Chapter Twenty-Four

s.

I wake up to a knock on my door, but ignore it, not wanting to wake up Armani since his heavy body is draped over mine. Another one follows soon after. "No" he says sleepily as I go to slide from underneath him, burying his face in my neck. The perks of having a room on the ground floor is that it's incredibly easy to sneak people in and out.

The person at my door knocks again, so I force my way from underneath him, hurrying over and pulling it open despite his protests. Nastassia quickly walks past me and into the room, eyes widening upon noticing a shirtless Armani in my bed. She quickly looks away, eyes locked onto my face as if Medusa was there to turn her to stone at any moment.

"I need that paper from you. The doctor's note from Peyton's mom".

I study her face, taking note of the stiff set of her shoulders and eyes that are slightly red rimmed. "Why would I give you that, Nastassia?".

"Because, I need to USE it. Peyton has to go" she says in an angry whisper.

"What's wrong?" I ask concerned, walking over to the closet and pulling the paper from the folder I'd stored it in.

"I didn't expect it to be that easy" she says, accepting the sheet once I hold it out to her.

"I couldn't care any less about Peyton Gutierrez. Whether she's here or in Timbuctoo means nothing to me. That's only a copy of the paper, mind you. If you were making an attempt to trick me and destroy the evidence I had on her, you're failing at it" I warn.

"Thank you for this. If you read the envelope in front of your door, you'll understand what I'm about to say a whole lot more. Apparently she knew about what happened the entire time and has been ruining my friendships and relationships as revenge for it, for years. No one, and I mean NO ONE, will ever fuck over Nastassia Petrov like that. Best friend, or not, she can fuck off to hell" she practically growls before storming out of the room.

"She's insane" Armani remarks once the door closes behind her, his voice even huskier than usual. He'd turned over, and had his hands clasped underneath his head.

"I like it" I tell him, picking the envelope up from the floor and going over to the bed, straddling him. "Can I read a story to you?" I ask, tearing open the red seal.

"I'm all yours, baby. You can do whatever you want to me, now".

***

He and I go our separate ways soon after, me into the shower and him to his room. Apparently he had some kind of errand to run and needed to go off campus for a while. Still, he would be back in time for us to go and babysit Amber, his ten year old sister.

It would only be for a couple of hours while his mom went out on a date for the first time in three years. She wasn't sure if she should go, but he convinced her, wanting her to move on from whatever was in the past. We hadn't talked about it yet, but I could always tell that he'd gone through some sort of trauma.

After that, a bunch of us we're heading over to Grayson's cabin to stay until Sunday night. Gray promised me that there would be a quiet place for me to be alone and dance, since I wouldn't have gone otherwise.

I couldn't let up now. I'd done my interview for ICDC- the Ivy Cordelia Dance Company, before performing a dance routine for them. Only me, and three other girls, got to move past the interview portion of things out of the thirty-two that did them. And only I was accepted into ICDC.

My family and I had a virtual dinner since they were all away, full of praise and laughter. I could feel how proud of me they were through the phone and couldn't wait to see them in person next weekend. Armani's mom, who I've been speaking to on the phone, sent me a beautiful ballerina painting that she made just for me. She finished it yesterday and sent it over the same night. Armani helped me hang it above my dresser.

If I was being honest with myself, things were going way too well for me. It felt abnormal and scary to wake up next to him every morning, along with good morning texts from all of the friends I've made. When I thought about it for too long, I'd start to feel super uneasy about every single part of my life. Armani couldn't be THIS perfect. And my friend's had to be about to betray me, somehow.

I'd had a nightmare the day before, when Armani had been too busy studying to make it to my room. I was dancing in a box, while everyone that I was coming to trust stood outside of it, cheering me on. After a while I noticed the glass peeling in one corner. I became obsessed with it the more time passed and couldn't resist the pull after a while.

A light tug had the box crashing in on me, revealing what was really happening outside. Everyone's smiles stretched from ear to ear, while they just screamed over and over again, how much they hated me and wanted me to die.

Armani was the leader of the pack.

On the day before my date with the guy from my old school, I had a very similar one, so it scared me more than I could ever put into words.

I wanted to believe that it was nothing, and that I just had a bad dream, but at least a small part of me was convinced that I should get away from all of them as soon as possible.

And I'd learned my lesson a long time ago about not listening to my gut.

I didn't want to make that same mistake again.

***

A: Meet me at the door to CA,

Sunshine.

He's standing there, wide grin on his beautiful face, holding a heart shaped box of red roses in one hand, and a gift box in the other. A large pink balloon that has CONGRATS splayed across the front is held down by a weight beside him.

"Congratulations, Selah, I'm so proud of you" he says happily, extending the box to me. Instead of going for it, I throw myself at him, hoping for the best about the flowers. He somehow manages to keep hold of all three things, wrapping me in his muscular arms.

"Thank you" I say shakily, blinking away the tears that were trying to make their way into my eyes. "I wanted to do this sooner, but your gift took some time to make" he explains. I stay in his arms for a while, silently breathing him in.

"I wasn't expecting anything, so it wasn't a long wait for me. Don't worry" I tell him once I've composed myself. He places me back on the ground and hands me the black, velvet box.

I untie the ribbon and pull the top from it, revealing a dainty ballerina slipper necklace inside. It was expensive, I could tell, with small diamonds encrusted in the point shoes.

"It's beautiful, b-".

"But nothing. If you're going to try and talk me out of spoiling you, you'll have a sore throat for the rest of your life".

For the rest of my life.

He seems to notice what I take note of and his cheeks turn a slight red. I stand on my tippiest of toes and place gentle kisses on both of them.

"I love it. Put it on me?".

"Of course, Sunshine".

We trade the necklace and flower box between us, which is almost just as beautiful. I can't help but smile at it as he gently clasps the cold links around my neck. It falls to the most perfect spot when he lets go.

"You're too good to be true" I say quietly, voicing my biggest fear out loud. He pulls me into him by the shoulders, pressing a kiss to my forehead once I look up at him.

"No, I'm not. There's nothing in this world too good for you, Selah. Don't let the past limit your future. If you compare this relationship to anything from back then, it'll seem completely impossible. So don't. Just fall with me, Sunshine".

"Okay" I whisper.

But, what happens when we reach the ground?