Page 39 of Play Dirty (Villalargos University #1)

Chapter Thirty - Two

Shiloh

P ressure builds behind my ears, and my lungs refuse to take a full breath, depriving themselves of oxygen. My vision warps as tears swell, distorting the world around me. Shaky hands clutch the phone…

Tatiana was right, and I believed him.

How stupid of me to believe he wouldn’t lie.

After all, he lied to himself. Why would I expect anything different?

Still, this discovery hurts. Not in a superficial way, but in a bone-chilling and fatal way.

My knees buckle, my hand flattens out on the cool brick surface as I bring myself to inhale.

I force air into my lungs even as they want to collapse.

Looking up at the sky, I feel the tears slip past the corner of my eyes, and in that moment. ..

My heart splits in two.

There are so many things I want to ask him.

So many things left unsaid… But I made a promise I intend to keep.

I owe her that much. I sob quietly into my hand, the tears slowly stream down my face as I think of how much I lied.

How much I kept from June. That maybe this is what I deserve, to love someone I can’t ever fully trust. Looking down at the phone, the weight feels too heavy.

Too condemned. Too much to fucking bear.

This phone shouldn’t be in my hands. It should be with the authorities, piecing together what I can’t.

Did he kill Asher?

My hands fly to my mouth, my body heaves, causing me to double over to hold back the vomit crawling up my throat.

Did he hurt June?

Why else would he have this?

I push away from the door, urging myself to finish this.

I owe her this much, even if I have to destroy the one I love and can’t have.

The puzzle pieces begin to fit, as my head begins to clear.

My shoulders square, I'm sure it’s June guiding me to the truth.

Where else could I find it other than through her?

I wipe away the tears as I walk towards my dorm.

Looking over my shoulder, scanning the parking lot, making sure that there's no one watching. I hate the disappointment that washes over me when I realize Nico didn’t come to clear his name.

Not even an attempt. I left the drawer open so he would know that I’m aware.

So his betrayal could hurt him just as much as it has devastated me.

Opening the door to my dorm, I step inside and click the screen, watching it light up with a picture of us.

A smile spreads through my features, and I bite down on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from wandering through grief and nostalgia.

Sitting on the couch, I notice that her phone is now unlocked, and it wasn’t before.

I know that much…

My heart clenches when I see the notification of my message still left unread and just below mine, Tati. My brows pinch together. Curiosity has me clicking on the message. The lies.

The secrets run deeper than I could imagine.

Tatiana was gone all summer, missed the first month of school, and June’s funeral. So what the fuck am I reading right now?

My hands shake…

Placing the phone back down, my heart in my throat, I walk towards the box that contains whatever June was looking into. A shaky breath slips past m y lips as I open the box, my fingers finding the clipping of the missing woman.

The name…

It clicks.

Fernanda is the missing woman..

Which means…

I don’t allow myself to finish the thought before placing everything back into the box and grabbing June’s phone on my way back out.

I’ll be getting answers straight from the source, starting with Tati.

My legs begin to move before I can think.

The buildings blur as I walk through the empty lots, the night air biting my skin, doing little to calm the fire inside me.

I know exactly where to find her…

The sorority house comes into view. I have no more tears left to cry…

only rage. The betrayal stings… burns my insides like acid.

Using my key, I open the door. Stepping inside, the smell of vanilla assaults my senses, causing my stomach to revolt from the smell.

Heading into the main area, I find Tatiana sipping on a glass of wine, cucumber mask and pink robe on, lounging on the couch as she talks to some of the girls. She doesn’t look my way… not at first.

The girls do. As if sensing the anger radiating from me, they scramble without saying a word.

“We need to talk,” I say through clenched teeth, watching as she slowly drags her gaze to me.

She busies herself with fluffing the pillows that surround her.

“TATIANA VARGAS!” I shout, causing her to stop mid-fluff, but she still won’t look my way.

“Look at me and explain to me why you were meeting with June the night she died.”

She looks away, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me.” I arch a brow, slamming the phone on the coffee table in front of us, placing both hands flat on the surface. “Start talking, Tatiana.”

“Would you believe me?” Tatiana mutters, her voice soft as her face strains, every muscle taut as she holds my gaze. Fear with a mixture of anger —why? I barely recognize her anymore. When did everything change between us?

“Are you ready for the truth? Or do you want to continue to believe the person who has lied to you since the very beginning?”

I’m confused by her words, and my reaction must have alerted her. Her expression softens for a moment, just a sliver of her old self peeping through the viper she’s become. She sits back and takes a sip of her wine.

