Just Me ✔

Chapter 10

Ethan's POV:

"Fuck you, Ethan," Jayden cries as Chase pulls her away from me.

I have fucked up. I groan and put my head into my hands.

"Dammit!" I exclaim as I kick a pile of woodchips.

I make my way back to the party and instantly look for Madeline. I find her and pull her aside.

"Why the fuck would you say that in front of everyone?" I spat at her.

"I needed to set her in her place," she says matter o factly. Bitch.

"You asked me about her story. I told you, and I said not to tell anyone. You backstabbed me!" I exclaim.

"Ethan," she chuckles, "You know me. Would you really think I wanted to get to know her?" she smirks.

She has a point. I thought it was odd she asked, but I let it slide. I didn't like Jayden, so I wasn't protective of her secrets.

Madeline smiles, "are we done here?" Her hands begin trailing up my abs.

"No, we are not fucking done here. You are one heartless bitch to go up there and twist the story like that. You can kiss any contact with me goodbye," I say as I stepped away from her. Her eyes got glossy, as I clearly caught her off guard. I turn away and decide to head home.

As I was leaving, I bump shoulders with Chase as he enters, his eyes ablaze and fists clenched.

"Ethan," he grunted.

"Chase? You brought her home, right? Is she okay?" I asked. I feel horrible, I really do.

"I did, and she's fine." He responds, clearly annoyed with me.

"What are you doing back here?" I ask. He looks like he's about to kill someone. Hopefully, it's not me.

"I just need to find anyone filming," he says, walking away from me.

"That's like impossible, dude."

"Shut up, Ethan!" He snaps. I sigh. He has a right to be mad.

"Find Jared. He knows what to do," I whisper and he nods. I walk out the door, and I drive home. I walk through the front door, and I immediately head upstairs to my room. I need to sleep. This day has gone on way too long. As I'm about to turn the knob, I hear slight noises coming from down the hall. Jayden's room. I decide to follow the noises and I realize she's crying. Sobbing, actually.

It's my fault. She hates my guts, I know it. My hand reaches for the knob, but I pull it away. She doesn't want to see me.

"Dammit." I whisper as she lets out another loud cry.

You know, I never liked her. It wasn't because she was a mean person. It was because of me. She's better than me. She's smarter than me. She's more loveable than me. She's nicer than me. She's a golden child. I'm scared my parents will love her more than me. I tried to push her away. I wanted her gone.

I realize now that's not going to happen. The more I push her away, the more I push other people away.

I'm such a fucking dick. I really am.