Chapter 18

The next few days passed uneventfully. I was gradually getting over my grief and understanding myself better each day. I had come to terms with life and had decided to accept it without anymore fuss.

I had realized that I genuinely no longer cared about Jace. He had broken my heart twice. The first time by his own accord and the second time by dating Sierra.

It had dawned on me that if Jace could so easily just leave me and disappear and then could go on and date someone who hated me, then it just clearly showed where I stood in his life and how much I mattered to him. So maybe all those years of friendship did not mean as much to him as they did to me. I was not important to him.

I had been the biggest fool I knew when it came to matters of Jace. I had blindly believed that we were very close and shared something special. But apparently not. It seemed like even the values of friendship were one-sided, seeing that he had fraternized with the enemy.

All these thoughts and understandings had actually liberated me. I was not confused or heartbroken anymore. I was not upset or even disappointed. I simply did not care. Neither about Jace nor about Sierra. And definitely not about their relationship.

In a way, it felt like I had gotten my true closure now. Life seemed new and fresh. I was excited about my days and looked forward to making my future even better and promising.

The day before had been the last day of the carnival. I had stayed home but Stefan and Elisha had gone ahead. They had tried their best to get me to join them, but I had not budged. My heart had simply not agreed to go to that place again this year. Maybe next year.

And since I had skipped the carnival the day before, this evening, Stefan and Elisha had decided that they were going to have a movie night with me at my house. I could not say no to that.

I had come back home early from the cafe and even brought back some snacks. Not much to my surprise, Elisha and Stefan were already in my den, ready with blankets and popcorn. I had handed over the snacks to them and left to go freshen up.

Mom and Dad were not at home, apparently they had left immediately after letting Stefan and Elisha inside. They had gone out to dinner and a movie afterwards.

I freshened up and changed into comfortable clothes. This evening of relaxation was much required. I desperately needed to laugh and let loose.

As I descended down the stairs, I heard Stefan and Elisha arguing over which movie to watch first.

Shaking my head, I went into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. When I came back to the den, the movie had already been decided on like I had anticipated.

"Ah," said Stefan when he saw me, "finally."

I have him a sheepish smile and snuggled up next to Elisha on the couch. Stefan switched off the light and made himself comfortable on his favorite recliner adjacent to us.

"I'm starting the movie," he said.

We gave him a thumbs up and he went ahead and clicked on play.

"You know, we saw Sierra and Jace at the carnival yesterday. We had no idea that they were going too," said Elisha in a whisper.

I shrugged. Who cared?

"They have been fighting a lot these days. I mean, after Sierra found out about Jace coming with us to the dinner and the carnival," she said, "They're both in a very unstable stage of their relationship."

"Their problem." I rolled my eyes.

"Quiet, girls," said Stefan and we immediately shut up and relaxed back.

It was not my fault that they were arguing. Jace should have known better than to invite me to the carnival with him. He knew who his girlfriend was, but I did not. So, whose fault was it?

We were midway through the movie when the doorbell rang.

I frowned. Surely Mom and Dad had not returned already?

"I'll see," said Stefan, getting up.

"Thanks," I called out after him.

Elisha yawned and paused the movie. "Were you expecting anyone?"

I shook my head, as we heard the door open.

There was a sound of scuffling of feet.

Elisha and I exchanged a glance and sat up straight.

Who was it?

"Wait, Sierra, what are you doing here?" Stefan's voice sounded just outside the den.

A second later, Sierra stormed in, followed by Jace and Stefan.

What on earth was going on?

"Sierra, I'm asking you something," said Stefan, switching on the light.

Sierra paid him no heed. Her eyes laid on me and her lips curled up into the most spiteful smirk that I had ever seen. There was a glint in her eyes that made me uncomfortable.

What does she want now?

"Jace?" said Stefan. "What happened?"

Jace sighed, almost apologetically. "I have no idea. Sierra just dragged me here all of a sudden."

This sounds bad.

My heartbeat quickened. "What, Sierra?" I asked.

Her smirk transformed into an even more condescending smile that sent chills down my spine. She strode over to the recliner that Stefan had been sitting on and took a seat.

"Why don't you both take a seat? I have something really interesting to share with all of you," she said, sparing a momentary glance at Jace and Stefan.

I bit the inside of my cheek.

What is it?

My eyes found Jace, and he immediately met my gaze. He shook his head ever so slightly, as if he knew what I was asking. He was as clueless as me.

"Now that I have your attention," Sierra began, crossing her legs, "Please allow me to share a short story with all of you."

