Are you ready? This is one of the first scenes I wrote when I started The Bet. The songs are Breakeven by The Script, Save Your Heart by Mayday Parade, and That's What You Get by Paramore (Suggested by Rayray540).

Enjoy! (:

Chapter 52 *Falling Apart*

~Sophia

I scrutinize the gauze on my hand, tilting it on every angle until I’m satisfied that it’s properly done.

My right hand is wrapped in a bandage because of my outburst yesterday. When I clenched my fist, I didn’t realize blood was dripping on the wound made by the cross that slashed to my palm. I must have held it tightly.

My mom took care of it. Putting disinfectant and wrapping it with a bandage to heal the gaping wound. When she inquired why it was bleeding, I lied and told her I tripped and my palm slashed on a rock. Fortunately she believed me.

It’s not as if I can tell her how I really got it.

Looking up, I stare at myself on the mirror and see the prominent dark circles under my eyes. I haven’t slept last night no matter how I tried. I did not have a piece of mind. Haunting thoughts did not leave me alone, feeding me with disturbing possibilities.

“Phia!” Mom calls from downstairs. “Drake is here.”

My heart flutters in my chest and I force my lungs to breathe properly. When I’m sure I can function normally again, I arrange my things in my bag and make my way to the living room.

Drake and my mom are having a chat.

I thought when I see him today I’ll yell at him. But now I just feel numb. All I want is to get it over with and continue to live my boring yet painless life.

“Hey,” he says, standing up from the couch.

Is it me, or his eyes light up when he sees me?

“Hi,” I choke out. My voice is raspy so I clear my throat inconspicuously.

A feeling of uneasiness washes over me. I can do it, I chant in my mind. It’s now or never!

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

He raises his hand and I take it. “Good bye Mrs. Taylor,” he says.

“Take care of Sophia,” she replies amusedly.

My heart suddenly feels heavy – it’s full of burdens. “See you later Mom,” I say.

Drake and I walk outside and then get in his car.

Last night he called and asked me if I’m free today. I said yes. It’s a good thing because I have to talk to him. Now I realize how it is. He meets up with Cassidy whenever I’m not around. And when he gets tired with one of us, he will go back to the other.

Such a player.

“What happened to your hand?” he asks, a concern expression written on his face.

“I fell,” I lie.

He sighs. “You know, you have to be careful. Remember that I’m worried about you.”

Nice, you’re a really good actor.

We don’t talk after that, and I can’t stop fidgeting on my seat. It’s like knowing something bad will happen. I dreaded this moment for weeks, now I have to face it.

He glances cautiously at my neck, probably wondering why I’m not wearing the necklace he gave me. Little did he know that I almost threw it away last night. I don’t know what’s gotten into me to keep it. Now it’s on the top shelf of my cabinet.

“Stop the car,” I say suddenly.

“Huh?” He turns to me, confused.

“I want to walk,” I explain. Its better this way; I can’t really confess in a car, we have limited space and I feel claustrophobic.

“Okay.” He parks the car on the side of the road and then we both get out.

We’re in one of the less used parks in town. Fortunately, there are just few people idling by.

We walk quietly side by side while I fill the courage to confront him. It’s a nice day, the sun is already hiding from the clouds and the wind is just perfect for my taste. But nothing lasts forever because a few minutes from now, everything will tumble down.

“Pie.”

I continue walking until he grabs my arm and stops me. Whipping around, I face him. “What?”

He smiles slowly and says, “I’ve been talking to you but I noticed that your head was in the clouds.”

“What are you saying?” I ask impatiently. Am I ready to tell him now? My heart beats in my chest and my stomach is flipping, I have the urge to vomit.

He raises his hand and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. I force myself not to flinch away with his touch.

“Pie, falling in love with you is something I had not expected,” he tells me. “Being in love with you is something I could not stop even if I tried.”

Why?

Why is he proclaiming his love for me now? Is it—

Oh my God.

I quickly do the math in my head and realize that I am right. Today’s the thirty first day. That’s why he’s telling me he loves me. And now he expects me to be his girlfriend.

No, no, no.

This can’t be happening. He’s not that awful, right?

I will myself to calm down, there’s no need to freak out.

Compose yourself, I think firmly, you have to finish what you started.

“Pie?” He’s waiting for my reply.

“I hate you,” I say, my voice cracking at the end. “I hate everything about you.” Especially about the way you make me feel.

“What?” he asks incredulously.

“Don’t be stupid! How can I not hate you for doing this to me?!”

“W-what are y-you saying?”

“I know about your bet with Andre,” I confess. I take a deep breath to steady myself. I can feel the ground disintegrating beneath me.

Drake is staring at me, eyes wide with shocked. I don’t know if he’s breathing.

“You did not expect it, right?” I continue. “You thought I didn’t know you assumed I was weak. Stupid.”

He opens his mouth, no doubt to contradict me, but no sound comes from him.

“Unfortunately for you, I knew what you were doing.” It’s hard to swallow the lump in my throat. My mouth is dry, it’s like sandpaper is rubbing on my tongue.

