Forbidden Territories

Chapter 15: Enough

"Well? Will one of you start fucking talking?" I exclaimed, letting my irritation over the entire event show shamelessly. 

I tried to ignore Tyler's smug smirk as much as I could but god, I wanted to slap him right across his face. Although the person I was the most upset with was Zach. I felt betrayed, I felt like the ground under my feet was slowly slipping away and soon enough, I would fall into this void and unable to find my way back out. 

All this time, I thought I could at least rely on him. But suddenly I felt like I was the only one who didn't get the joke. Like I came into the room at the wrong time and missed the punchline while everyone else was already laughing. Thus far, at least I had him. At least he caught me up with the information and now I learned that he was lying this whole time. He knew something. They all fucking knew something about my goddamn life, except me. How was this fair? How did this make any fucking sense? I had nothing to hold onto. 

"Zach?!" I asked again when my first two questions were greeted with silence. His mismatched eyes watched me before they darted to the floor. His annoyance had evaporated. My hands started to shake. I wasn't even angry anymore, I was just heartbroken. 

"Please?" I almost whispered my plea and he looked at me again. 

From the other side of the table, I could hear Tyler's quiet chuckling. "You really fucked it up this time, Zachary. I don't think luck is on your side this time around, do you?" 

"I swear to fucking god Tyler if you don't stop stirring shit right about now ... " James threatened his brother. 

Kate had her Bambi-like hues on me and sipped her gin tonic, feigning innocence and remaining quiet. I knew she was just watching this unfold like a telenovela and enjoyed every minute of it. She didn't even have to do something, everyone else was making it worse by each passing second. 

My chest was growing heavy. I couldn't breathe anymore. I needed to get the fuck out of there and I needed to leave now. 

"You know what? Fuck you," I said to Zach and turned to James. "It was nice meeting you." 

I grabbed my purse and headed right for the exit without looking back. 

"Via!" I heard Zach call after me but I kept going, slamming the door shut behind me and not giving a flying fuck about the scene I just made. I had more important things to be concerned about. 

I tried to catch my breath when I finally reached outside. My eyes burned with tears and blurred my vision. My hands clasped at my chest as a broken sob escaped my quivering lips. I leaned my back against the wall, my fingers running through my hair and tugging at the roots as I tried to breathe but no amount of oxygen was making any difference. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fucking fuck. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

"Via?" Zach's voice interrupted my self-deprecating train of thought. 

My gaze shot up at him, glistening green eyes set on him. I held my hand up, letting him know to keep his distance. "No," I said firmly but my trembling voice gave my real emotion away. 

"Via ..." he said again, this time softer. 

"Via, Via, Via," I mocked him and scoffed. "Just stay the hell away from me!" 

I could clearly see the hurt on his face caused by my words but I didn't take my words back. He persisted, though. "Let me explain—"

"Am I a joke to you?" I cut him off, fixating my gaze on him. He frowned and opened his mouth, about to speak but I didn't let him. "Am I a fucking joke to you, Zach? Because from where I'm standing, you dragged me here when you knew I didn't want to go so you and your friends could make fun out of me. You knew exactly what I was going through and I trusted you. I fucking trusted you!" My voice broke as well as my heart.