The color drains from Keaton's face at her words, the thought more than he can handle.
Yeah. Welcome to my world, bud.
A flash of red catches my eye, and I whip my head around. Rianna is finally picking herself up from the floor, her earlier triumph wiped clean. She’s lost her shine now that I refused to give her the meltdown she craved.
"He's all yours. I don't want him anymore."
Lies.
Stupid fucking heart.
"No, I'm not. I'm not hers, Charlie. I'm yours. Have been since we were five," he says.
I watch his tears streak down, remembering when seeing this boy cry would have shattered me. He only ever wept when something gnawed at his soul. Or so I thought. Turns out, I never really knew him at all. Our whole story was a lie.
We’re not Charlie and Keaton anymore. Not Char and Kea. Not butterfly and her keeper. Those names belong to ghosts.
Now, we’re nothing but broken dreams and memories reduced to ash.
"I hate you," I whisper as another crack appears in the ice that's been protecting me.
Keaton falls to his knees, and I watch dispassionately as his shoulders shake with his silent sobs. Rianna shuffles to his side and runs her fingers through his hair.
Why is he acting like he's the one with a broken heart? I wasn't the one caught having sex with someone who isn't my long-term boyfriend. I'm not the one who broke promises and told lies.
Strictly platonic.
Another crack in the ice and a warm tendril brushes against my skin, coaxing me out to feel the pain.
I glance at Amelia, my desperation so raw it's almost a plea she reads before I can form words.
