Unveiling Destiny

Chapter 26: Aria

"Was that Griffin?" I ask, rounding the corner, where I find my best friend leaning against the kitchen island, a frown on her face as she watches something on her phone.

"Aria, I really think you need to talk to him. I know they always say this, but this time I really don't think it was what it looked like."

"Yeah right." I scowl. "It was Lillie. I don't know what kind of sick joke the universe is playing on me, but she's already ruined one of my relationships. It only makes sense she ruins another."

My voice cracks at the end, revealing my cavalier attitude for what it is, a facade.

Katie crosses the distance between us and hugs me tight, causing the tears in my eyes to fall. Again. How I have any tears left is a mystery, as I immediately turned on the shower when I got home, hoping to mask the sound of my racking sobs.

It didn't work. Katie barged in within the first minute, demanding to know what happened.

I cried as I told her what happened, the shower watering down my tears, before someone interrupted me by pounding on the front door.

Clearly, Griffin came up with quite the lie if he convinced Katie that he wasn't about to get back with his ex.

Lillie.

The universe has a terrible sense of humor.

Katie pats my back, attempting to soothe me. "You know I'm always on your side, right?" she asks delicately.

I nod and sniffle, pulling back to look at her.

"You won't like this, but I truly think you need to talk to him. It's not just what he said, but how he said it, Aria. He's torn up. Desperate."

I wipe my cheeks and say, "No thanks. I got lied to enough by Ethan and Lillie. I'm not stupid enough to let someone else I love lie to me too."

The words are out of my mouth before I realize what I'm saying.

"You love him too?" Katie asks gently.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I say, crossing my arms.

"Of course it does, Aria! You're protecting yourself and throwing up walls. You don't want to get hurt the way you did after Ethan. I get it. But I really don't think this is the same situation," Katie speaks softly, as if to not scare a cornered animal. Placing her hands on my shoulders, she continues. "Hear him out. Give yourself closure either way."

"No. Absolutely not," I say forcefully, shaking my head and pulling out of her grasp to turn away. I walk to our chocolate stash, grabbing the whole bag as my head swirls with emotion.

He lied to me. He didn't care about me. He was going to get back together with fucking Lillie of all people. He alluded that he loved me and then did this less than a week later.

It's this thought that makes Katie's words crash back onto me like a ton of bricks. Rounding on my bestfriend, I ask, "Katie, did you just ask if I love him too?"

"Yes," she responds simply.

"What makes you think he loves me?" I ask. "Everything he did today says the exact opposite."

"I disagree."

"Why?" I ask, my voice shrill with disbelief.

"Watch the doorbell camera footage. I saved it. It caught everything," she says calmly. "Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so. At the very least he did something very stupid that hurt you. That's valid. And you may not think you're ready to watch it yet, but I think you should."

"Hard pass," I say, my voice laced with venom.

Katie shrugs, sadness in her eyes. "I can't make you. It has to be your call." My eyes follow her to the liquor cabinet. "However, I do think this calls for more than just the chocolate stash."