[ sixteen ]
Toni and I decided to meet up at a place near a university. There were people our age everywhere, which made it much easier to blend in as well as hiding from paparazzi. He just wanted something quiet, a place where we wouldn't be bothered by anyone. As we sat at one of the tables under the shade of a parasole, he confessed to me that though he loved being a footballer, he didn't like the lack of privacy.
"You're telling me." I nodded. "You can't even be seen with a woman without being accused of being in a relationship." By this I meant the pictures that had been taken of us together. I had been in town one day, and happened to almost knock Toni Kroos out and people were already making up rumors about us.
According to them, someone in town had a new romance.
"Well, whatever is said between us is confidential. Right?" He winked.
I smiled at him. "Once I'm off the clock, I stop being a reporter and just go back to being Arista Páez."
"Good." Toni grinned, but there was a hint of relief in his eyes.
"Arista!"
I heard someone calling my name. Before I even turned my head, I already knew who it was.
James.
And he wasn't alone. With him was his glamorous girlfriend Giselle. They weaved past tables of preoccupied university students who ignored their very existence. They were just another young couple in a world full of university kids. James plopped down on one of the seats at our table, without even asking, and forced Giselle to do the same, though she resisted at first.
"Hola Arista." He grinned.
My eyes looked to Toni to find he was all but pleased by the company of James. I offered a small wave of my hand in response. I had no idea what kind of game he was playing at. One minute he didn't know me and the next he talked about our childhood in Envigado.
Which James was he today?
"Hola James." I said shyly.
Giselle looked from him to me, pursing her lips in sudden disdain. "So much familiarity." She commented bitterly. "I knew you two knew each other!"
This time, Toni was the one to speak, eyeing us suspiciously. "Did you already know each other?"
Surprising me, as well as both of them, James nodded his head. "Of course I know Arista. She and I grew up together in Colombia. Arista was my first love, my first girlfriend, many of my firsts. We were going to get married. From the first moment that we met, I was convinced I could love nonone like I did her."
Tears filled my eyes as I was reminded of all the good times he and I spent together. How was it possible that he could be saying those things? He wasn't just hurting me by doing so, he was killing me.
"And then what happened?" Toni asked, he was more interested in hearing the story than Giselle. He wanted to wait for the ending, hoping it was one in which he would end up favored.
James gave a nonchalant shrug. "I asked her to marry me and she said no. Then I moved on with my life." As he said those words, he slipped his hand into Giselle's and she smiled a victorious grin. James was hers and she wanted me to know it. Patting Toni on the shoulder hard, he said to Toni, "Be careful or she'll reject you too. It'll make you more miserable than anything. Especially coming from Arista."
Standing up from my seat abruptly, I felt my lips quiver as I shot a look at James. It was one full of hurt and betrayal. I had encouraged him tp get back with Gislle, which he had done, and then he was dragging me through the dirt in front of Toni. But I said nothing to him, I only stormed down the street, in search of my car.
Toni followed close behind me. And he stopped me just as I reached my car. By then, the tears were streaming down ny face and the sobs that wracked my body were too much to be contained. Toni pulled me into his arms and rested his chin on top of my head as he spoke to me soothingly. "Don't cry, Arista, please."
"James is right." I cried into his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt. "I am that horrible person who tore his heart out. But I was scared that he could one day grow embarrassed of me and go away."
"You're not horrible." He assured me, running his long fingers through my hair.
"I am." I shook my head. "And now I just want to start over, and move on, but James won't leave the past in the past. He has someone new. Why is he trying to ruin us?"
"His words don't change the way I feel about you." Toni said.
Pulling away from him and looking into his ocean blue eyes, I asked, "They don't?"
He shook his head. "I really like you."
"I like you too." I admitted. "But James-"
"Forget James." He waved the thought of him off.
Forget James.
But was is really that easy?
-
another update for you all. even though its short as well. thats bc im on my phone. i came home for the weekend and forgot my laptop at my dorm >.< anyway, i hope you all like the chapter. james is being douchy again :p but yeah.
thank you for reading and supporting.
i love you!
-clary xx
