My jaw flexes. ‘Zay ...’
‘What. The.Fuck.’
‘I need you to take a breath and stay calm.’
‘Stay calm?’ Zayden laughs, cold and humourless. ‘I’m as calm as they fucking come,friend. What the hell is he talking about, and what thehellis that photo?’
My skin feels hot, but everything inside feels ice-cold. The anxiety is pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. My hand reaches for him, but I pause, and it falls back to my side.
‘Well?’ he demands, his glare bouncing to Anya. She looks incredibly small right now. Her wide, round eyes are filled with tears as she stares at her brother.
‘They’ve been fucking for years, Zayden,’ Dylan interjects when I fail to get words out. ‘Didn’t you know? They used to have secret dates. Little meet-ups. They fucked the night of her eighteenth birthday.’
Jesus. This is going from bad to worse.
Sweat beads across my forehead, and I feel it drip down the back of my neck. My heart thumps painfully. I can barely even hear the words being exchanged around me.
‘He better be lying right now, Mason, I swear to God.’
Gritting my teeth, I stare at the ground.
‘Fuck ...’ Zayden chokes out. ‘Mase ... tell me this isn’t true. That you haven’t been lying to me foryearsabout how you feel about her.’
Drawing in a ragged breath, I lift my eyes. ‘I’m so sorry, Zay.’
His lips part as his face crumples, the shock causing him to stumble back.
‘I’m so happy for you guys, truly,’ Dylan continues, wearing a sadistic smile as he looks around the group. ‘Like, I’m all for second chances and all, but Anya, like, I’m surprised you took him back after he left so suddenly.’
Anya gapes at Dylan, paper white. My heart hurts to see that pained expression on her face.
‘Just go, Dylan,’ she sobs, her voice barely audible.
‘It’s amazing, really,’ Dylan continues, ignoring her. ‘It’s good to see that you’ve healed, since losing the baby and all.’
My head snaps to Anya’s at the same time Zayden’s does. She’s shaking as she covers her face.
‘Baby?’ Zayden asks, jaw slack.
‘Mason and Anya’s baby.’ He smiles. ‘Phoebe told me all about it. How they slept together, then he left. She found out she was pregnant, but he wasn’t returning her calls. It was ... tragic, honestly. The whole thing.’ Shrugging, he places his hands behind his back, a wicked gleam to his eyes revealing how much he is enjoying this. ‘She lost it, but hey, Mason’s back and they’re together. Like a happy couple again.’
Out of nowhere, Anya’s words flash through my mind, as if a memory is just resurfacing.
You don’t know everything, and it’s okay.
‘Did I step into some alternate universe?’ Zayden snaps. ‘None of this better be true, or I’m going to fucking kill you, Mason.’
The sharp bite to his tone has me flinching. There is no oxygen. There is no air. I can’t inhale anything. Panic and nausea grip me like a vice, suffocating me until there is nothing left inside me.
38
ANYA
ONE MOMENT, EVERYTHINGwas fine. The next, my whole life has been turned upside down ...
How can so many things go so wrong in such a short amount of time?
Those deep whisky eyes bore into mine as we stand under the carnival lights.
