Visions of Fate

17. LOVE, LIES AND LUST

Ethan was pacing in the janitor's closet when I barged in. The room accommodated brooms, mops, and other cleaning agents and utensils, and though the air smelled stuffed with dust and the mixture of various detergents, it just had to do.

"What were you thinking?!" Taking me by surprise, Ethan barked out immediately the door was shut.

"Me?!" The anger rushed through my blood like potent poison. Was this guy actually being for real?

"I called you like, two thousand times, Emily. I sent you too many text messages to count and I even tried visiting you to know what was wrong, but somehow you had convinced your Mom not to let me in."

"What?" Ethan had come over to our house? And Mom had declined his visitation? I didn't know whether to feel grateful or hateful by this new piece of information.

"Don't play dumb, Emily, you know exactly what I mean," he stopped in front of me and deadpanned me in the eye, and I actually caught a sight of his jaw clenching in anger. "There are other ways of ending this relationship, if you're tired of me just say so!"

I looked him directly in the eye, then I started to laugh, a dry, humourless laugh. Because he was right, I did want to end this relationship, just not in the way he thought.

"Maybe you're right, Ethan," I slumped my arms. "Maybe I do want to end this relationship. You know why? Because you cheated. You're cheating on me now and you cheated on me then because you've always been a sore loser." I prodded his firm chest with my index finger but he didn't even move a muscle.

"What are you talking about?" His face crumpled up in confusion, and I actually felt my blood spark up with ignited rage.

"Ava Patels," I declared, waiting for that reaction that would bring me my victory, but instead of the shameful or frightened look I had expected, Ethan's look of confusion slowly slipped away into neutrality as he processed the weight of my words.

Then Ethan Halls started laughing. Right there in the middle of the janitor's closet. His laugh was so comic that I truly started questioning myself. Could I have been wrong? Could Zara and Benjamin have misinterpreted Ava and Ethan's relationship? And most importantly, could Mom have been right?

"You think I would ever cheat on you with Ava?" While the way he said her name served as answers to my questions, I replied him with my eyes. "Babe come on," he stepped closer and took my hands in his. "I would never trade this beauty for anyone else's in the world."

"Then why's there a rumor going around the school that you guys are in love?" My voice was comparably smaller now that I was shamefully hit with my answer. "And why haven't you ever mentioned her to me before?"

"Our families are friends, Emily. From way back, long before we were born. Because of that, Ava and I were forcibly close since childhood, whether we liked it or not," he cautiously perched his hands on top my cheeks, and I gladly leaned into his warmth. "And I never brought her up because I was afraid of this, exactly what you did."

I chuckled lightly at how right he was, feeling as embarrassed as I expected Ethan to feel when I unveiled his presumptuous secrets in front of him. "I'm sorry," I held the wrist of his hand that gently stroked my cheeks. "Can you ever forgive me?"

Ethan stepped closer, closing the space between us. "Only if you promise me one thing."

"Name it."

"Next time you hear a rumor about me dating another girl, please consult me first before ignoring me completely."

A nervous laugh creeped up my throat. "Deal," He had no clue how hard this deal was sealed.

His lips turned up in a flirty smirk that I immediately recognized. "Actually I need you to make me another promise." He brought his lips closer to mine and I relished his sweet scent, which almost made me forget how to use my brain dictionary.