Unproven Chapter Thirty Nine "Rage Against the F Word"

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 Eight

Chapter Thirty Nine

She stared after him for a moment, refusing to be sad just yet, then followed slowly, making her way back up to his suite. Numbly she located her purse and started gathering her clothes. When she had finished she followed the sound of voices back into the game room.

Gary leered at her, “So now that you two are done he said he doesn’t mind if I give you a try. I hear you’re an incredible fuck.”

Grayson nodded, watching her without expression. “She is. I’m sorry the game ended early for that reason alone.”

She stared at him and he stared steadily back, his eyes empty.

His lip twisted slightly. “What are you looking for Aryanne, because it isn’t there. You think there was a few real moments between us and you’re hanging onto them? Don’t, they were orchestrated too. It was never anything more than a game with the added bonus of good sex. Okay great sex, I’ll give you that. But there are a million other girls out there who can fuck like champions, and considering who I am, I can have my pick. Think about it, why would I ever settle for you? An average girl with no money, no class? You reasoned out the game, very impressive. You have a bit of intellect although I still say Andie spoon-fed it to you, she’s the brains of your sad little group.”

Ary felt the tears coming and fought them back.

He cocked his head, regarding her as though she were a foreign entity. “Are you going to cry?”

She took a deep breath. “Definitely,” she answered, “but for you more than me.”

He smiled at her and it was a terrible thing to behold. “Oh don’t cry for me sweetheart. I won’t even remember you in a week. Cry for yourself and the mediocre life you’ll live with the mediocre man you’ll settle for.”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “I forgive you for all of it,” she told him shakily, then turned around and walked out.

**

Grayson sat alone at his bar sipping on a glass of scotch. I forgive you for all of it. He felt a very unfamiliar burning in the back of his eyes and drained the glass, pouring another. He hadn’t even known what he was doing during his whole tirade, hadn’t thought it through, hadn’t had time. All he knew was that he’d wanted to hurt her. Was it ego, because she’d figured him out? Was it because he knew his father would be disgusted that he’d lost the game to a penniless nobody? Or was it that he wanted to see if he could snatch that look from her eyes, prove it was a lie?

All of the above, he thought as he drained another scotch. His phone rang. Amanda. Again. He pressed ignore and slid his glass from hand to hand. If he wanted a few weeks of easy sex, she was definitely the girl. The thought made him sick though he knew he would take her, had to if he was going to finish the game the way he’d planned. Aryanne was right, he would destroy that girl in no time. He took another sip of scotch and slammed the glass down on the counter top, shattering it.

He stood up fast, knocking the stool over backward, then picked it up and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and fell and he picked up another and smashed it against the bar. He let the pieces fall and gripped the edge of the counter, breathing hard. Shit. Shit. He didn’t know what to do with this alien emotion, he wanted to beat it to death but it wouldn’t die.

You can’t love her. He squeezed the edges harder, a piece of broken glass getting caught under his thumb. He watched as the blood oozed out and kept squeezing. He finally tore his hand away, blood flying across the hardwood floor just as a noise emitted from his phone, freezing his feet to the floor. His father was calling. Fuck. His fingers trembled as he picked it up and pressed ignore. He needed time to gather himself, what the fuck was he going to tell him? That he’d lost to a silly little blonde? That instead of her world being turned upside down she’d made him question his? It rang again. He left the phone on the bar and stumbled to the bathroom, locking it behind him and sliding to the floor. He felt a pressure behind his eyes and inhaled sharply. Hell no. He had not shed a tear since he was small, what the fuck was happening to him? He covered his head with his arms and concentrated on breathing evenly.

“Grayson?”

His heart nearly stopped at the sound of his father’s voice outside the door. The handle jiggled.

“Grayson, open up.”

He dragged himself off the floor and leaned his forehead against the door. He was so fucked. He turned the lock and opened it, forcing himself to look at the man. “I failed,” he said quietly.

James frowned, “You’re bleeding.” He pushed past his son and grabbed a towel from the rack, taking Grayson’s hand and wrapping it, then steered him out of the bathroom and over to the bar. He sat him down, sitting across from him.

“How did you fail exactly?”

He shook his head and looked away, “In every way. She realized what I was doing, with help from a friendship that I couldn't destroy. But she was convinced that it wasn’t entirely an act, which gave me the perfect opportunity to rip her apart. And I did, quite beautifully. By the time I was done twisting the knife in her heart I could see the devastation in her eyes."

He looked away and nearly whispered,"But then she pulled it out and dropped it on the floor. She said she forgives me.” He glanced back at his father, fearful of what he would think of his next words. “And I believe her.”

James lifted a brow. “So rather than exposing her for the fraud she is, she made you question yourself, is that it?”
Grayson took a deep breath. “She made me question everything.”

His father nodded slowly. “Why do you think it is that you believe her?”

He frowned, “I just…do.”

James leaned toward him slightly. “It's because she believes it, isn’t that right? The other girls truly believed they loved you, what makes her different?”

“The other girls hate me now, I don’t think she has the capacity to hate.”

“But she can love?”

“She does love.”

“No, she believes she loves, so strongly that it appears to be true. It only means that the programming is so deeply ingrained it’s become a religion. Have you ever spoken to someone who calls themselves a Born-Again Christian? Or a devout Muslim? They are willing to die for their faith, does that mean what they believe in is real? According to the Christian their way is the only way, likewise for the Muslim, so how can both be true? This is no different.”

Grayson cocked his head to the side, considering. “Well in that case, if her faith is that strong, then it's not possible to win the game, is it?”

James barked a laugh. "Don't be ridiculous. Her faith, as you call it, was barely tested. I know that the general rule for this game is three months or less, but that's only because it's generally easy to test and manipulate teenagers in that time frame. Occasionally you’ll find one with a more developed maturity. What are her parents like?"

Grayson sighed, "They're dead. Car accident when she was ten, she lives with her grandmother."

James put his hands out, "Well that explains it. Tragedy often speeds up maturity. The game is not over Grayson, it's just been taken to the next level. I should have pressed you for more details, I would have known you needed more time with this one."

Grayson stared at his father, "But I fucked it up, I mean seriously."

"Tell me and I will point your way out."

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