VIPER || Oscar Piastri

Chapter 99

[POV: Andreanna Saunterre]

I stood there long enough to watch his taillights disappear down the road.

For a second— half a second — no, not even that. Like, half half a second, too quick to even register — I thought I might break.

And then I got angry.

Anger was easier than sadness, easier than confusion, easier than the twisted ache still sitting in me.

So, instead of following after him, or yelling again, or crying some more, I turned sharply, heels scraping against the pavement as I stormed off in the opposite direction. Back inside.

My blood was boiling hot — everything in my chest felt jagged and heavy.

Screw him.

Screw this.

What does he even mean, 'I'm not it for you?' That's not—  He doesn't get to—

And what the hell was that?! Dropping 'I like you' like some grand martyr, then just dipping? So much for 'I stuck around'?! Did he want a thank-you?

I was halfway to the bar when I heard my name.

"Andi?"

I looked up and nearly ran straight into Max.

He took a startled step back, holding a half-empty beer in one hand. Carlos was right behind him, and Charles was trailing close.

"You good?" Max asked, brows up.

"We're off," Carlos added.

I didn't respond. My eyes flicked briefly to Charles, then away again.

Suddenly, the heat in my chest had a new direction.

A new face.

Charles.

I had been with him when Oscar lost it. It was—
It was him Oscar was reacting to. Because if he hadn't been leaning in, if his hand hadn't been there—

Oscar wouldn't have exploded like that.

He wouldn't have said any of it.

He wouldn't have left.

It was easier, now, to place the blame; to give my anger somewhere to go, and Charles — smiling at me like that — was an easy target.

"Yeah," he said, once he reached me, stepping forward. "Come on, you're coming."

It wasn't the offer that convinced me. It wasn't the person who'd offered it to me, either.

Oscar didn't want to talk.

Fine.

Oscar didn't want to be around me.

Fine.

If he was so sure he was done, then guess what?

So am I.

So I nodded. "Yeah. Whatever."

We left.

As I followed them through the doors and into the street, I started to hear Oscar's voice in my head, saying: Do whatever you want. Like you always do.

It echoed.

At first, it stung.

But now... now it felt like a challenge.