HARSH TRUTH

ARIANA'S POV

Tania stood near the doorway with her arms crossed.

Great.

Just when I thought I could have a moment of peace in the restroom, she had to ruin it.

I turned back toward the sink. "I'm not in the mood, Tania."

"Neither was I when you started dating my boyfriend."

My hand froze.

Slowly, I looked at her through the mirror. "What?"

She laughed quietly. "You didn't know?"

I said nothing.

Her heels clicked softly against the floor as she stepped closer. "I knew Scott first." She shrugged. "Long before you showed up.”

An uncomfortable feeling stirred in my chest.

"We dated in high school." She continued casually. "We broke up because we were young, and then college happened."

I stared at her, chest tightening.

"He always came back eventually." She smiled slightly. "I guess some people are just temporary distractions."

My fingers tightened around the edge of the sink.

Temporary distraction.

The words lodged themselves deep inside my chest.

Scott had never mentioned her as his ex or girlfriend. He only told me she was his cousin and I had stupidly believed.

It suddenly felt like there were entire pieces of his life I'd never been allowed to see.

And now, she was standing here speaking with the confidence of someone who had never doubted she'd get him back eventually.

That hurt more than I wanted to admit.

"Congratulations." I said quietly as I forced myself to continue drying my hands.

She smiled at my reflection. "You know what's funny?"

I didn't answer.

"Sometimes he'd be lying next to me while your name was lighting up his phone."

My fingers tightened slightly around the paper towel.

"And he'd hand me the phone and tell me to reply for him because he couldn't be bothered."

Silence.

"He used to laugh about how easy you were to calm down."

My heartbeat slowed… dangerously slow.

"'Tell her I'm busy.'" Tania's voice was almost casual. "'Tell her I'll call her later.' ‘Tell her I love her too.’" She tilted her head slightly. "Sometimes I wrote the messages myself."

Her words slammed so hard into me that my knees nearly buckled.

The late night messages.

The random "I love you's."

The times I'd smiled at my phone like an idiot because Scott had finally replied after hours of silence. The times I'd stared at my screen wondering why he suddenly sounded distant. The times I'd reread his messages whenever I missed him.

My stomach twisted violently.

Some of those messages...

Hadn't even been from him?

Some of them had been from her?

My chest tightened painfully.

Had she written the message he sent on my birthday? The one that made me cry because I thought it was sweet?

What about the good morning texts? The heart emojis? The apologies after our arguments?

I suddenly remembered all the times he'd said he missed me. All the times I'd gone to sleep smiling because I thought he was thinking about me.

A horrible feeling spread through my chest.

How many of those moments had been real? How many of them had been from her? How many times had I been talking to her while believing I was talking to him?

I felt stupid.

No.

I felt humiliated.

But I refused to let her see any of it.

I had already cried enough over Scott.

I wasn't going to cry in front of the woman who helped break my heart.

Tania watched my reflection carefully. "He came back to me while he was still with you, Ariana."

My jaw tightened.

"You were never really competing with me. Because the truth is..." she continued softly, "you can't lose something that was never yours to begin with."

For a moment neither of us spoke.

Then, I folded the paper towel carefully and dropped it into the bin. "If this is your greatest achievement in life, maybe you should aim higher."

Her expression hardened instantly.

I stomped toward the door before she could answer. I turned the door knob, pushed the door open and stepped out.

Then, I froze.

Professor Thiago stood at the far end of the hallway talking to another professor.

Even from here I recognized him immediately.

His height, his broad shoulders, and those attractive blue eyes.

My heart launched itself directly into my throat.

Fuck.

I can't let him see me.

No.

No.. no… no.

I spun around so quickly I nearly walked straight into the door.

My pulse exploded.

Why was my heart beating this fast? Why was I panicking?

My brain immediately gave me answers.

It was because I still had his shirt. Because I'd cried in his apartment. Because I'd fallen asleep in his bed. Because I'd climbed onto his lap and—

Absolutely not.

I was not finishing that thought.

"What the hell was that?" Tania asked behind me.

I said nothing.

She frowned and stepped toward the doorway before peeking outside.

A second later she went strangely quiet. When I looked over, her eyes were fixed somewhere down the hallway.

Then, something unreadable flickered across her face.

Recognition?

Interest?

I couldn't tell.

Her eyes narrowed slightly before she stepped out fully.

Weird.

I didn't have time to think about it because Professor Thiago was still out there being tall for absolutely no reason.

I pulled out my phone and stared intensely at the blank screen.

There was no way I was walking past him.

No fucking way.

Absolutely not.

I would graduate in this restroom if necessary.

Five minutes passed, then ten. My legs were starting to hurt.

I unlocked my phone to meet three new messages.

MAYA:

Did you fall into the WC?

MAYA:

Why aren't you here yet?

MAYA:

Are you planning to have lunch there?

A laugh escaped me as I began typing a reply.

ME:

Emergency situation.

Her reply came immediately.

MAYA:

Period emergency or murder emergency?

ME:

Professor emergency.

Three dots appeared instantly.

MAYA:

OH MY GOODNESS… IS HE THERE?

ME:

YES.

MAYA:

TALK TO HIM.

ME:

I'D RATHER DIE.

MAYA:

So you are hiding in a bathroom.

ME:

A tactical retreat is not hiding.

MAYA:

Coward… hurry up. Or I'll eat your lunch too.

Another five minutes passed.

Surely he was gone by now. Professors usually had things to do. They had meetings to attend, classes to go to.

He wasn't going to spend his entire day standing in a hallway.

Right?

I slowly moved toward the door and pressed my ear against it.

I heard nothing… no voices, no footsteps.

Carefully, I opened the door and peeked outside. The hallway was empty.

Thank God.

I released a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. Maybe the universe wasn't trying to ruin my life after all.

I stepped out immediately and started walking as fast as humanly possible trying not to break into a run.

Running would look suspicious.

I'd just made it exactly three steps when my heart suddenly sank straight into my stomach.

"Ms. Castillo."

I froze.