Unproven Chapter Fifty Eight "Accidental Betrayal"

If you're loved by someone, you're never rejected, decide what to be and GO BE IT
-The Avett brothers

Recommend Reading Introduction to Unproven

DEFINITELY READ Prologue

Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three

Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six

Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen Chapter Seventeen Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen Chapter Twenty Chapter Twenty One

Chapter Twenty Two Chapter Twenty Three Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Five Chapter Twenty Six Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Eight Chapter Twenty Nine Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty One Chapter Thirty Two Chapter Thirty Three

Chapter Thirty Four Chapter Thirty Five Chapter Thirty Six

Chapter Thirty Seven Chapter Thirty EightChapter Thirty Nine

Chapter Forty Chapter Forty One Chapter Forty Two

Chapter Forty Three Chapter Forty Four Chapter Forty Five

Chapter Forty Six Chapter Forty Seven Chapter Forty Eight

Chapter Forty Nine Chapter Fifty Chapter Fifty One

Chapter Fifty Two Chapter Fifty Three
Chapter Fifty Four

Chapter Fifty Five Chapter Fifty Six Chapter Fifty Seven

Chapter Fifty Eight

Grayson tucked Ary into bed that night, his sympathetic expression changing to one of exultation the moment he walked out of the room. That could not have gone better if he'd planned it, which, in a sense he had. He'd subtly mentioned that Grant had settled for a distant second soon after the guy had started dating the bitch Ary called friend, and recently reiterated the sentiment. Naturally Ary had reacted with indignation on her friend's behalf, but the seed had been planted and obviously taken root.

And he knew that no matter what reasons Andie gave for hating him, the source of them came from rejection. So even the slightest suspicion that Grant might have wanted Aryanne over her, as Grayson had, would be a blow.

He smiled. One down, one to go. Well two down if you counted that crazy cunt Amanda. His thoughts turned to Sonya. In some ways she would be the most difficult, since she wasn't a grudge holder, but it was obvious her feelings for Mark were much deeper than she was accustomed to, which was why he knew the couple’s secret relationship was the key.

He went behind his bar and poured himself a scotch on the rocks. As he brought the glass to his lips his eyes caught on the spot where he'd cut his thumb that summer, bringing him back to that feeling of rage and pain. He squeezed the glass in his hand and took a breath. He had to keep with the game plan if he wanted to keep his father placated, and keep her withhim.

He picked up his phone and dialed.

"Hey handsome."

He laughed, "That and a vagina might get me somewhere with you."

Dori snorted, "I prefer feminine and pretty, handsome is just something you are, which I appreciate in a purely aesthetic sense."

He smiled, "It's time to expose The Dude. And it needs to be done in a certain way… Ary did tell you about it right?"

"The super-secret and oh so sickening sexual affair between her silly friend and your pet retard? Yes, I've heard."

"Good. Something in your life needs to ‘happen’ to make you indignant enough to confront my- pet retard- about Ary's silly friend. Publicly. Something that will drive a wedge between the latter two. But whatever it is that ‘happened’ in your life to cause your outburst will need to be something Ary can understand and forgive, your friendship with her is as imperative as the severing of her current, soon to be former friendships. Understand?"

Dori was silent for a moment. "I'm sure I can think of something."

"Good."

**

Ary walked into study hall and slid into her seat, her mind going in several directions at once. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to deal with things one at a time. First, it had been a week since her confrontation with Andie and they hadn't spoken, in fact she was certain her friend was going out of her way to avoid her all together. Sonya had told Andie about Ary's regret regarding what had been said, but the words had been met with cool indifference, so yeah, she was avoiding her. Second, Dori had seemed very upset about something for the past few days, but hadn't shared. And third, it was three days before her getaway with Grayson and she still had no idea what he had in store for them. At least item three was a positive thing.

As for the first thing there wasn't anything she could presently do about it, and the second? Well unless Dori decided to confide there was nothing she could do there either. She pulled a paperback out of her bag and forced herself to start reading.

Forty minutes later she'd managed to lose herself in a story about a girl who had jumped on a bus without a plan in order to escape her mundane life. The bell rang indicating lunch and she reluctantly put the book back in her bag, considering the merits of sneaking off to the library to continue reading. But Grayson would worry if she didn't show up, especially since she'd forgotten to charge her phone and had no way of alerting him.

Within moments of entering the lounge she wished she'd opted for the library escape. She hadn't taken three steps into the room before noticing Dori, who was snarling at Mark, who was snarling right back. This might not have been so bad if they hadn't ended up on their feet shouting at one another mere seconds later, and the content of their yelling match?