“So what if I tell you I can be your girlfriend?” I blurt out. “And then you’ll tell me it was all a big joke? That I was a piece in your game?” Hysterical sobs are starting to form in my throat but I force them down. I can’t appear weak in front of him. I have to stand my ground.

“W-what are y-you talking about?” he asks finally.

“I’m not stupid!” I snap. “I know your bet with Andre,” I repeat.

“No, no, it was all a misunderstanding,” he says quickly, not keeping in my mind that I know his secret. “I. . . I already cancelled it.”

I want to punch him on his face so he will have idea how much he’s hurting me. “Do you think I believe you?” I say furiously. “You already lied to me multiple times, and guess what, you’re playing my heart! So how can I believe you?!”

“Pie,” he says, running his hand through his hair, and looking miserable. “Please let me explain—“

“No,” I interject, “You listen to me. I knew your secret for a couple of weeks now. I heard you talking to Andre about it. So I made a game of my own. To reverse it and make you fall in love with me. I pretended that I didn’t know. I pretended that I was falling in love with you.”

He shakes his head slowly, avoiding looking into my eyes. “No,” he repeats again and again. “I don’t believe you.” He puts his hands on his ear to distort the sound, to not hear me talk.

“That’s not my problem,” I respond.

To my surprise, tears spill down from his eyes. I look away, not wanting to see him like this. I didn’t know it will hurt me to—

No!

I can’t buckle just like that. I can’t back down just because he’s crying.

“I was not pretending,” he continues. I doubt if he even knows that he’s crying. “Everything I did— it was real.”

“I don’t believe you,” I mumble.

“I did not mean to hurt you.” His shoulders are shaking and his face is full of pain and sadness.

Because I’m heartless, I continue, “Everything I did in the past was to make you fall in love with me. I want to take revenge for—“

“Revenge?” he stammers.

I wanted him to fall in love with me, not the other way around! Revenge is not good. It never was but I still continued it. Now I’m paying for it.

A stupid tear falls from my eye and I wipe it away quickly with the back of my shaking hand. “I heard you talking to Andre about your dream -nightmare- when you dreamed of me knowing about your dirty little secret.”

“Impossible,” he mutters. His eyes become glassy, hard, and distant. His hands fall to his side, lifeless.

“I played with your heart like you played mine. Now we’re quits.”

“But I didn’t,” he whispers. He moves closer to me and wraps his arms around me.

I push him away with all the energy I have. I don’t know which one of us is shaking. Maybe it’s the two of us but I’m not planning to wait and find out.

“Take your hands off me!” I yell, shoving him away.

He tightens his hold on me so I decide to kick his shin. He lets go of me and I turn around quickly to run but he grabs my arm in that instant.

“I never want to see you again,” I say, my voice full of venom, pain, and sadness.

He takes a step back like I’ve slapped him, and stares at me blankly. “I love you,” he states.

I can’t take it anymore so I run. Run with all my might as if my life depends on it. I don’t have to turn back to see that he’s not following me. He’s still shocked at what I told him. At what I accused him.

Of course.

Who would have thought I knew their secret all along? Who would have thought I’m not shallow as they assumed?

My tears are blurring my vision but I still continue running even though my knees are flailing beneath me. I have to get away from him. Far, far away from him. I can’t bear to see him again.

After all we’ve been through; he still chose to break my heart. He still had the nerve to tell me he cancelled the bet. I’m not stupid to believe him when in the first place he chose to play around.

I never planned to fall in love. But I did. Love is unexpected. It comes when you least expect it and when it goes away, it will leave you hollow, empty, and torn apart. How did this happen? All the happiness I felt are now slowly washing away. They are like bubbles that popped into thin air, as if they never existed in the first place.

I’m like a blind person running - running without seeing anything. My life turned upside down in a month.

I’m starting to have hysterical sobs that make me slow. If only I can run away from my problems. . .

Soon enough, people start to notice me. They shoot me weird glances but I don’t care. I continue to run, run to nowhere, not having a destination in mind. All I know is that I have to get away.

Time loses its meaning. I don’t know how many minutes or hours have passed.

My feet start to trip each other and I end up almost falling on the ground. It’s hard to see clearly because my tears are spilling simultaneously from my eyes.

I look around and blink my eyes and realize that I’m in a secluded place in town. This is more or less three miles from the park. There are still ruins left from the fire that took most of the houses a few years ago. Now all the habitants move to another village, forgetting the ghastly past behind.

I want to stop running but my feet don’t want to cooperate. I panic because my motor movements don’t do what I want.

To my astonishment, I trip on a piece of wood, my knees buckling underneath me and I stumble to the ground, hip first. The only choice I have is to sit on the dusty pavement. And cry. Because that’s the only thing I can do. My lungs are having difficulty in breathing. It hurts so much— every part of me. Even my heart literally feels breaking into tiny pieces.

All I want is my mom who can comfort me. I long for her arms to wrap around me, telling me that everything will be alright, even though it seems impossible at the moment.

Fishing my phone from my pocket, I dial her number with shaking hands. She picks it up after the third ring.

“Mom,” I choke, gasping for breaths, “I need you. Please help me.”