(✔) 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙗𝙤𝙮 ↳ (𝔃.𝓭.𝓱)

thirty-four !

It was almost like falling out of a tree.

Shock hit Everly hard, the impact of the situation making her head spin. Her lungs squeezed painfully for air, ripping a horrified gasp from her mouth.

Lavender whipped around, detaching her lips from Zach's. Her eyebrow quirked up evilly and her thin lips curled into a smug smirk. The world felt like it was swooping underneath Everly's feet.

Zach's eyes flew open and he stared from Everly to Lavender in silence. Then, through Everly's haze of tears, she saw him practically shove Lavender off of him.

Everybody has a flight or fight instinct. You either attack, or flee the situation. In Everly's case, she wanted to do both. She wanted to stomp right up to Zach, scream at him in anger and slap him around the face, maybe even knee him in the balls.

Eventually, she decided on the latter. She whipped around and fled, hot tears spilling out of her eyes and obscuring her vision. She could hear Zach yelling her name behind her, and footsteps chasing after her, but she kept sprinting.

She kept running until she couldn't anymore, and she collapsed on the ground next to the patch of tulips. Her shoulders were racked with dry sobs and she gasped for breath, wishing for the ache in her chest to go away.

All she could think about was that Ariana and Isabel were right. They were so right about him. He did just use girls for fun, going through them like they were socks. He made them feel appreciated and like he loved them, but really, he was sneaking around with other girls behind their backs. He really was that type of guy. A manipulative asshole who disregarded girl's' feelings and bodies for his own entertainment.

Why hadn't she listened? If she had listened to them, she wouldn't have gotten into this mess. She would have still had someone to hold onto, someone for support. Now, she had poured her heart out to Zach and trusted him with things she had never told any other person before, and he turned out to be an untrustworthy dickhead.

God, why am I so fucking stupid? Everly thought, tears of despondency cascading down her face, leaving her weak and frail. She hated all of this. Why did she ever trust Zach? All she wanted to do was forget him, erase him from her memories. I wish I never met you, I wish I never met you, she repeated in her mind.

Suddenly, she felt someone gently touch her shoulder. That touch sent her blood boiling and she pulled away sharply. "Don't fucking touch me!" She shrieked, looking up to face the person who had touched her shoulder.

Zach looked down at her. His eyes were wide and sad and his cheeks were flushed. He tried to reach for her hand. "Everly, please—"

"I told you not to fucking touch me!"

Zach ran his fingers through his hair. "Everly please listen to me," He pleaded.

Everly shook her head, teardrops dripping down her cheeks. "I'm not going to listen to you. I don't want anything to do with you, Zach Herron!" She screamed, her fists clenched into balls.

"Everly, it wasn't what it looked like!" He cried out.

"Bullshit! Fucking bullshit! I saw you kissing her! I saw it with my own two eyes, of course it's what it looked like!" She bellowed with as much ferocity as she could muster, but her lower lip was trembling, a sign she was going to break again.

"Just listen, Everly. Please! I have to explain everything to you. Everly, please!" Zach's tone was laced with urgency now, his eyes glassed over with tears. "Please," he whispered, staring right into Everly's eyes.

Everly shook her head lightly, averting her gaze. How good could his explanation possibly be? She would just listen to his cock and bull story and just carry on the rest of her life without him. What more did she have to lose?