** TORI's POV **"And then the chick at the bar literally jumped me!" River boasted tipsily."I think that's enough for tonight..." Nathan reprimanded River from drinking another glass of alcohol."Man, I miss the days when you were still part of our little group." River laughed out and making James stands."Okay, I think it's really bedtime for you kiddo." James and River walked out. River is still ranting about their past and how they're happy back then until they're out of our earshot.I realized that it's only Nathan and me alone at the bonfire. It's silent and...awkward. I'm looking away, trying to avoid his stare. I can feel his eyes just staring at me. Then I saw from my peripheral vision that he's walking towards my direction. He sat next to me and that's when he broke the ice."Planning on ignoring me the whole trip?""I'm not ignoring you, Nate." I tried to laugh but it turned out strained.
** TORI's POV **"What happened?" James rushed to me the moment I set foot at the Villa.An hour has passed since I left the shore looking for Zach together with Chloe and Nathan.I wanted to settle things with Zach, to chase after him. If I have to do it over and over again, I would as long as he hears me out. Chloe and Nathan of course, didn't want me to go. They claim they know Zach a lot that it would be best if I left him alone.Whatever I do, there's this force always pulling me next to him. Every time I close my eyes, all I can see is his face. His eyes were telling me that I'm a terrible person."Where's Zach?" I finally queried while scanning the room looking for hints of him. I kept on walking from door to door. James kept on saying something that I barely understood.James grabbed my hand. "Hey! Hey... Calm down. What happened? Why did he leave?""What?""He came back hour ago, furious.
** ZACH's POV **She stood up and said something to Nathan. What are they talking about? I saw a glint of tears in her eyes. She looked at me, mustered a weak smile and then she left.That expression made this heavy feeling in my heart like it's being crushed. Did I go overboard? No, I have to remind myself that she lied, broke, manipulated and toyed me!"Show's over Samantha. Let go of me now." I shrugged Samantha's arms away from me. What the heck am I thinking? Bringing her here? If I haven't run across her through the hall, I'd be walking inside the cafeteria alone.I looked at their table and I noticed that Nathan's not there anymore. That idiot's taking advantage of the situation. I scanned the room and James disappeared.I'm a total mess. Who would have thought that there would be a time that I'd be the one being played. Never in my life have I've been hurt like this. I'm angry, furious and mad at everything! Why doe
**TORI's POV**"It still doesn't change the way I feel about you, Tori. Because despite everything, I still do."Zach's words kept on replaying inside my head. I don't know what to think anymore. I'm so confused. I don't know what to feel. What the heck am I supposed to do now? I told him that I don't love him anymore even if I still do.Why do I keep on lying to myself? Why did I even say that to him? Is it because of the fact that I'm in front of Nathan and James? I'm afraid that if I ever admit to him that I still love him, he might not believe me or worst, reject it. Why am I so stupid for falling for someone like him!"Tori." I was out of my reverie when Nathan called me out. "Are you alright?" Nathan worried.I looked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. It's been a week since the revelation and I really appreciate Nathan for not leaving my side. He's always been here for me.It's also been a week since I last saw Z
** ZACH's POV **"Sneaky as always, huh, Hemmington." After I heard a very interesting story, I immediately went out and go hunt down Nathan.I'm at his apartment. I told Boris to use another number and pretend that Harry's in town and viola the bait is set."Anderson. I don't have time for this. I have to be somewhere." Nathan just continued to walk and ignored me. I'm still standing by the fireplace, busy examining my nails. I have to stay calm as possible. There were still a lot of questions that needed to be answered."If you're looking for Harry, he's not here. You just fell for my trap."Nathan stopped and looked at me disgracefully. "Seriously? We're not kids, dude. What do you want, Zach?""Well, I should ask you the same question, what game are you playing at?" I let that one out venomously. I guess I really can't suppress the anger I'm feeling right now. This guy is un-fuckin-believable.He just laughed sa
** JAMES' POV **I've been avoiding everyone since that very special day. Yeah, sarcasm. All my effort down the drain, what a waste. I wanted to tell Zach that Tori's intention might've been bad at first but she developed feelings along the way. If it weren't for that eavesdropper, blonde, everything was going so well.At that moment, it pains me seeing Tori like that. I don't want to see her in that situation. I've had enough of her misery. The last thing I want right now is to see Tori hurt, again. It's been more than a week already since my planned absence in school. I need to see where things are now. I immediately looked for Tori the moment I set foot in school. Surprisingly she's nowhere to be found. So I just decided to go to the school's third floor balcony hoping that I could find Zach, but to my disappointment, he's not there.I decided to stay there for a while, looking at the courtyard thinking what to do next. I contacted Zach.
** ZACH's POV ** 'What's keeping him so long?'I'm at one of our hotels in California where he's staying. It took me not long enough to know his location all thanks to good old Boris.With the perks of being an Anderson, I can do whatever I want. I can ride a private plane anywhere. It saves me a lot of time and time is what I need in this situation. I have to settle this once and for all. It's time to face my father.I've been thinking a lot. How I hate myself right now. Why didn't I hear Tori's explanation before? Why did I leave Mexico all of a sudden? Why didn't I ask for any explanation? And why is it that I waited a week to seek her out?I hate myself for being such a narrow-minded person. The moment I learnt that Tori used me, it never occurred to me that I used her as well. I came clean and only thought of myself. I blamed her for everything well in fact we just did the same. We used each other.If it weren't for Na
** ZACH's POV **In his own odd way, I guess, my dad, don't know how to be normal after all. He's being a father in his own unique way.Now that everything's settled, all I have to do is clean up my mess. I won't let Tori go this time around. I won't let her slide off the palm of my hands unless she hears me out.I'm ready to tell her everything she wants to know.I went to the third floor balcony, expecting James to be there. But to my disappointment, he's not. I've been calling him to ask if Tori said something to him but he's unreachable.Where in the world could he be?I've been to the studio, the library, and every possible place I could find both of them. I'm very certain that Tori's not with Nathan because he left the next day I learnt about his doings.Honestly, I didn't want him to leave right away but he insisted that he needed this break so that I could have the opportunity to explain everything to Tori.