The room spun around me, a blur of faces and too-loud music pounding in my ears.
I felt a hundred eyes on me some laughing, some whispering, some wide with shock.
James's gaze burned into me from across the room. Jace's stare was ice-cold, unreadable.
My throat tightened.
I couldn't do this.
I couldn't be the girl everyone gossiped about, the one who wrecked everything because she couldn't control her stupid heart.
Without thinking, I turned sharply on my heel and stormed out of the party, leaving behind a silence so heavy it felt like a vacuum.
I barely registered the whispers that rippled behind me.
I just needed air. Space. To breathe. I just needed to be somewhere else,not there and definitely not around james and jace.I needed to think about how reckless I'd been and how i was about to loose a good man.. someone who was willing to risk it all for me
Outside, the air was cooler, but it did nothing to steady the pounding in my chest.
I walked blindly across the lawn, my boots sinking into the wet grass, until I found a bench under the massive neem tree surrounded with beautiful flowers that i did not notice at that time.
I dropped onto it, burying my face in my hands.
God, what was I doing?
I had a boyfriend a sweet, loyal one who trusted me. And yet here I was risking everything for a boy I barely even knew.
A boy who could turn my world inside out with just one look.
My fingers curled into fists as I tried to make sense of my emotions. How had I let it go this far?
And worse how was I going to fix it?
The sky above was dark, the stars blurred by the mist that clung to the campus grounds. My breath came out in short, visible puffs.
A few students passed by, laughing, heading back toward the party. I barely noticed them. Some hiding behind the trees nearby, kissing and forgetting about their miserable lives..damn i was so bitter.
All I could think about was James… and Jace… and how horribly tangled everything had become.
"Vee?"
I looked up, startled.
Cami was standing there, hugging her jacket tight around her, concern written all over her face.
I forced a smile, but it must have looked awful, because she didn't even bother pretending.
Instead, she came over and sat beside me, silent for a long moment. "I need to tell you something vee,"she said. You are my bestriend and I've known you for for a long time but stay away from james vee he's bad news.
What are you talking about cami,i asked trying to deceive her that nothing was going on between me and james. But at this point i didn't know who i was deceiving, was it Cami or myself.
"You're not slick vee, I know you have a crush on him,"she said. James is in a serious relationship vee and he's not the faithful type either. I know he has this charming aura that makes him irresistible but he'll just break your heart,that is what he does, he's not one to settle down.
These words sharply pierced my heart. I wanted all this to be a lie.
"I know James is sweet and charming sometimes but he's too complicated,"she said.
Then she pulled out her phone.
"I wasn't going to show you this," she said quietly. "Because I figured you were smart enough to figure it out yourself."
My stomach twisted.
"What do you mean?"
She opened Instagram and handed me her screen.
There he was.
James.
Wrapped around a pretty, sun-kissed dark- skinned girl at the beach, both of them laughing like they didn't have a care in the world.
I swiped.
Another photo of him kissing her cheeks.
Another,her sitting on his lap at some party, arms draped around his neck.
And the comments...
"My whole world," she had written under one.
"Forever and always, angel," James had replied, with a trail of red hearts and kiss emojis.
The dates weren't old, either.
Posts from just a week ago. Two weeks. Three.
Fresh wounds disguised as pretty pictures.
I shoved the phone back at Cami, heart pounding painfully.
"They've been together for two years," she said softly. "Two freaking years, Vee. He's not just 'talking' to her. They're serious."
I stared at the ground, my vision blurring.
Everything inside me felt cold.
"I thought you should know before you did something you'd regret," Cami added gently.
I wanted to scream. Cry. Throw something.
Instead, I just sat there, numb.
"Thanks, Cam," I whispered, voice cracking.
She rubbed my back lightly.
"Look, you're amazing," she said. "And you deserve someone who shouts it from the rooftops, not someone who keeps you hidden." Jace is the right person for you babes.
I nodded, though I wasn't sure if I believed her.
The damage was already done. The lines were already crossed.
Cami sighed beside me. "I know you like him, Vee. Anyone can see that. But please… don't let him ruin the good thing you already have."
I didn't respond. Because I didn't know how.
Because every time James smiled at me… every time our eyes locked across a crowded room… every time he said my name like it meant something…
It felt like gravity.
Dangerous. Inevitable. Unstoppable.
And I was already falling.
I looked up at the sound of a door creaking open, i saw James stepping out from the house, his eyes immediately finding me.
He started walking in our direction.
I stood up quickly, brushing grass off my jeans.
"Don't," Cami warned, standing beside me.
But I walked toward him anyway.
We met halfway.
"Vee, can we talk?" he asked, his voice softer than I'd ever heard it.
I opened my mouth and then closed it again.
All the images from Cami's phone came flooding back.
The girl. The kisses. The comments.
"You're taken," I said quietly.
He blinked.
"That's complicated.."
"No, it's not," I cut him off.
He looked at me for a long moment, searching my face.
Then he gave me one last, lingering look — and walked away, disappearing into the misty campus like a ghost.