Chapter 13: Cheats

It was an innocent mistake. We didn't mean for this to go as far as it did. We were too caught up to see the signs. The warnings. The chances for us to get back something that we had to inevitably let go of.

~

"Ms.Herrera please tell us what happened?" The inspector asked as she sat in front of my, questioning my every move. Judging me.

"Nothing happened," I muttered still in shock. My palms became a bit more sweaty. More than it already was. My feet shook against the desk. My eyes shook, and my mouth ran dry.

"Nothing? Are you sure nothing happened? Or that that was all that happened?" I kept my mouth shut as I looked down. "Nothing that was out of the blue? Out of character?"

"I don't remember," I mumbled as I kept my head down and tried to be as still as I could be, which wasn't much.

"People saw both of you. Talking hours before she left." she sighed out, "Nothing happened? Nothing at all?"

"We're friends, what do you expect," I sighed out, "We talk, and most of the time it is about nonsense."

"After your little fight, no one would have assumed so." The other inspector said.

"One fight won't and can't change how we protect one another," I answered back angrily.

"Well then please tell me. What did she do before she left."

"Fine." I sighed out and looked at them, "She told us something, and then she left the party."

"What was that something?" She leaned in as she asked.

"I can't say-" I begun.

"Ms.Herrera may I remind you that if you withhold any evidence you may be subjected to prison time,"

I looked up at her in a glare and looked back down, "She knew. We knew. All of us knew."

~

I had just finished my last exam for music theory before I walked out of the room. Sighing, finally I finished the piece that had been giving me a headache since last month, and how proud I am that I got through it!

"Agnes." I turned and saw Jack running up to me.

"Hey what's up?" I smiled slightly at him.

"Do you know where Zach is?" He asked before combing his hair down with his hand.

"He told me this morning that he was going to go seek out the cheerleaders for tonight's soccer game, why?" I thought about that douche, who even if he clearly has something going on with Naomi as they keep sneaking off behind our backs, into either a nearby bathroom, or by accident in a classroom.

"He was gone from the last class, I was kinda curious since he likes Criminal Investigations a lot," He sighed out,"That is weird, ge does really like that class. Hmm maybe try the field-" I looked to my left and down the hall soon enough we saw him, "Or check Naomi," I chuckled.

"He has been distant recently. I barely even see him anymore." He said as he looked at the pair laughing together.

"Maybe he is just busy making moves on Naomi?" I chuckled.

"Why do you have to bring that up?" He asked jokingly annoyed,

"What is so wrong with that?" I asked as I threw my hands up.

"I don't like her," he stated. "Of course you don't," I scoffed, "You never liked any of them."

"No it's not that," He paused and laughed before looking at me directly, "Manny and Gabe are great people, but"

"But?" I asked.

"I just don't like that Naomi, and him are spending so much time together,"

"Well maybe you should make a move if you're jealous," I laughed out loud, but I quickly stopped as I saw the male next to me scowling, "Okay what's with the face?" I asked.

"I just don't get how she has him wrapped around his little finger. It's pathetic." I shoved his shoulder slightly before looking back at the sight.

"Oh shut up. They're good friends, it's not abnormal for him to be unfriendly either." I reasoned.

"Sure." He scoffed.

"If you don't ever admit it to yourself, then you will never come to terms with your feelings," I shrugged.

"I admitted it to myself, I mean," He paused and looked away to see if anyone was listening in, "Remember the drunken beach vacation that we had?"

"Oh yeah. That one. Yikes." The most infamous one, as we all banded together, including Ella and Addison at the time, and purposefully got Zach and Jack drunk to get some sort of sexual tension out of the table. Since it was inevitable that something happened during the summer of 8th grade, as we came into high school with them being too close for comfort, then suddenly getting distant, then being too close, and an endless cycle of rocky relations just kept pushing until they eventually just went back to normal this summer. Well as normal as they can be, which really meant, having occasion where something would go on between them and they would either tell Daniel or myself, which we would then proceed to tell each other. Then they would go to school and be awkward and we would do some shit to make them go back to normal. It's honestly not that hard to pick them apart at this point.

"I confessed and I got a mouth full of watered down beer, that had a hint of sand, instead of a kiss," He scowled.

"Well now you both aren't drunk. Wouldn't that be better to know the truth, then forgetting about it the next morning," I sighed out, "And not to mention that you aren't going to wake up with a raging headache."

"I- I am just going to go and, yeah have fun with that," He smirked and turned to walk away.

I shook my head and continued towards my locker, "What the hell did he mean by that?" I mumbled to myself.

I was stopped by another voice, "Ness!" Oh that was what it was, damn.

"What's up?" I asked him as I tried my best to not avoid eye contact.

"Has Ella talked to you recently?" He asked me.

"Aside from the other day no. Why did something happen?" I asked. "Lovers quarrel?"

He only looked at me and scowled, "No." He said.

"Okay sorry," I said, "Go on." I continued as I faced him and leaned on my opened locker.

"No- okay well- it's just," he paused and leaned on the lockers next to mine, "Ever since the other day, she's been hanging around Calvin more and it's starting to worry me." He admitted.

"I'm sure that nothing is going on, they were close before. It's not weird at all," I closed my locker and began walking away.

"But it's not normal for them to be making out again." He muttered to which thankfully I was able to hear and turn around to look him in the eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"I caught them making out!" He said loudly, i hushed him as I didn't want everyone to know what was going on, "Full on tongue and everything,"

"Okay first of all, that is too much info. And second of all, why on earth would she do that to you? You're the love of her life." I exclaimed quietly.

"I don't know either." He sighed. "It's just- I don't know anymore. I don't know what to think."

"Do you think that maybe she knows about-"

"No. She would've told me by now," He turned his head quickly towards my direction and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Are you sure? She's a great liar," I smirked slightly.

"Why did I even tell you, out of all people," He scoffed.

"Because I'm still your best friend whether you like it or not," I smiled up at him sarcastically.

"I hate that you're right," He smiled over at me.

Our eyes met and we held that stare. The stare that we used to share before. Before Ella came into the picture, when we would be alone. Playing in the sheets, spending endless nights together, lips on lips, heart to heart. Only the sound of us softly breathing, was enough to make us forget about everything else around us.

"It's not- I'm not, it'll be fine alright." He asked.

"Are you sure? If you want to talk about it then by all means do."

"Why are you being so willing to talk about that?" He suddenly asked me.

"This is way better than me having to pick your ass up from a bar later tonight," I chuckled.

"What would I ever do without you," He said laughing

"You would probably be dead and in a lake somewhere," I smiled at him, "Talk to her as soon as you can, if you prolong it you both might end up getting hurt." I tightly smiled as I walked away leaving him dumbfounded.

While feeling my heart break into a dull but piercing pain rip through my chest, and throat ran dry as I hid into a corner and calmed myself. Who knew that I could love someone this hard? It seems okay that we are like this, and we are. But a piece of me always wants more.

Who knew loving someone could actually break me like this?