The Hopeless Romantic ✔️

Chapter twenty six.

I literally went crazy with this chapter. Brace yourselves. This chapter is six thousand words long and Avery is in for one hell of a ride.

*

I felt numb.

When I woke up on New Year's day, it was raining. I didn't get much sleep because I cried most of the night. I kept going back through all of the things that were a lie. The kiss, the talks, the relationship. Everything was a lie. From the minute Jace sat next to me on the bus to the time we shared things that we could never tell anybody else.

I tried to block out the memories, but it was too hard. I tried not to think, I tried my hardest not to breathe a single word of what we had. It was too much to handle and the tears wouldn't stop pouring out of my eyes with the thought of losing it all. As soon as Jace accepted the bet, it was all lost.

I heard a knock at my bedroom door and my mom poked her head through. "Avery, are you ready to talk?"

The one person I wanted to talk to about this was the player himself. I knew right from the start to not mess with the fact that he was popular, that even though he was attractive, to not talk to him. "Not yet." I told her.

She nodded. "Okay, well, Jace is here."

My heart jumped in my chest. The same feeling I got from when he first started talking to me, but it was different. I wanted to talk to him and I wanted to know everything that he was thinking, the reasons as to why he did what he did and how he could break someone's heart so easily.

I got up from my bed, my face showing no emotion. "I'll be there in a minute."

"I'll go out and give you two some space." Mom said as she left. I think she knew something wasn't right.

I walked over to my mirror. My face was puffy and red, my hair was a mess and I was still in my dress from the night before. I wanted Jace to see me like this. So he knew what it looked like to break someone's heart. I tied my hair up and dabbed my face with a wet towel because it was so hot from crying a lot.

I breathed in and out as I heard the front door slam shut. Mom's car started and she left the house. I knew we were alone and I knew Jace was waiting for me. I hadn't checked my phone since I switched it off, but I knew Jace would have sent more text messages. I opened my door and tried not to break down in tears again. I saw him, looking normal, sitting on the kitchen stool. My stomach twisted, but I walked out anyway.

When he saw me, he smiled. "Hey, where did you go last night? I was looking everywhere for you, I thought you wanted that New Year's kiss." He said, still smiling. I showed no emotion towards him as my eyes met his. His smile dropped and he got up from the stool. He looked handsome today and I still felt everything for him, but I knew it was over as he reached out to grab my hand. "Avery, what's wrong?"

I instantly pulled away and it killed me to do it. I tried to stop the tears as I spoke. "I'm so stupid," I whispered, "I actually thought you liked me."

He looked at me with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? Of course I like you."

I wiped the tear that slipped out of my eye. "Don't lie to me, Jace."

"I'm not." He said, dropping his arms to his side as he realised that I wouldn't let him touch me. "Avery, what's this about?"

I sniffled, feeling angry and heartbroken at the same time. "I know everything, Jace. I know you played me like a game and I know you enjoyed it."

I looked up at him to see his facial expression, but he was good at hiding his emotions. "What are you talking about?"

I was getting angry at the fact that he couldn't admit it. "I saw you and Seth last night. He was giving you money for a bet that you made. A bet to see if you could get me into bed with you."