In which I fall in love with my brother's best friend.
*****
"Don't pretend like you don't feel anything." His voice is low, sending shivers down my spine.
"What do you mean?"
"You know damn well what I mean."
"I don't know what you're talking about...
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I can't believe what I'm looking at. After scrolling down quite a while, I see pictures of Camila with Vaughn. And they are beautiful but at the same time heartbreaking for me.
In one picture, she kissed his cheek while he laughed, closing his eyes. In another, it's the other way around. There's a picture in which she kissed the tattoos on his nape. There's also a picture in which they did multiple silly poses in a photo booth.
The more I look at them, the more I feel a lump in my throat as I realize that they're definitely an item.
My thumb stops scrolling as I find a picture of them having a romantic dinner with the magnificent Eiffel Tower in the background, Vaughn kissing her hand while looking at her with so much adoration in his eyes that even a picture can't do anything to make the emotions feel less real. Her caption reads 'Love the way you look at me.'
I click the photo and hold my breath when the link to Vaughn's Instagram profile pops out.
It's so lame what I'm doing, but I finally come to a conclusion about stalking through social media. It's indeed very powerful.
What I'm going to do next will be a key point, because even though Camila's pictures have given me more information than what I expected, if I see any of those in Vaughn's Instagram then I'm totally done.
I gulp and click the link. I swear that I'm not breathing as I'm scrolling through his pictures.
Chill, Melanie. Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out. I need oxygen to live.
Not so much information is visible on Vaughn's profile. He doesn't post frequently, and there are only a bunch of pictures showing objects such as motorcycles, other automotive and landscapes. Some photos of him with his football buddies celebrating the game are the only exceptions.
But then, something makes me immediately change my mind.
My heart freezes as I find a picture of him and Camila kissing in the middle of the football field, him wearing his uniform, her tiptoeing and circling her arms around his neck. He looks so gorgeous, manly and dangerously wild, all the while making it crystal clear that he's all hers. And it's also explained in his caption that shouts only one word. Short but powerful. 'Mine.'
That's the only photo of them in his entire profile, but then it speaks volumes, so loud in my ears. And it feels like a slap on my face.
I've never thought before that I would witness such emotion from Vaughn. In those photos, he looks... in love. I've never seen that side of him before. I barely know him.
All these things I'm witnessing make me think even more that what we had last night was nothing more than a mistake. I wonder what happened to them that made him do something so reckless. As far as I remember, they broke up.
"Broke up six months ago," Jake voice echoes in my ear as I remember our conversation at the bar the first time I met Vaughn.
I look at the date when Vaughn posted the picture. Indeed, it has been there for more than half a year. I get back to Camila's profile, and the pictures of them are all the old ones as well.
