Forget them both.
Josh was a sadistic sociopath and Caleb was a narcissistic sociopath. One thought he loved me, the other knew he didn't love me. Caleb only loved himself. There was no room in his heart for anyone else. I didn't need or want either of them.
Josh had never gotten my love.
I’d handed it over to Caleb on a silver platter but he tossed it away.
Like I’d said, forget them both.
Hannah suddenly laughed. "Yeah, you're right. You two are definitely broken up."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, not liking her finding humor in the situation.
Her predatory smile was back, this time all for me. "He's going to town with that chick."
I looked over to where Caleb had been sitting by himself, but no longer was. Matter-of-fact, someone was sitting on his lap. That skank, Desiree, who he’d went on the double date with when I went on my date with Seth. As I saw him kissing her, my eyes darted away.
It hurt too much.
I’d promised myself I wouldn't even acknowledge his existence at school. I wouldn't make the mistake of glancing in his direction again.
My eyes met Seth's. He had a questioning look on his face. I made sure to school my own features. The pain beating inside of me was my own and no one else's business.
How could I have been so wrong about Caleb? How could I still love him so much?
I would not cry. I would not cry. I would not cry.
I’d chant this in my head for the rest of lunch if I had to.
CALEB
I was so busy staring at Gianna, willing her to look at me, that I didn't notice Desiree walking up to me until she was in my lap. When she planted her lips on mine I was startled at first, but then roughly pushed her face away from mine. "Get off!"
She gave me a hurt look, but I didn't buy it. Especially when she tried to kiss me again and I jerked my head back. How could she be surprised by my reaction when I turned her down the night we went on our date?
Some sluts never learned.
Fortunately, she moved off my lap. Unfortunately, she didn't completely go away. "So, I heard you and Gianna broke up."
I grunted in response.
"I'm single," she said suggestively.
"That's skanktastic," I replied unenthusiastically.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you just say?"
I looked at her like she was an idiot. "I said . . . that's whoretastic."
"What?" she shrieked.
"Sluttastic,” I enunciated.
Her face turned red and she swung out an arm to slap me. I ducked, easily avoiding her palm. She marched off and I thought about how genuinely fantastic that was.
What could I say? She’d caught me on a bad day.
I went back to staring at Gianna. My amusement at Desiree's skankness diminished. Seth had his arm around Gianna and I was itching to break it.
What was going on with her? What was going through her mind? How could she pretend nothing happened between us? Did she really love me at all?
Jesus effing Christ! I was acting like such a girl. A stalkerish one at that.
I continued staring her way throughout the rest of lunch period, willing her to look at me. Just one glance would’ve felt like such an accomplishment.
I loved her so damn much. I wanted to snatch her away from the pretenders, take her back to Vegas, take her anywhere I could have her back. That place didn't exist as long as Julie was hounding us. By the time Gianna was eighteen, it might be too late to get her back.
For the rest of lunch period I kept hoping and she kept not looking my way.
When she said she never wanted to see me again, I hadn’t thought she meant it so literally.
CHAPTER NINE
“Friendship often ends in love; but love in friendship - never.”
-Charles Caleb Colton
GIANNA
How could it hurt so much to lose a creep? It defied logic. Why was I cursed to love a heartless asshole?
Everything had come full circle for the cast in the story of my life. I was back in the role I was stuck in before. Ms. Popular Cheerleader who dated the football star. However, the role Josh formerly played was now played by his understudy, Seth.
Caleb didn’t exist in my world just like before when I didn’t know him.
Unfortunately, he still existed in my mind and heart. As much as I’d tried to cut him out of both of those places, the dissection hadn’t taken.
Everything seemed back to normal in Caleb’s world, too. He was surrounded by loads of skanky chicks and getting into trouble at school all the time.
This time, however, we’d added a new villain. Not Caleb, but Josh. Back to his stalker ways, he was always there, always watching me. Or should I have said glaring? He wanted the blonde cheerleader, well I could’ve pointed out a few available and actually interested ones. His psychotic tendencies didn’t need to zero in on me.