B I T T E R

C H A P T E R THIRTEEN

Ace and I hadn't spoken since Monday morning. Caitlyn was fine after her fall. Yes, it was a fall. She limped around school with crutches now, though. Everyone was so sorry for her. I don't think she told anyone about how she ended up that way. I didn't get called to the office or anything.

Ray and I were gossiping and sharing a bowl of popcorn in my room.

"That hoe looks like a deer, limping around school." I laughed.

"She more like a bison with her fat ass." Ray joked. We burst into laughter. Tears formed in my eyes and my stomach started to hurt.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. My phone vibrated on my nightstand. It was a call from a number I didn't have saved, but I answered. It was probably a telemarketer I would hang up on.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi, who is this?" a girl asked. Was she dumb or stupid? She called me!

"Um, you called me, miss." I said.

"Do you know someone named Aidan Daniels?" she asked. I sat up straight. My first thought was that something bad had happened to him and one of his friends was calling to fill me in.

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

Ray looked at me with a questioning look.

"Yeah there is something wrong, actually." Her voice turned cold.

"Um?"

"No, shut up, you hoe! Your number is unsaved in Aidan's phone and he is MY boyfriend! I don't want to see your number slide through his call list anymore or I will drive to wherever you are and kick your ass!" she shouted into the phone. I heard giggles in the background. I rolled my eyes. Her little friends must've been hyping her up.

"First of all, don't call me being disrespectful. Ask Aidan why he's texting me when he has a girlfriend. I didn't even know you existed."

"That's bullshit. I asked Aidan about it and he said he told you that he was with me, but you wouldn't leave him alone." She spit. My heart dropped. This hurt more than anything. I lost the love of my life and my entertainment in the same week.

"Ask his parents about me if you want the truth about me." I shot back.

"I haven't met his parents yet, dumbass."

"Really? How long you been together?"

"Six months strong, bitch."

Why was she acting so tough? She wouldn't have been talking like that if she were in my face. She wouldn't even have gotten this far because I would've already handed her ass to her mid-sentence.

"Guess what? I met his parents one month after meeting him." I said and then I hung up. I didn't have to explain anything to her. She was wasting my time.

My head started to hurt and I collapsed backwards onto the bed. I brought my hands to my face and broke down into tears.

"Charlotte, please don't cry. I don't like seeing you upset." Ray rubbed my arm. He moved my hands from my face and held them. "Tell me what happened."

I explained everything about Aidan to him. I told him about the moment we first made eye contact all the way up to Saturday when he took my virginity.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." He said. This is why Ray was one of my best friends. Ever since I'd met him, we talked every day. He was always there for me. He gave me money when I forgot my lunch, took me home when I needed rides, and he gave me good advice.

"Don't apologize for him. I didn't know. You didn't know."

That girl said she and Aidan had been together for six months. Aidan and I had only been separated for about a year. I was still madly in love with him and it only took him six months to find someone new. He replaced me and he used me.

I understood if he wanted someone to pass his time with. I was only hurt that he didn't tell me about her and we slept together. I would've never slept with him if I knew. Now, I looked like a slut...just like Caitlyn called me.

"If I ever see him, I will beat him up for you." Ray promised.

"No, don't. He hurt me, but I don't want him to be hurt. He's lost me now. I'm never going back to him. That's the biggest punishment if he really loved me like he said."

We didn't say anything else. Ray just held me, rubbing circles in my arm. I couldn't stop crying. The pain was too much to handle. I just wanted to die in that moment. After meeting Aidan, it was hard to imagine life without him. Now, he was completely out of my life.

Every week, there was a new disaster in my life. I felt like I was in a battle and I was starting to lose. I was ready to turn in my armor and end it all.