Loyal Heir

by Michelle Heard

Kennedy shrugs. “Hey, it is what it is.” She takes a deep breath then asks, “Does this mean we can’t be friends?”

  “No, of course not, but Aria and I will need some time. Just give us some space. Okay?”

  “Sure. I’ll apologize to her when I see her again,” Kennedy offers.

  Well, that didn’t go too bad.

  Kennedy gives me an awkward smile. “Thanks for telling me, though.” She shrugs, then closes the distance between us and hugs me. “Aria is lucky to have you.” She presses a kiss to my cheek then pulls back.

  I take a step away from her. “Yeah, let that be the last hug and kiss, okay?”

  Kennedy shakes her head and lets out a huff of laughter. “God, it’s innocent, Forest.”

  “Still.” I begin to turn away from her but freeze when my eyes land on Aria, where she’s watching us from the dorm.

  There’s zero emotion on her face as she turns around and heads into the building.

  Fuck my life.

  ARIA

  Hiding in the art building, the pain cuts so deep I know the scars will never heal. I wipe away the tears on my cheeks with the back of my hand and take in a deep breath.

  God, it was a mistake thinking we would be fine, that we could pull this off.

  ‘How about we continue with the fake relationship. Use it as a trial period to see if we can last longer than two weeks.’

  Remembering Forest’s words, I begin to doubt myself. Crap, is that all we were to Forest? Still a fake relationship, a trial period?

  Did I read too much into what was happening between us? But still, we freaking had sex!

  I shut my eyes against the wave of pain, remembering his touches, his kisses, how he made me feel. It couldn’t have been an act. I’m not that crazy. Forest felt it too when we made love. Didn’t he?

  I sink down against the wall and rest my forehead on my knees. The past week has been the hardest of my life. I’m struggling to keep my head above the water. Everything hurts a million times more because it’s Forest. He was supposed to be different.

  We’ve never had a fight before, and it leaves me feeling frazzled and lost. I don’t know how to handle this. It reminds me of when he lost his temper with me because he couldn’t find me. He never got angry at Kennedy.

  Do I bring out the worst in the guys I date?

  Do I expect too much from a relationship? Does the problem lie with me? I mean, I don’t have the best history when it comes to dating. Eli even said I was high maintenance and not worth the effort.

  Was he right about everything?

  Forest and I never told anyone things between us changed. I can’t even hate Kennedy because she’s under the impression Forest is single.

  So the problem lies with me.

  I close my eyes at the thought that I am broken. I’m so fucking broken, not even my best friend can date me for longer than two weeks.

  I’m… undateable… forgettable… unlovable as a woman.

  Another tear sneaks over my cheek as the realization crushes my heart to a pile of hopeless dust.

  It hurts too much. It feels as if I’ve been flayed open, and my heart ripped from my chest. Then Forest and Kennedy, with their perfect love, did the freaking tango over my broken heart until there’s nothing left but a bloody mess.

  Lifting my head, I stare at the opposite wall.

  Knowing I can’t hide here and drown in my sorrow, I climb to my feet. It’s time to let go of Forest. He was never mine, to begin with. I’m the odd one out keeping Kennedy and Forest from finding their happiness.

  God, I hate myself. So much.

  No wonder my relationships all fail. Who can love such a failure of a human being?

  Feeling numb with pain and self-hatred, I walk out of the art building to face the mess I’ve created. I only make it to the dorms when I see Forest and Kennedy. I’m not close enough to hear what they’re saying but seeing them hug, despair fills all the empty parts of me.

  I can’t believe what I’ve done to Forest, the hell I’ve put him through. I’m a fucked up person and not even worthy of his friendship.

  Forest glances my way, and when I see the frustrated expression on his face, I know I did that to him.

  My feet begin to move again, and I rush into the dorm. Taking the elevator up, I try to gather the strength to let Forest go so he can be happy.

  It’s going to kill me, but for Forest, I’m willing to die.

