Don't Do It

T w e n t y - e i g h t

•Arianna's POV•

"Because I . . . I cheated."

As I splutter out the words, my body becomes catatonic, my lips quiver, and tears frame my pupils. My phone feels cold against my ear as I struggle to hold it in my numb hand. There are tissues spread all over my bed because I've been crying ever since I came home. Right now, I'm on my third box of Kleenex.

"I'm so sorry," I tell Dylan with utter honesty. I didn't mean for this to happen; I regret cheating. I thought I would never cheat in my life, but I've already done it in my first relationship.

What about the ones that are yet to come? That's if Dylan breaks up with me.

"I love you." And with that, I hang up and switch off my phone, not wanting to ensue with this any longer. I hate myself for loving him and Jake at the same time, for lacking willpower, for being naïve. To make things even worse it begins to rain heavily, causing me to drown in my tears.

A gentle knock on the door scares me slightly. My fifteen seconds of peace are disrupted by the person knocking. I don't know why that person chose this precise moment to come to me, because I want to be alone, but I'm grateful though.

The door opens and Dad steps in, dressed in his suit since he's come back from work. "Hey, I heard you crying." He makes sure to maintain our privacy by shutting the door, before sauntering towards my bed. He clears a space by throwing half of my used up tissues to the floor, sitting beside me. I can smell his aftershave since it's lingering in the air. He covers his hand over mine, his eyes giving me a soft gaze. "Everything alright, sweetheart?"

"No, Dad," I shake my head in disapproval. It soon becomes apparent that was a mistake to do, because now I have a splitting headache. I curse internally. "What's wrong? Did you injure yourself?" Dad queries, sqeezing my hand gently before rubbing his thumb against my skin. It's comforting.

Lifting my other hand to my eye, the one that's clutching onto the tissue, I wipe a lone tear. "No, but I did injure my heart." The tears pour out of my eyes once more, and cascade down my moist, swollen cheeks.

"Oh, honey." Dad pulls me into his chest, embracing me in a doting hug. He obviously doesn't mind me messing up one of his expensive suits. I hold still while he strokes my hair and whispers into my left ear, his voice raspy. "This is why I warned you about dating. It's not all fun and games, and there are some serious risks involved. Such as this one."

"How did you know?" There is nothing more I can say; he's figured it out.

"It's the only explanation. I know you very well, Ari, and you wouldn't dwell over something school-related." He holds me even tighter before exhaling profoundly. Our current position enables me to hear Dad's heart beating slowly as his chest moves up and down. "You're strong, sweetheart. Only a guy would do this to my beautiful daughter."

Two guys actually.

Releasing his grasp, Dad lets go of me. He pushes a few strands of my hair out of my face, and behind my left ear. Our eyes meet. "Don't tell me it's Jake Oliver." he says with a firm voice. "You were at his house and you know how I feel towards him."

I avert my gaze, biting the edge of my upper lip, and think. Maybe it won't be so bad if I tell him about Dylan. I'm definitely not taking chances by exposing my situation with Jake to him, because it will just give him another reason to hate Jake.

Staring into his eyes, I muster up the courage to speak without stuttering. "It's not Jake, okay?" I lie through my teeth. "I was dating some other guy before he left me." Another lie. Dylan hasn't left me - yet.