She sought out Sonya with a sinking heart, locating the girl also standing, right next to Andie, her face a shade of red that wasn't natural. As if she felt the weight of her stare Sonya turned toward her, the look of betrayal on her face so intense that Ary wanted to dive under a table to escape it. As if their gazes were on the same string, they turned back to the two shouting figures just in time to see Mark pushing his way from the table and turning toward Sonya with a look so black it was like an unspoken curse. He kept that look on her for a full two seconds before storming out of the lounge.

Sonya started after him, pausing just long enough to send Ary a similar look which might as well have been a bullet to her heart, before rushing away. Ary turned in what felt like slow motion to watch her disappear, then turned back toward the table she'd been heading for. Dori was...Crying? Buried in Grayson's chest, with Gray looking at Ary in shock and confusion. She didn't even have time to look back at Andie's table before Andie was in her face.

"What the fuck?" Andie demanded.

"You really like that word lately," Ary said thinly, her mind reeling.

Andie grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the exit of the lounge. Before they reached it she was ripped from Andie's grip, Grayson putting an arm in front of her protectively before snarling, "What gives you the right to do that? Huh? You self-righteous bitch? You think whatever the fuck is going on between the DUDE and your ridiculous little friend is somehow Ary's fault? Well think again! She has nothing to do with it!"

"But she knew, right?" Andie demanded. "She knew there was something going on, and Dori knew because of her, right?"

"And what does that mean, exactly? She knew because Sonya told HER, not YOU, for OBVIOUS fucking reasons."

"Oh yeah? But Sonya didn't tell Dori, did she?"

"STOP IT!" Ary shouted suddenly. "Stop it, both of you!" She ripped her arm out of Gray's grip and ran out of the room. She didn't see Sonya or Mark in the hallway so she ran to the back of the building and out the doors, searching for them in the parking lot. She spotted them just in time to see Mark put his car in reverse nearly running Sonya down in the process. She watched with a sinking feeling as he sped off and her friend sank to her knees in the spot he'd just vacated.

She ran across the lot and crouched next to her.

"Get away from me!" Sonya yelled.

"I'm sorry, Sonya please, I didn't think Dori would ever say anything,” Ary said helplessly.

"I don't care if you're sorry," Sonya sobbed, "you ruined everything, you're always sorry, get away from me!"

Ary stumbled back from her just in time for Andie to arrive. She watched through blurred vision as her ex-friend pulled Sonya into her arms and rocked her. Sonya's arms went around her, holding on to her as if her life depended on it, and Andie turned her gaze on Ary and narrowed it. Her oldest friend could have yelled “You're Not Wanted Here”, and it wouldn't have been any clearer. She backed away as the tears began streaming down her face and attempted to turn around, but her equilibrium had gone out the window and she stumbled. She would’ve went down, hard, if she hadn’t been caught by strong arms that lifted her and carried her away.

**

"Shhh, it's okay," Grayson whispered as he undressed her and lowered her into his large tub. He joined her a moment later, pulling her against him and rubbing the back of her head as she sobbed into his chest. "It's not your fault," he said gently.

She shook her head to deny that claim, it was her fault. She had told Dori and Grayson after promising Sonya she'd tell no one.

"Don't hate Dori, she feels terrible,” he told her. “Something happened…I don't know what, she wouldn't tell me, but I know that it must have been bad for her to have such a lapse."

Ary didn't look up, "I don't hate Dori," she said in a tear clogged voice, "I shouldn't have told her, this wouldn't have happened if I didn't."

"Well, this might not have happened, as in Dori wouldn't have called him out on the douche that he is, I'll concede that. But Mark being a douche? That would have come out one way or another."

"That's not the point," she said, her voice choked with emotion, "She counted on me, trusted me...I betrayed that trust Gray. I shouldn't have even told you, but that I could excuse, I can't excuse telling Dori. I can't."

He ran his fingers down her arm soothingly. "Okay, fair enough. But she'll get over it, you'll see."

She shook her head weakly and he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You made a mistake by trusting someone with information that wasn't yours to give, a mistake, that's all. Suck it up, learn from it, and walk on."

She pulled in a shaky breath and let it out. A mistake. Yes, that's what it was. And everyone made them, didn't they? She pulled from his grasp and buried her face in his chest again, just above the water. He ran his hand through her hair and she felt more of her tension ease as if he were taking it from her.

"I love you," he whispered into her hair.

She pressed herself against him harder and kissed his chest.

Generously created for me by @son-of-satire

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