The way her entire focus was on me made me squirm in my seat. My gut feeling grew stronger with every second.

This is it. It's time. She knows everything.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

"This story dates four years back," said Sierra.

My eyes snapped open. I was right.

"What? Sierra, no," said Jace.

Had he told her? How did she know? He must have told her. There was no other way.

But why? What had he gained?

"Jace and Ira were not just school friends. They were friends since babysitting. Best friends, I might add. All through childhood and teenage years, they had been each other's best ally. They were so satisfied with each other that they had no other close friends," said Sierra.

"What are you trying to say, Sierra? Stop this. It is none of your business," said Jace.

"Really? But why?" Sierra feigned a confused look. "I'm doing everyone a favor by unveiling Ira's reality. It's high time that this innocent little girl facade of hers breaks in front of everybody."

Elisha must have seen me paling because I felt an assuring squeeze on my arm and then her fingers entwined with mine in a warm, comforting grip.

"We don't want to hear it. Whatever it is, let it go," said Stefan, a warning in his words which sounded loud and clear in the tone that he had used.

Why does she want to unearth buried incidents? What does it matter to her? Why does she always bare my life in front of everybody? Why does she shred away every little sense of my privacy?

"Don't interrupt me now," said Sierra, "it gets interesting, I promise."

"You should leave," said Elisha. "Like right now. We are not interested."

"If you don't zip your mouth this second then I'm afraid that soon you will be the one in Ira's place. It doesn't take me long to find weak spots, darling," said Sierra.

I squeezed Elisha's hand. She got my message and remained quiet.

"Even though Jace and Ira were inseparable, judging by the thousands of pictures that Jace still has of them together, there was a limit to their relationship. There was a boundary that shouldn't have been crossed." Sierra shook her head sadly, clicking her tongue.

"Sierra, please, stop." Jace stood up. "This is too much. Don't drag Ira into our disagreements."

"Even when she is the reason behind all of them?" Sierra questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so."

"Then I'm leaving," said Jace, giving her a pointed look.

"Sure, go ahead. This is not the first time that you are leaving your childhood sweetheart in tears, anyway." Sierra laughed.

I touched my face and tears wet my fingers. I had not even realized that I was crying.

Jace clenched his jaw and stood staring at her. He seemed to be contemplating something.

A minute later, with defeated shoulders, he sat back down.

This is it. Everybody is going to know now.

I wanted to walk away from here. I wanted to shout at Sierra, slap her, get her to stop this. But I couldn't. I was frozen in helpless agony.

"Well, Ira crossed that line." Sierra clicked her tongue again. "The sacred line between friendship and love."

My heart was in my mouth. My lower lip began to tremble. My hands started to shake. Even Elisha's grip could not stop my hands from shaking.

Why had Jace told her? How could he?

"One day, Ira confessed her feelings to Jace. She told him that she loved him." Sierra looked all around, gauging everyone's reaction. "But, unfortunately, Jace did not reciprocate her feelings. For him, they were friends. No doubt very close friends, but still only that. Just friends."

I could no longer see Sierra through my blurred vision. I wasn't even sure if I was breathing.

"So Jace did what any sensible person would do. He rejected her. And I must add that the rejection was one of a kind. I mean, Jace left Ira in the ice cream parlor and walked out. Then he also left Emberhill within a matter of a few days. And he never spoke to Ira again. Until, of course, two weeks back," said Sierra, the satisfaction evident in her voice as she ended the story.

The earth had moved from under my feet.

I did not even comprehend that I had stood up. My feet were carrying me out of the den.

"Ira."

"Wait, Ira."

"Ira!"

Elisha, Stefan... I could hear them calling me.

"Ira, wait, please." A new voice. "Please listen to me."

A hand wrapped around my arm, bringing me to a stop. The person then appeared before my eyes.

"I did not tell her. Believe me, please. I swear I did not utter a single word to her. I have no idea how she found out. Please believe me," he said.

Tears made it hard for me to breathe. I was shaking all over. The worst kind of pain that I had ever felt rippled through my body.

I tried to pull away from his grip.

"I'm sorry, please. I beg you. Forgive me, Ira," he said, his own eyes glazing. "I'm so sorry."

This pain... Maybe I was dying, slowing shutting down, withering.

I broke free from him and ran up the stairs to my room.

I locked the door behind me, and my knees gave way, as I slid to the floor.

For how long was that one mistake going to haunt me? How many times was it going to pull me back when I had moved on? When was it going to let me free?