“Help me understand,” I lean closer, quickly blinking the pain away. Making sure that no tears slip past my eyes. I can’t let this drown me. I need to keep swimming and find the truth, no matter how much it kills me.

“You lied to me,” my voice shakes. “Help me believe you. Please.”

Tatiana stiffens.

Still, she doesn’t talk, doesn’t give me the answers I so desperately need. “Tell me about the photo. About where you got it.” Moving away from the table, I step closer to her, eyes narrowing. “You said someone sent it. That you were trying to help, but who?”

“I am.” She says too fast. “I didn’t know —”

“You knew enough to stay quiet.”

Her lips part, then press into a thin and defensive line. A flicker of fear flashes across her eyes. Good. Let it crawl. Let it fucking fester.

“I need to know what happened,” I snap. “All of it, no more pretending.”

Tatiana folds her arms, her gaze dropping. “You want the truth?” Her voice is lower. “Fine, she was investigating Nico. Or at least someone no one wanted us talking about.”

“Who?”

She glanc es around the main room, then looks back at me like she’s about to drop a bomb. My heart rate spikes while I wait for the other shoe to drop. “Fernanda.”

The name punches the air from my lungs, a clear confirmation of the deception.

“Is that name supposed to mean something?” I pretend not to know.

She breathlessly scoffs. “She’s a missing woman, the one from the scandal all those years ago.” She continues. “That girl who disappeared after the donors swept it under the rug? It’s Nico's sister. That’s the truth June discovered.”

I freeze.

“I found out.” She says softly. “I found out who she was. What it meant. And so did June. We were meeting to talk about it, but she never came. Do you know what that means?”

And I do.

I fucking do.

My entire chest caves in.

The words seem to escape me as I walk out before I can scream. I don’t even hear the rest of what she says. My feet carry me on autopilot into the night, wishing the ground would open from beneath me and swallow me whole.

I look down at my phone, and there’s only one thing left to do. I dial the three numbers. As the pain tears me from the inside out.

“I would like to report a murder.”

I don’t go back to my dorm.

Not yet.

Instead, I walk towards his.

The townhome lights lining the path are dim, warm glows behind shuttered windows— normal campus life unfolding behind closed doors while mine splits down the middle. My shoes scrape against the wet pavement, and the silence feels heavier than it should. Not even the crickets dare to sing.

My heart lurches, my throat closing as the weight of what I’ve done settles like lead on my chest. Light spills from the inside of his dorm; he’s not alone. Three shadows move behind the curtain. It’s late, almost midnight, but the world doesn’t feel like it’s asleep.

It feels like it’s waiting…

My feet carry me to the edge of the street, just behind the black iron fence separating the dorm lots from one of the main roads. I stay hidden beneath the arch of dead trees, my hands gripping the metal bars like they could keep me from falling apart.

Then I see it.

Two campus polic e cruisers. Lights low, no sirens — just the red and blue flash of lights.

My body tenses, and a wave of nausea crashes over me as I watch them pull up.

The doors swing open, and the world slows down on its axis.

A rush of blood roars through my skull. As they walk up to his dorm, my vision blurs, and my breath catches in my throat as Nico steps outside.

His white shirt is half untucked, and he looks confused. Zayden and Thiago step out behind him a second later, yelling something. But the only thing I focus on is the crack of the cuffs, the ache in my chest turns into a sharp throb.

Nico doesn’t fight.

He just turns his head. Slowly.

And for a moment — I swear he looks right at me.

I step out into the light, as my chest caves in. Clenching tight the space between my breasts as if holding the pieces that shatter inside me. Zayden shouts. “What the fuck is this?”

Thiago's voice cracks, causing the tears swelling in my eyes to flow. “He didn’t do shit — get off him.” He steps towards Nico. “Don’t say shit, I’ll get dad to help.”

But Nico doesn’t say a word. He just lowers his head as they lead him towards the car. From behind the cruiser, Ezra and Wyatt step out of his car. “The fuck is going on?” Ezra shouts just as Wyatt's gaze falls on me.

I take a step back into the dark. My hand moves towards the ache in my chest, right in the middle, as I hear the way his voice breaks in the end.

“Shi?”

Zayden.

He’s staring across the lot. Straight at me.

“What did you do?” He asks, so quietly I could barely hear him. His question sounds more like a wound than anything. I open my mouth to speak, bu t nothing comes out. No words are strong enough to undo what I’ve done.

I just stand there as they drive away with Nico in the backseat.

Then, in the stillness, my phone buzzes in my hand and the screen lights up the space. My heart lurches in my chest, and I can feel it in my throat as warm tears slide down my cheeks.

Anonymous

If you want the truth, learn to play dirty. So close…