“You mean you drugged me,” I accuse.
“It wasn’t me.” He holds his hands up in front of himself. “But I understand why you would think that. After everything I’ve done, trust me, I get it. But I promise you, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Then who?” My voice shakes.
“I can’t prove it, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure it was Tiffany.”
“Tiffany?” I draw back. “I wasn’t anywhere near Tiffany last night.”
“That doesn’t mean anything and you know it. She’s been out for you since the start. And while I will admit it was my fault in the beginning, she’s gone rogue, no doubt fueled by her jealousy over you and Z.”
“She’s jealous, so she drugged me?” I repeat, hoping it will sound less crazy than it does in my head. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
“Tiffany is… well, let’s just say she doesn’t like to lose.”
“What are we, living in some kind of television drama? People actually drug people like this?”
I can’t wrap my head around it. I knew Parkview was different than Bristol, but this is insanity. It’s like living in two completely different worlds.
“I wish I could say that was the worst part.” He cringes slightly and my stomach completely bottoms out. A nervous jittery feeling starts at the base of my spine and quickly spreads through my entire body. “Z showed up looking for you.”
“Why?” I blurt, having no idea why he would come looking for me after everything he’s done.
“Maybe I should rewind for a second so you can fully grasp the magnitude of what I’m about to tell you.” He sucks in a deep breath and slowly blows it out, nervously knotting his hands in front of himself.
I’ve never seen this side of Oliver. Right now, sitting in front of me, his posture tight, his expression uncertain, he seems almost… human.
“Zayden didn’t send those text messages. Julia did.”
“Wait, what?”
“The text messages about him playing you, the ones I showed you Friday night, those weren’t from Z. He was never playing you and he had no idea that I had convinced you that he was. When I came home and heard you two upstairs together, I don’t know, I guess I just lost it. Zayden has been my best friend forever. I already lost my mom because of yours, and the thought that I was losing him because of you. I don’t know, I just snapped. When I heard Z’s phone ringing in the hallway, I took it out of his jacket and that’s when the idea hit me. I gave his phone to Julia and told her what to say when the moment arrived. She was hiding in the pantry, listening to us the entire time we were talking.”
?
??He wasn’t playing me?” I say slowly, almost fearful to believe it. And while what Oliver did is despicable, I’m so relieved to learn that this wasn’t just some game that a part of me doesn’t even care. “Why are you telling me this now?” I ask after a long moment of silence has stretched between us.
“Because I realized last night how much Zayden cares about you. I had convinced myself that you were just another conquest for him, but seeing him last night, seeing how hurt he was, I knew it was real for him. And I knew right then and there that I’d made a horrible mistake. I did it because I knew it would hurt you. But I never knew that in turn it would be hurting the one person who has stood beside me through everything.”
“Wait, what do you mean how hurt he was? What happened last night, Oliver?”
“Someone drugged you. That much I’m sure of. My money is on Tiffany. What Bryant’s involvement in it was, I’m not sure. Maybe he was in on it, maybe he was just the unlucky son of a bitch that got caught in the crossfire, either way—he’s the one who paid the price.” He uncrosses his leg and shifts forward. “I’m not sure how Z knew you were at the party, because he didn’t have his phone, but when I saw him head upstairs, I knew something was up. I followed him, got into the room just in time to pull him off Bryant before he killed the bastard.”
“I’m not following. Who is Bryant and what does he have to do with any of this?”
“Bryant is a friend of mine, and a friend of Tiffany’s. He’s also the guy Zayden caught you with last night.”
“Wait.” I can feel the juice I drank turning in my stomach and for a moment, I’m quite certain it’s about to come back up. “What do you mean caught me with?”
“Z found you in bed with Bryant. I don’t know the specifics, but he was on top of you and things appeared to be escalating quickly.”
“Oh my God.” My hand goes to my mouth.
“You were still dressed, so nothing had happened, yet. But there’s no doubt it would have had Z not gotten there when he did.”
“I didn’t know.” Tears sting the backs of my eyes.
“I know that. But Z didn’t. He thought you were cheating on him. After I pulled him off of Bryant, he didn’t stick around long enough to find out otherwise.”