  When I walk into the suite, it’s only to find Carla leaning against the back of a couch. Her gaze lifts to me, disappointment tightening her features.

  “The relationship is real?” she asks in a low voice. “So much for us being best friends. Right?”

  I hear the door open and shut behind me, and without having to look, I know Forest just came in.

  Carla’s eyes snap to him. “You lied to me.”

  “I didn’t lie to you,” Forest grumbles at her. “While we’re slinging accusations at each other, where the hell do you get off telling Kennedy that Aria and I are in a fake relationship? You had no right to do that.”

  When Noah comes down the hallway, I lower my eyes to the floor, knowing this will get so freaking ugly before the night is over.

  Carla takes a step toward Forest, then she says, “If the two of you hadn’t kept it from me, I would’ve known to keep my mouth shut. Don’t you dare turn this on me.” Carla rushes back to the couch and grabs a piece of paper. When she tears it in half, she hisses, “This show is over. You both crossed the line and then kept it from me. What am I to the two of you? Chopped liver?” She sucks in a trembling breath, and it crushes what’s left of my heart.

  “I’m sorry, Carla,” I say, and walking toward her, I plead, “I didn’t want to drag you into it.”

  “You both dragged me into this mess the day you decided this fake relationship was the answer to all your problems. I didn’t have much choice in the matter.” She pauses to take a breath, and I hate to see how she’s struggling to not cry. “You’ve been living in your little bubble since school started. I’m not even a part of the group anymore. It hurts finding out just how little you mean to the two people who were supposed to be your best friends.”

  God. Look what I’ve done. I’ve hurt so many people.

  Carla shakes her head, and a tear spirals down her cheek. She turns around to walk away but luckily, Noah’s right there to stop her. He wraps his arms around her and pulls her against his chest, then he snaps angrily at us, “You both need to sort out your shit.”

  Knowing I have to put an end to all of this, I fist my hands at my sides, then say, “It was all an act, Carla. One of us just forgot. Don’t worry, there’s no relationship.”

  Forest turns to me, shock tightening his features.

  Carla pulls away from Noah, looking at me. “It didn’t look like that.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I lost control,” I try to repair things as quickly as I can. “Call it temporary insanity.” I give her a pleading look. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I love you and don’t want this to come between us. Can… can’t we forget this happened? I’ll do anything to fix things.”

  Noah takes hold of Carla’s hand, and giving us a look of warning, he says, “Sort this shit out now. It’s affecting everyone.” He begins to pull Carla down the hallway, muttering, “Let's give them some privacy.” I watch until Noah drags Carla into her room and the door slams shut behind them.

  Forest’s eyes narrow on me, and anger tightens his mouth. “Are you serious right now? An act?”

  I shrug, trying to play it all off as nothing. “Yeah, we made a stupid mistake. I’m sorry for letting it get carried away.” I even manage to joke. Maybe it’s because I am a joke. A fucking pathetic one. “You know me… I’ve always been an overly emotional fucked up girl.” I try to chuckle, but it sounds empty. “I’m sorry I messed up everything.”

  Forest stalks to me, a dark look making him angrier than I’ve ever seen him. “Carried away? You think us sleeping together was
us just getting carried away?

  My heart. It’s hard to lie to Forest so he can go back to Kennedy.

  I can’t stop the tears as they fill my eyes. “It was a mistake, Forest. I’m sorry.”

  It meant everything to me.

  “Stop fucking saying that,” he shouts at me.

  I wrap my arms around my waist, wishing I could turn back time to before I destroyed the only healthy relationship in my life.

  Chapter 17

  FOREST

  I’m a minute away from losing my shit. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My heart is pounding against my ribs while I’m filled with confusion and anger.

  A mistake?

  Carried away?

