Page 7 of Tainted Rose

Scarlett

I’ve wallowed for a full day and a half. I’ve eaten a boatload of chocolate fudge ice cream, binge-watched seasons one, two, and three of Pretty Little Liars again, and spent way too much time in bed. The wallowing process is necessary, but I’m done. I know I have to put on a brave face, not only for the sake of my aunt and uncle, who are worried sick about me, but also because I know that’s how I’m going to be able to face everyone at school tomorrow.

Will he have told everyone what he did? Before he stomped all over my heart, I felt myself falling. I was far enough gone for him that I hadn’t seen it coming. And to break up with me while I was naked, while I could almost still feel him inside of me? I’d wanted to die right on the spot. He ruined every moment we’d shared, trashed them like they meant nothing.

I don’t get it. I don’t understand why he’d do this to me. I’ve got to hand it to him, if he’d been looking to catch me off guard, it worked. I’d been utterly blindsided.

Shaking it off as best I can, I pull on some old jeans and a ratty T-shirt in preparation for scrounging around in the garage when Max and Daphne get here.

It isn’t long before the doorbell rings, thankfully throwing me into action, giving me something else to think about. Today, we track down Mom’s yearbooks and hunt for any clues about who she’d been dating. Because, yes, I want to answer the question that had come to me via a text from an unknown number—Who’s your daddy?

It’s clear to me I need to try to find out, come hell or high water. I’d thought my mother had taken the secret to her grave, but apparently, that’s not the case. Someone knows. Someone is tormenting me with their knowledge of my personal business. It’s time to find out for myself who is doing this to me and who my father is. Contrary to what I would have thought, my worst fear is not actually identifying my father; I’m afraid I’ll somehow tarnish my memory of my mother. She was my best friend, my confidante—my everything. That fear makes my stomach turn, the acid inside bubbling away.

I look at the reflection in the mirror. This girl has the same blue eyes, same fiery red hair, same pale, freckled skin—same everything. I may look the same on the outside, save for the dark circles under my eyes, but on the inside? I’m devastated. There’s no other way to put it. The night he broke up with me, Xander ripped out my heart, threw it on the floor, and I left it right there next to my damn panties.

I hurry down the stairs as the doorbell rings a second time. Yanking the door open, I find Max and Daphne standing on the other side, deep in conversation. Their lips clamp shut and force into smiles when they see me. Those smiles fall as they scan my face.

“What’s wrong?” Daphne steps cautiously into the house as I step back and wave her in.

Max follows. “You look like you need a hug. What’s going on?” His arms extend, and I don’t hesitate. I sag against his strong body, letting him enfold me in a hug.

I nibble on my lip and try to breathe normally. Dammit, I thought I was hiding it better than that. It’s several long, awkward moments before I let him go. Pressing a couple fingers to one temple, I can only manage a half-smile. “He did exactly what Aria said he was going to.” I don’t expand on it, but head into the kitchen, Daphne and Max both trailing behind me.

“What do you me—” Daphne doesn’t finish the question before the light bulb goes on over her head. “Nooo. Tell me he didn’t.”

I nod, my eyes briefly flicking to Max’s as I pull out a container with cookies I’d made yesterday.

His jaw clenches. “Are you shitting me right now?”

I slowly shake my head. “Nope.”

Daphne groans, accepting my offer of a cookie. “Why didn’t you say something? This happened Friday night after the game?”

I take a second to contemplate my answer. Why hadn’t I reached out to them? There’s really only one answer. “I was embarrassed. I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming. I’m sure you both think I’m the biggest idiot ever for assuming he actually wanted me.” I take a bite of a cookie to stall. I chew and swallow, then lick my lower lip clean of chocolate before I finish explaining. “I ran the whole way home afterward.”

Max tugs me back into his arms. “You’re not an idiot.” He squeezes me a little tighter before he says, “And I’m pissed as hell that you didn’t call one of us for help. But back the fuck up for a second, please, Cupcake. How did this go down?”

“He took me back to his place after the game, and we—you know—then he pretty much told me to get the fuck out, that I’d only been a challenge and since he’d been successful getting what he wanted, he was done with me. Something like that.” I shove the rest of the cookie in my mouth, chewing and swallowing before either of them say a word.

“But—” Daphne’s brow furrows deeply in confusion as she huffs out a few exasperated breaths. “Everything was okay right up until—?”

“I’ve never felt like this in my life. I thought—” I try to breathe calmly, but tears well up in my eyes. Fuck. I thought I was done freaking out about it, but the concerned looks on my friends’ faces has me upset all over again.

Max’s hand gently rubs my back. “Breathe.”

I nod and squeeze my eyes shut for a few moments. When I open them, I quickly exhale. “I never saw it coming. I liked him—a lot.”

“And he liked you, too. I don’t buy for a minute that it was all a lie.” Daphne crosses her arms, shaking her head.

“Me neither. That dude was so gone for you. He didn’t always show his true feelings in front of his friends, but the minute he wasn’t being watched, he’d go all soft. Like he was trying to maintain his image, but then they’d take off and he’d melt into a puddle for you. That day when he was trying to apologize at the end of English class is a prime example. I saw that with my own two eyes. That wasn’t fake. No fucking way.”

I hiccup through a small sob as I try to control my rising emotions. “Or maybe he’s really fucking good at manipulating people. Because that’s what it feels like—I’ve been manipulated to serve his sick purposes, whatever those may be.” My voice gets a little shrill, my insecurities raging. I’m sure they’re both trying to decide whether I’m about to really lose it.

Max lets out a big sigh, eyeing me carefully. “Did anything else happen? I mean, between the sex and the dumping?”

I start to shake my head, but then stop abruptly. “I guess we did talk for a while. I told him I thought his mom, who I’d met earlier, must be a very strong woman to get out of a bad marriage. He told me a little bit about the status of his relationship with his dad and Justin.” I shrug. “I thought I was getting to know him better. I had no idea he was about to pull the plug on being together.”

Daphne’s brows pinch. “That’s it? Nothing else?”

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