Chapter 187 Everything is about her

Chapter 187 Everything is about her
Zayne's POV 
I stood there, watching Valeria as she opened the door of her car. She got inside and pulled it shut without giving me another chance to say anything. 

My feet stayed rooted to the ground, my eyes growing misty. 

Soon, the car pulled away. Right there in front of me.

Was that how badly I'd hurt her that she didn't even want to hear anything from me?

"Zayne?" Mrs. Fischer called again.

I slowly turned around.

She was standing a few feet away, watching me with a sympathetic expression.

"Valeria's hurting," she said gently.

Oh. She knew what happened between us.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I know."

"She's trying to heal from what happened between you two." She took a small step closer. "And right now, seeing you again and having you push for an explanation might make that harder for her."

"I'm not trying to make it harder. I'm just trying to explain what happened." My voice cracked slightly. "It was never my intention to break up with her. I didn't want to do it."

Mrs. Fischer nodded slowly. "She doesn't know that."

"Yeah," I said quietly.

"And she's not ready to hear it." 

I looked down at the ground. "This is... the worst decision of my life. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"It's okay, Zayne." She stopped in front of me. "Eventually, you two still need to talk about it."

"Eventually?" I asked. "It just feels impossible."

"You can't talk to her now while she's still hurt." Her voice remained calm. "You can't force her to listen." 

I sighed. "So what am I supposed to do now?"

"You can... give her some space."

I looked in the direction Valeria's car had disappeared. "That's the last thing I want to do."

"I know." She smiled sadly. "But she needs to be calm to hear you."

I stayed quiet. 

"When things have calmed down," she continued, "you can find the right time to talk. Both of you need that conversation. But right now, Valeria is hurting badly, and she's not willing to give you a listening ear."

I nodded slowly.

"Don't give up on communicating with her," she said. "Just don't chase her into a conversation she isn't ready for." 

She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze before stepping away. "Take care of yourself too, Zayne."

Then she walked away.

Regret filled me all over again.

I should've never broken up with her. Maybe if I'd told her the truth from the beginning... maybe things would've been different. 

I shook my head and headed back toward the school building. I needed to grab my bag and go home.

Just as I entered the building, I heard laughter. Three boys were standing near the lockers, crowded around a phone.

I was too lost in my thoughts to care as I barely spared them a glance. I was about to walk past them when I heard a familiar voice.

I immediately froze on the spot. 

That was Valeria's voice.

I stopped and slowly turned my head.

The boys were watching something on the phone. One of them snorted. "I've always felt like everything is shady about her, but she keeps acting like she's better than everyone."

Another laughed. "Right? Like her whole life isn't just one big facade. Now look what happened to her dad."

I turned slightly toward them, my jaw clenched. 

The boy holding the phone continued scrolling. "She's such a pretender. Always walking around like she's perfect."

My hands curled into fists.

Then I heard something else.

Valeria's soft and shy voice.

"I bought it for you."

Fuck it.

I knew where that voice came from. I knew the fucking video it came from.

My jaw locked so tight it ached. I could feel my restraint thinning, thread by thread. 

They were standing there laughing at something that had already caused her enough pain. Something she'd tried so hard to make everyone forget about. And they were still treating it like entertainment.

I turned fully toward them, although some part of me wanted to calm down.

The boy holding the phone laughed again. Then he said something that made the last bit of restraint inside me snap. 

"I get a hard-on just watching this video."

Everything in me stilled. My vision narrowed. 

I wasn't even thinking as I rushed toward the boy. I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the lockers.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I growled.

His smile disappeared. "Yo, man—"

My fist landed squarely on his face, the sound echoing through the hallway. His head snapped to the side.

The other two boys stumbled backward.

I grabbed the boy by his shirt and slammed him against the locker again. He tried pushing me away, but I shoved him back against the locker.

"What did you fucking say?!" 

"Come on. I was just joking!"

"Joking?" My fist connected with his face again.

He stumbled. I grabbed him before he could fall and shoved him against the locker once more. He was already bleeding from his nose and his lips.

"You don't fucking sexualize my girl, you hear me?" I bellowed. 

"Zayne!" I heard my name, but my head was too disoriented to know who was calling.

The boy I'd hit wiped his mouth, staring at me in shock. Then he raised his hands. "Okay, okay."

"No, we're not done here. Let me drill this into your head." My chest heaved. "You don't get to watch that shit. You don't get to laugh at her. And you sure as hell don't get to talk about her like she's some fucking object." 

"I'm sorry," he apologized.

I snatched the phone from his hand. The screen was still paused on the video showing Valeria in that revealing lingerie she'd worn for the wrong person. 

I stared at it for a second, my anger mixing with something that made all the muscles in my jaw lock tight.

With a loud huff, I threw the phone onto the floor, making sure the screen cracked. 

"Delete it," I ordered.

The boy stared at me. "What?"

"Delete the fucking video!"

He scrambled to pick it up.

I stood there, breathing heavily, my hands still shaking.

Fuck. I wanted to punch him more. I wanted to make sure he was receiving the brunt of my anger, frustration and desperation all at the same time.

And I was unable to hold myself back.

As he bent to pick up the phone, I kicked him hard, sending him reeling backward and sprawling onto the floor.

With heavy breaths, I was about to hit him again until someone grabbed my arm.

I quickly turned to see who.

"Let go of me," I muttered angrily under my breath.

"Come on," Rowan said. "You've beaten him enough."

My chest rose and fell rapidly as I glared at the stupid boy who was at the receiving end of my frustration.

"Zayne Hayes. Isaac Walter. Report to the principal's office," a voice boomed through the speakers.

I shrugged, yanking my arm out of Rowan's hold as I started heading toward the principal's office. 

Fuck whatever consequence would come with this.


A few minutes later, I was seated across from the principal, my elbow resting on my knee. My eyes were glued to the table as I stared emptily at it.

I wasn't even thinking about the boy I'd beat up. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the principal said they would call my parents. I was thinking about Valeria and her decision to stay away from me.

The door opened, and someone walked in. I didn't even bother to look.

"Zayne." I heard the familiar voice.

I slowly looked up to see my dad. I scanned his face for any look of disappoinment because that was the last thing I needed right now.

His face held no expression.

"Good day, Mr. Ashford," the principal and Mrs. Fischer greeted.

"Where is the other boy?"

"He was rushed to the school clinic, sir," Mrs Fischer said. "Currently receiving treatment."

Dad glanced at me then exhaled heavily before turning back to them. 

"Please get back to me on his health condition," he said. "And I'd love to have some alone time with my son." 

"Yes sir," they chorused before leaving the room.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Dad walked toward me. He leaned against the table right in front of me, staring down at me.

I looked away.

I was seriously hoping he wouldn't throw disappointed words at me. He'd probably think I'd always been like this especially after I'd told him everything about the bikers and my past. He'd probably think this was me every day.

"What have you done?" he asked gently.

My fingers threaded through my hair. "The boy deserved it," I said.

"Honestly, Zayne," he began. "I haven't been present for most of your life, so I may not really know how to go about this. But... using Rowan as a case study, I'll only say one thing I've always said to him in cases like this." He paused. "You've got to learn how to keep your anger in check."

My jaw clenched. 

He continued. "Because anger that's not controlled can cause a lot of damage."

I looked up at him, then shifted in my seat to face him fully. "What would you do if you heard someone insult Mom? Hm?"

He didn't say a word. His brows rose slightly.

"Would you be able to keep your anger in check if they said degrading things about her?" I asked.

He stared at me for a while, then rubbed his forehead with his thumb before releasing a breath. "So this is about Valeria?"

"Yes," I replied quickly. "Everything is about her."