  Glaring at Aria, I struggle to keep my calm. “You and I both know this was real. Don’t even try to fucking deny it.” I take a breath and push a frustrated hand through my hair. “I’m sorry about what happened with Kennedy. I talked to…”

  “You and Kennedy always made a great couple,” Aria interrupts me. She lifts her eyes to mine, and it’s hard to find my best friend in her blue irises. Her expression is distant, as if I mean nothing to her. “It was all an act, Forest. I agree we lost control, but a relationship will never work between us.” She takes a deep breath, then shrugs. “Hey, at least I know I can climax, right? The rumor about you is ancient history. Let's take it as a win and move on.”

  I can’t believe she just said that. Is that all I was to her?

  She begins to walk toward the hallway, but I grab hold of her arm, forcing her to stop because I’m far from done with this fight.

  Gutted by what she just said in such a nonchalant manner, I snap, “Good to know I was useful for one thing.”

  She tries to pull her arm free from my hold, but I shake my head. “You don’t get to walk away and pretend nothing happened.”

  “I’m not pretending,” she says, a frustrated frown settling on her face. “I’m trying to fix things.”

  “Then fucking tell me what’s really going on here instead of all the lies!” I exclaim, having zero patience left.

  Before she can answer me, the front door opens, and Hana comes in.

  Aria tries to free her arm again, and when I don’t let go, she cries, “Let go of me!”

  My fingers instantly jump away from her skin.

  Hana steps forward. “What’s going on here?”

  “A misunderstanding,” I mutter.

  Keeping her head low, Aria nods.

  “Didn’t sound like just a misunderstanding,” Hana says. “I could hear you from the elevator.”

  I look at Aria and ask, “Can we just go to the bedroom and talk this out?”

  She shrugs, then walks down the hallway to her room. I follow her inside and shut the door behind us. When Aria turns to me, and there’s no sign of the love we shared on her face, I shake my head. “What happened, Aria? I thought we were good.”

  “We were, Forest. Then we screwed things up by getting romantically involved. Even if it was just fake,” She lets out a tired sigh, “I can’t handle it anymore. Putting on an act was never my strong point.”

  Fuck. Aria’s really serious.

  “So it was all pretending? None of it was real?” I ask, needing to hear her say the words.

  “Yeah. Like I said, I’m sorry I got carried away.” She even fucking smiles at me. “The deal is done with. But, hey, Kennedy is back. You guys can get back together so the rumor won’t resurface.”

  “This isn’t like you,” I bite the words out. It feels as if she’s digging into my chest and yanking my heart right out.

  I’ve never seen her like this, and I have no idea how to get through to her.

  “Look,” she shakes her head, still zero emotion on her face, “we should take a break.”

  “A break from what?” Panic explodes in my chest, leaving me devastated.

  Don’t you dare say it.

  Don’t.

  Please… don’t.

  “Everything. I need time to process what happened, and I bet you need time to recover from dealing with my crazy ass. We should take time apart.”

  “And then?” I take a step closer to her, panic clawing at what’s left of my heart.

  “Then we can reassess and see where it leaves us.” Her eyes lift to mine. “But right now, I can’t be your friend. The past week was a nightmare, and I need to deal with it.”

  A nightmare?

  Being with me was a nightmare for her?

  Shaken to my core, I can’t find the strength to face her any longer.

  I turn and leave her room, and when I shut my own door behind me, the severity of what just happened nearly hits me off my feet.

  My world implodes.

  Aria just pretended? And me? I fucking fell for the act.

  This can’t be happening.

  I shake my head, unable to process everything.

  ARIA

  I sink down on the edge of the bed, feeling drained of all my strength, a cry rips through me.

  It killed me lying to Forest. I wanted to shout at him that I love him. I wanted a chance to fight for him… for us.

  But Kennedy won the fight before I even had a chance.

  It’s better this way.

  Then why does it hurt so much?

  Tears begin to fall, and I don’t even bother stopping them.

  Now I can only pray, Forest and I can come back from this and save our friendship. If I lose that as well, it will end me.

  I scoot back on the bed and curl into a fetal position. Grabbing a pillow, I bury my face in as sobs begin to wrack me.

