All Chapters of Fake Dating My Best Friend's Younger Brother : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Immediately the car stops, my eyes roam the wide environment, searching for any sign of Travis—but I don’t spot him anywhere. What does he even look like now? It’s been years of avoiding each other, years of pretending the other doesn’t exist, and now we’re forced back into the same space.I take a deep breath, gathering every ounce of confidence I have. If anyone should be embarrassed, it should be him—not me.“Let’s settle in,” Mom says, climbing out of the car.I follow suit, pulling my luggage from the trunk.Mom walks over to Dad, and he immediately opens his arms, letting her lean into him while Uncle Zachary digs out their bags alone. I shake my head. “You both should be helping Uncle Zachary unpack instead of acting all lovey like you haven’t been together for the past twenty hours.”Mom laughs. “Fred, your daughter is such a sadist. Where did she get these traits?”I roll my eyes, dragging my luggage toward the house. “Definitely not from either of you,” I mutter as I march in

“Please, Uncle Zachary, drive faster.”The words tumble out of me—again. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said it already. My heart is pounding so hard it hurts, like it’s trying to claw its way out of my chest. The car speeds forward, trees and lanes blurring into streaks of green and grey, but no matter how fast we go, the dread won’t lift.We’re close. I know we are.Yet the feeling only grows heavier.Uncle Zachary keeps glancing at me through the rearview mirror, his mouth opening like he wants to say something—anything—but he doesn’t. Maybe he knows that even the smallest attempt at comfort would shatter me right now.This is my fault.Isn’t it?Since the concert last night, Alice hasn’t seen Dominic. His phone is switched off. He never came home. He hasn’t answered her calls. He hasn’t reached out to anyone.Where did he go after the concert?He was with Sasha the whole time. Maybe he’s still with her. Maybe he just needed space. Maybe he’s ignoring Alice—and everyone els

The police came not long after. Asher doesn’t fight it. He answers their questions. He goes quiet when they tell him he has to come with them.My chest won’t slow down. I watch as they take him to the car. My legs feel weak.He’s just cruel. That’s all there is to it.All these days, we’ve been waiting. Hoping. Praying for one small answer. And he had one. He had it and kept it to himself. Like it didn’t matter. Like life didn’t matter.It makes me sick. How did I stay with someone like that? How did I not see it?The police don’t let me follow. They don’t let me ask anything. They tell me to stay back.So I called my parents. Again and again. I need them to go there. I need them to ask the questions I can’t.No answer.They’re never around when you need them the most.I pace the house, back and forth, my hands tight at my sides. I keep thinking about Alice. I don’t know if I should call her. She deserves to know. She has to know.So I text her. I don’t delay. I explain everything as

Dominic's PovThree weeks had passed.Two spent at home, bandaged and watched like I might shatter if I sneezed wrong. One at school—where everyone looked at me like I’d crawled out of a grave instead of a hospital bed.Things were slowly going back to normal.Except Catherine.She still hadn’t resumed. Her parents had pushed her into therapy, and everyone knew it. High school didn’t miss a thing. They never do.I shut my locker and slung my bag over my shoulder. Someone bumped into me hard enough to make me stagger.Asher.“Watch it, nerd,” he muttered, glaring like I was the problem before walking off with Catherine’s replacement glued to his arm.People whispered about it—his weird obsession with blonde girls after the breakup. Everyone linked it to Catherine. I didn’t doubt it either.Funny thing was, Asher remained the only person completely untouched by my almost dying era.Others paused. Stared. Some whispered. Some smiled like they knew something about me I didn’t.I ignored i

Catherine’s POVThe rush was finally over.I let out a long breath after the final wave to the officials, watching as the hotel management took over. My shoulders relaxed for the first time all day.“You did great, Miss Carson,” the principal said as we headed toward the school bus.She couldn’t hide her smile. Signing a million-dollar investment deal would do that to anyone.“Thank you, ma’am,” I replied, trying to sound calm.Even though part of me wanted to pretend my excitement was only about the event, I knew better.It wasn’t.I climbed into the bus and filled out the required forms, signing where I needed to before handing them back to her.“You could’ve done this at school,” she said.I shook my head. “I won’t be coming back today.”Her eyebrow lifted slightly.“We’re having a small dinner at home,” I added quickly. “I need to help my mom prepare.”She studied me for a second, then nodded.“Alright. Get some rest.”I dropped off shortly after, waved goodbye, and headed straigh