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I closed my eyes and licked my chapped lips.

“I saw the texts on his phone during practice.” I said. “You confirmed it when I found you in bed with him after the championship win.”

Silence descended upon us like a heavy blanket. The weight of my revelation hung in the air. All her defenses shattered at the harsh truth.

“Asher.” she said, her facade crumbling before my eyes. “I am so sorry. We didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to.”

Her apology ignited a firestorm within me - a tempest of pent-up betrayal and anger had simmered beneath the surface for far too long.

“You didn’t hurt me.” I spat, my voice rising with indignation. “I didn’t care about you enough for you to hurt me.”

She recoiled from my outburst. Her eyes brimmed with crocodile tears.

“You don’t need to be so harsh.”

“And you didn’t need to cheat on me with my teammate. You and Collin deserve each other.”

Her gaze fell to the floor, her shoulders slumped from the weight of accusations and guilt. I couldn’t bear to look at her any longer, but as I walked away, a single sentence stopped me in my tracks.

“You’ll regret this.”

With a bitter laugh and a shake of my head, I started walking off, calling to her over my shoulder.

“I’ve only regretted dating you.”

??

I sat with my chaotic friends amidst the vibrant energy of the party. Benjamin was telling us a story of something that happened during chemistry and how he’d almost set the lab on fire. We laughed at how he reenacted the scene for us, as if he wanted us to picture it with him. Our laughter echoed over the music as he reached the climax of his story. Out of the blue, Sebastian slammed his hand on the table as he read something on his phone.

“Guess what?” He asked us, his voice filled with excitement and pride. “We landed a gig for the summer!”

We exchanged stunned glances as the moment’s significance hung in the air like a promise of untold adventures. The dream we’d been trying to conquer for years. The dream that seemed unattainable when my entire world revolved around hockey. I’d spent years dreaming of this opportunity to where I’d convinced myself it would never come to fruition.

Cheers erupted from our table as we celebrated the newfound opportunity. We clapped each other on our backs as our wide and infectious smiles basked in the glow of our shared accomplishment. However, we had our celebration cut short by a nearby commotion—a commotion between Joshua and Sawyer.

“Is it true?” I heard her ask, too enraged to care they had an audience.

“Sawyer, please, not here.”

“Answer me.” She said. “Was it just a bet to you?”

I watched in disbelief as her words cut through the noise of the party like a knife. How did she find out? I launched out of my seat as Ava’s warning ran through my mind. Who told her?

I moved to intervene; my heart heavy with guilt as I got a closer look at her tear-stained cheeks.

“Sawyer, wait a moment.” I tried to reassure her; my voice tinged with urgency. “It’s not that serious.”

I knew I put my foot in it when the words left my lips.

“You knew?”

Josh turned to look at me with anger blazed in his eyes.

“Who do you think started the bet?”

The accusation hung heavy in the air. My mind raced to find the right words to defend myself, but I knew there was nothing I could say.

“I didn’t -” I began, but the words caught in my throat as I watched his fist colliding with my face.