Arranged •{ONC 2020}•

《 Chapter Thirteen 》

A swirl of emotions rose up in her chest. "Dylan, I—"

"Here's your water, Ashlynn." Jase swooped in, sliding a glass into her hands. She looked at him in confusion. "Your friends told me to give you one after your third shot."

"But I've only had two."

"Sorry, I must have miscounted." The look he was giving her told her this was no accident. Again, his message was crystal clear.

"It's alright. I need to go home now anyways. I have to get up early tomorrow."

"Ashlynn..." Dylan's hand brushed her forearm.

"I'm sorry, but I really have to go. Tell Hana and your sister I said bye." And with that, she hurried out of the club, the realization of what had just happened hitting her like a semi-truck. She hopped in the back of the first cab she saw and gave him the address to her home.

The short trip was miserable. Wave after wave of guilt crashed over her. On the one hand, she felt bad for running out on Dylan after his confession. On the other, there was a part of her that refused to let her think of anything but Wesley, which was unsettling in its own right.

When the cab pulled into the driveway, Ashlynn was surprised to see another cab parked by the front door. As they drew closer, she could make out two people standing on the front steps, both of them discussing something. One of them she recognized as Wesley, and the other appeared to be a woman. She sighed in disgust; it looked like his wretched ex-girlfriend was back. The cabby stopped several feet behind the first cab and Ashlynn sat in the back, watching the two interact.

Wesley, who hadn't noticed the second cab yet, rested his hands on the woman's shoulders and said something. Whatever it was seemed to calm her down, and Ashlynn readied herself to get out of the car.

Then something she had not expected happened. The woman stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Wesley on the lips.

And Wesley let her.

Ashlynn's jaw dropped, and her heart dropped as well. A pit formed in her stomach. An emotion she had not felt in several years, and didn't expect, tore through her—jealousy, tinged with anger and betrayal. The cabby, unaware of what she was experiencing, politely asked her to get out of the cab so he could get back to work.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "T-Take me back to the club."

"Excuse me?" He turned and looked at her incredulously.

"I said, take me back to the club."

The cabby shrugged and put the car into gear. "Alright. It's your money, miss."

Ashlynn didn't look out the window as they passed the front steps where Wesley and his ex-girlfriend stood, probably making out—she was too busy finding Dylan's contact in her phone. She pressed the call button and didn't even give him a chance to speak when he answered. "Are you still at the club? Great, I'll be there soon."

《♡》

Wesley dumped his bags on the floor and collapsed on the couch. He was dead tired. His back screamed in agony from leaning over a desk all day. A tingling sensation in his left wrist had him worried his tendonitis was flaring up again. The only thing that could make this worse was if his stomach started to complain, too.

Right on cue, a growl that nearly shook the windows emanated from his stomach.

Yeah, today just became the worst day he'd had in a while.

María peered at him through the doorway. "Hungry?"

"Famished." Wesley sat up with what little energy he could gather and smiled weakly.