Chapter 28: Chapter 28

Vega POV.

Getting the smell of whatever they had hurled at me off my skin took me about an hour, and I was stewing by the time I stepped out of the shower. I hated her so much. Ugh.

I plopped onto my bed letting out a frustrated sigh. College wasn't supposed to be so hard.

The door to my room opened and Andrianna stepped inside.

"You look like shit".

"I know!" I got out tiredly, then dragged myself into a sitting position. "You're always here, should I worry that your extravagant mansion is being occupied by aliens".

"That would be close" she agreed with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Ray told me you got into a fight with Arielle".

"Well I couldn't help myself. She was annoying".

"You got that right. I'm sorry you're going through all this. It's all my fault".

"It's not your fault. I agreed to participate in the bet. It wasn't like you put a gun to my head and threatened me to join".

Andrianna nodded. "Right. So why do you look like that".

"Because I went on to fall in love with Zach and I feel shitty because I'm going to be one of those girls who used him for their gains if I win the bet," I said, the words making my heart twist until it felt like I was about to have a heart attack.

"It's hard to imagine anyone using Zach Dante tho, didn't you read any news about all the scandal he was involved in? He's a certified golden heartbreaker and as for falling in love with him, you took too long to tell me about it even tho you told Jake" she said and gave me an accusing look.

"How did you find out about that?"

"Jake may or may have not blurted a bunch of things out when he came over to my house".

"Ahhh, I forgot he was a gossip drunk"

Andrianna laughed and I managed one too.

"Look, it's hard to tell if Zach isn't just playing you as you're doing to him so you don't have to feel bad."

"I know that, but deep down I kind of know he's telling the truth because I can see how much it hurts him to tell me about his life or what bothered him and I feel like a total fraud every time he opens up to me. I don't deserve... "

"Well, maybe this is karma's way of getting back at him for all the heart he's broken" Andrianna cut in. "You don't have to feel bad Vega, the plan was to break his heart right. You shouldn't forget that he'd never have looked at you or even felt interested until you changed for him. I don't think he deserves your heart just because of that, so since you stand a chance of winning, I say you take whatever you can and dump him".

Andrianna made sense but it still didn't take away the feeling of guilt that threatened to choke me every time I tried to take in a breath. I didn't want to hurt Zach because I knew he'd already been hurt enough.

"Stop overthinking it. This is why you always get heartbroken, you fall in love way too easily and you fall for jerks".

I frowned. "They were not all jerks".

"Yeah right. You should stop wearing your heart on your sleeve".

"Easy for you to say. You always have guys hitting you and you also have Ray. I've never had anyone".

"That's because you never put yourself out there. You're always in this house or the library or doing sanitation and up until recently, your hair was a disaster and you dressed like you were a homeless person, and I don't have Ray" Andrianna rushed out and I hated that she was right about all of the above.

"I didn't dress like a homeless person" I muttered sullenly. "And what do you mean that you don't have Ray".

"Exactly what it means Vega" she answered, dragging a manicured finger through her hair, her movement agitated. "Ray is not who you think he is. You should stay away from him" she warned, meeting my confused gaze.

I laughed nervously. "That sounded way too intense than it needed to be. Did you two have a fight or what" I asked, worrying maybe it was because of me?

"It was never going to work out between me and him anyways because he's a freaking cheating bastard. My parents set us up but I'm sure he tricked them into it" she said and I gaped in shock because on what planet were parents still playing matchmaker, Andrianna wasn't old-fashioned at all so I'd just assumed her parents would be chill billionaires. This was surprising.

"Why will your parents set you up with someone, do they think you can't manage that on your own".

Andrianna sighed, the tiredness around her eyes getting more prominent. "You have no idea what they really think of me. I'm just a means to an end for them anyways, nothing new."

The pain in her voice matched that of Zach and I'm surprised that Andrianna wasn't really happy which made me feel shitty because I've only been worrying about just me and my feelings that I didn't even notice that the people around me were hurting.

I touched her shoulder tentatively. "Are you alright"?

"I'm fine. It's just that Ray is planning something and I don't want you to get caught up in it".

"Why will you worry about that. I'm not even that close with Ray. Look, I'll avoid and stay away from him if it makes you feel better but I think you should break up with him".

"I did that but Ray is stubborn and also a meathead. He doesn't understand what the word no means and I also haven't told my parents..."

"You should do that. I'm sure if they talk to him, he'll have no choice but to stay away from you" I advised and Andrianna scoffed, her eyes glancing over me like I was some naive girl living in my world.

"You don't know my parents Vega. They're not like your Mom."

I nodded because I didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry".

Andrianna shook her head. "No, I am sorry for getting you involved in my mess. It's all because I've been lying to you about my life and I do want to tell you the truth but I don't want you to be in danger just because of me".

What was she talking about for god sake? If I didn't know better I would have thought she was the daughter of a drug cartel and that she had to uphold her family's secret, because whoever she spilled it to would get killed.

"Your parents are not Mafia's, are they," I asked and watched as Andrianna's eyes widened. Holy, mother of god, that was all the confirmation I needed even as Andrianna shook her head.

"Are you crazy? Of course not. My parents are both involved in legit businesses. They're freaking investors. Get your head out of the gutters, you watch too many movies." She chastised and I would have believed her too except I'm not that stupid, the quiver in her voice, and the way she avoided my gaze was a dead giveaway.

Andrianna cleared her throat. "So about Zach, I think the perfect solution would be for you to immediately confess everything to him after you win the money, anything before that, and you're going to lose everything," she said, tactically changing the topic.

"Why?" I asked, deciding to drop it and just go with her flow. She'd tell me about everything when she was ready. But it nagged at my subconscious. Ray was apparently after me and Andrianna wasn't telling me why. I didn't feel safe at all.

"Because you don't know if he feels what you are feeling and he hasn't said that he was in love with you right".

That was right but did he really have to spell it out tho? Wasn't his actions enough for me to conclude that he felt the same way I felt? He wouldn't just kiss me without having any feelings for me, would he? It was all fucking confusing.

"But he kissed me"

"He also shoved his tongue down Arielle's throat a couple of weeks ago didn't he? He's a playboy Vega, it's just something he does but I know you're into him, so just take what you can and let him go and if he's truly serious, then you can see how it goes".

I'd also had the same thought but my heart didn't want to believe that Zach had been playing me all this while. But if that was the case, since my love had clouded all my reasoning then I guess I didn't have to feel bad about being one of those people who used him.

Despite all my reasoning, I still feel like my heart is breaking inside. Ugh, I need a drink.

"When you fall, you really fall hard" Andrianna teased and I scoffed.

"Have I ever told you about Ryan?" I asked because I'd fallen the same way for him and in the end, it became one of my worst memories".

Andrianna arched a brow. "There was a Ryan?".

My phone rang before I could answer and I was surprised that it was Noah. I glanced at Andrianna who shrugged, then I picked.

"Noa... " I called and paused as he cut in, his voice agitated.

"You've got to come to school right now. Zach's hurt".