Our Toxic Love

Chapter Fifty Two

-Ariana's POV-

I don't want to go to school. But, at the same time, I really don't want to show Nathan how he affected me and not come at all.

I walk down the hallway. When I see Ethan, I hesitate before walking up to him.

"Ethan," I say.

He turns to me and a smile takes over his face.

"Hey, I -- wait, what's wrong?" The smile disappears as quickly as it came.

He must've noticed my glazed eyes or the dark circles around them.

"You knew Nathan was cheating on me, didn't you?" I ask.

He scratched the back of his neck.

"Yeah," he says slowly. "I mean, I found out about it during the party and I-I told him to tell you."

I bite my bottom lip to stop it from trembling.

"So, he... you saw him?" I press on.

He nods.

"He's such a jerk," I sigh, looking down.

He grips my chin and tilts my face back up.

"I know," he admits. "And he doesn't deserve you, okay?"

"Yeah but it's not easy to..." My voice falters.

"To get over him," he continues the sentence for me.

"Or to get over what he said," I add.

He frowns. "Why? What did he say?"

"Nothing," I say quickly.

Maybe I shouldn't have added that last part.

"No," he urges. "What did he tell you?"

"He wasn't there on my birthday because... he was with her and," my voice cracks.

"And?"

"He was mostly with me because he wanted to... do it."

Ethan's pupils dilate.

"He what?" He sounds breathless.

I feel panicked now. "Ethan..."

"I'll be right back," he says, disappearing into the clusters of people walking to their lockers.

-Ethan's POV-

I've never been so fucking angry. Ever. First, Matt tries to rape her. Then, her boyfriend's caught cheating on her with some bitch. And now, I find out then Nathan's been with her because he wanted to fuck her the whole time.

Fuck this shit.

I storm into the gym and make my way to the boys' locker room where I know Nathan probably is after basketball practice.

I see him talking to one of his friends. I don't hesitate. I push him against the lockers, gripping the collar of his shirt.

The guy he was talking to scrambles away.

"What did you do?" I demand.

"Chill, we broke up, Miller, she's all yours," he says, panicked.

"No!" I yell. "You hurt her."

"She was gonna be hurt anyway if she found out I was cheating," he points out.

I slam his back into the lockers again and he winces.

"You weren't there on her birthday because you were with some slut," I say.

"Don't call her a slut," Nathan says quietly.