fameless → ZACH HERRON ✓

t h i r t y - o n e

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
( LIAR )

     CARMEN CRIES OUT once again. Jackson had decided that he was ready to torture her again the next morning. Cole didn't seem to be too interested in it, though, as he was flushed in a chair. As Carmen's gaze met his, he immediately looked away.

Jackson kicks her in the stomach one more times, before backing up with a smirk. He takes one glance over her bruised and broken body, pleased with himself.

"So, are you ready to tell me the truth yet?"

"I already told you," Carmen groans, clutching her ribs. "I-I didn't do it."

"Cole disagrees!" He throws a punch to the side of her head, her temple cracking against the cement flooring from the force.

Carmen sobs harshly at the damage, trying to comfort herself with soothing thoughts. And yet the pain didn't go away- no matter how hard she thought, no matter how hard she cried.

"Tell me again," Jackson demands. "Tell me you didn't do it."

"I didn't!" The girl cries, holding her arms up to protect herself as his fist comes down again. This time, his fist connects with her jaw, sending a burning sensation through her cheekbone.

Her cries get even harder as his foot rests on her ankle, his weight balancing on her foot. As a loud crack rings through the room, Carmen can no longer hold back a high-pitched scream.

"Yes, you did! Stop lying!" He growls. "What happened to the tough Carmen, huh? Yesterday you were practically begging me to hit you."

"I can take the pain," Carmen sniffles. "Beat me all you want, I'm telling the truth."

"Fine by me," He shrugs casually.

And, yet again, he begins to kick her, breaking another one of her ribs. Her screams ring bloody murder, not reaching outside of the warehouse. Cole stares at the ground, his eyes clenching shut at the sound of her piercing cries.

---

"Can you drive faster?" Zach pleads Casey from the backseat of her car. "Please?"

"I can't," Casey rolls her eyes in annoyance. "I'm already driving over the speed limit."

"Give it a rest, Case," Laila says from the passenger seat, glancing back at Zach, Aurora, and Jonah. "He just wants his friend back."

"Friend?" Aurora raises an eyebrow. "He's her Romeo, dipshit. That's more than friendship, if you ask me. And dammit, Casey, I don't care about the speed limit."

"You like Carmen?" Casey asks Zach, not taking her eyes off the road in front of her.

"Yeah, why?" Zach questions, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I never thought Carmen would get a famous guy," She shrugs. "Jackson's the only guys that's ever really liked her before, I guess."

"Just shut the fuck up, no one cares," Aurora groans. "Now where are we going?"

"I think Jackson would've taken her to the warehouse," Casey says, ignoring her comment. "We all used to hang out there before Cam left for Los Angeles. It was our secret hideout, away from everyone."

"Are you the only two that know about it?" Jonah questions.

"Other than Casey and Jackson, yes," Laila replies steadily. "Wait- I think Case might've brought Cole before."

"I'm glad that bitch is gone," Casey mutters under her breath. "Stupid asshole cheated on me with my best friend."

"Hold up," Aurora leans forward. "You mean to tell me that you believe that bullshit that Jackson spouted to you?"

"Jackson wouldn't lie to me." Casey states. "He never has."

"Bitch, please," Aurora snaps. "You need to pull that polished stick out of your ass and face the facts- Caramel didn't sleep with your fugly boyfriend."

"But Cole told us himself," Laila frowns, glancing back at the three. Zach's attention snaps up to her, and Aurora's expression plummets. "What? Didn't Carmen tell you?"

"He told you that?" Zach asks slowly, his face falling with every word.

"That's supposedly why he left," Casey sighs. "He was too embarrassed with himself. And when Jackson found out, he was heartbroken. He went psychotic without her."

"Cole and Jackson aren't liars," Laila says with a weak smile. "I'm sorry, you guys. Carmen isn't the person you thought you knew."

"You have to be lying," Aurora narrows her eyes. "Our Caramel would never do something like that, let alone lie to us about it."

"The football team beat her up for making the school lose its two best players," Casey goes on. "It wasn't too bad, I don't believe. She only got a few bruises. She deserved it, though. She drove Cole away, and made Jackson go crazy."

"What about the rumors you guys started about her?" Zach clenches his jaw. "Was that a lie, too?"

"Is that what she told you?" Casey snorts. "Yes, actually. That was a lie, too. There were no rumors spread. Cole spouted to a couple of his friends, and they took it too far. He never meant to hurt her like that. No one did- she just overreacted."

"I don't understand- why would she lie like that?" Jonah asks. "She's never lied to us, and I don't think she'd start now. How do we know you aren't the ones lying."

"I'm telling you what I know," Casey defends herself. "I mean- new place, new life, right? People can change, and maybe you got the wrong end of the line."

"But why would she make up something like that? She would've known we'd find out  about it sometime."

"Secrets." Laila sighs. "Believe me, I'd like to believe her story, too. It's believable, I have to admit. But after hearing different sides of the story, I know who's side I'm on."

And from the back of the car, Aurora glances over at Zach, who lays his head on the car window, his face hard in concentration.

"I know who's side I'm on, too," He says softly. "I've always been on the same side, and I'm not giving up on the girl I love."

_____