  There’s a knock at my door, and I shoot up, rushing to wipe the tears away.

  When the door opens, and I see it’s Hana, my face crumbles.

  She comes to sit by me, and when she opens her arms, I move closer and hug her.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  I pull a little back, and needing to tell someone how I really feel, I admit, “I fell in love with Forest.”

  Her brow furrows. “Doesn’t he feel the same?”

  I shake my head. “Kennedy came back. They’ll probably get back together.”

  “Are you sure?” Hana asks. “I know I haven’t been around much, but from what I saw, things were mutual between you and Forest.”

  “It was all an act,” I mutter. “Nothing but a fake relationship that got out of control.”

  Hana pulls me back into a hug. “Things will get better. You and Forest have been friends forever. You’ll get through this.”

  “God,” I sigh, “I hope so.”

  Hana gives me a caring smile. “Want some coffee?”

  I shake my head. “I’m just going to shower and get some sleep.”

  “Okay.” She gets up, then says, “You know where I am if you need to talk some more.”

  “Thanks, Hana.”

  When she leaves the room, I get up to lock the door, so I can cry my heart out without anyone interrupting me.

  I grab clean clothes, and walking to the bathroom, I turn on the water. After stripping out of my clothes, I step under the water and let the droplets mix with my tears.

  I’ll give Forest and Kennedy time, and then I’ll hopefully get a chance to recover what’s left of our friendship.

  My chest closes up, and I drop down to my butt as the thought of seeing Forest with Kennedy shatters what’s left of me.

  I love him so much.

  Then you have to let him find happiness with the woman he loves. The one he’s always loved.

  Feeling caged, I get up and wash quickly. I rush through the process of drying off and yanking on my underwear, sweatpants, and a t-shirt, I walk back into my room. I stop by my dressing table to tie my hair and then slip on my sneakers.

  Stopping in front of my door, I take a deep breath before I open it. I let out a sigh of relief when I don’t run into anyone on my way out.

  When I reach the art classroom, the pressure in my chest begins to ease a little. I go sit behind
the easel and stare at the painting.

  Love’s End.

  That’s what I’ll name it.

  Getting up, I take hold of the painting and let it rest beside me. I grab a clean canvas and settle it on the easel. Taking hold of my palette and brush, I lean forward, and I begin to immortalize what I felt with Forest.

  A tear sneaks down my cheek as I remember how we used to make tents in our bedrooms, pretending we were camping.

  The memories begin to flow onto the canvas. Blues, whites, colors as bright as a bubble floating through sunlight.

  Chapter 18

  FOREST

  After I’ve spent most of the night replaying what happened, I’m sure Aria’s lying to me. She’s never kept anything from me before, and it hurts like a mother that she won’t open up to me.

  I’m trying to understand where she’s coming from, though. The misunderstanding with Kennedy must’ve brought back all of Aria’s insecurities.

  I’m pissed at myself for letting it happen, but I was shocked out of my mind by Kennedy's sudden return and caught up in falling in love with Aria.

  No matter how perfect I tried to make the last week for her, it kept backfiring on me.

  When I walk into the kitchen, I find Hana and Carla having coffee.

  Shit. First things first.

  I walk to my cousin and wrap her up in a hug. “I’m sorry you got caught in the shitstorm.”

  I feel a sliver of relief when she hugs me.

  When I pull back, Carla says, “I was just shocked last night. Sorry for the dramatics.” Her eyes search mine. “How are you holding up?”

  I begin to fix myself a cup of coffee. “I’ll be okay.”

  “Yeah?” Hana asks.

  I nod, then focus on pouring the hot liquid into the cup.

  “I talked with Aria,” Hana mentions.

  “How did that go?” I ask as I add cream and sugar.

  Hana waits for me to take a sip, then she answers, “You’re both hurting. Why can’t you just sit down and talk like adults?”

  I take a deep breath. “I tried.” I shake my head. “Trust me, I tried. She won’t open up to me.”