Parker's gaze burned into mine, draining all the strength from my bones.

Five years.

Five years of me waiting for an explanation, and now I was going to get it. I wasn't sure I was ready yet. What if the voices in my head were right, and he just used me? Not like it would matter, but it wouldn't hurt any less.

"Did I do something wrong?" My brow lifted as I stared at him with disbelief.

Did he honestly just ask that?

It was not okay to leave a naked girl alone in a car right after a one-night stand, not even if the both of you didn't share any mutualities.

But he did seem genuinely confused.

"Wait," I said. "So you don't know what happened that night?"

He frowned. "No. I wouldn't have asked if I did."

My lips curled downwards, my heart clenching painfully. "You don't remember anything?"

He shook his head. "I remember everything. I just don't remember what I might have done to anger you."

"I'm not angry."

"But you're acting cold."

"That's because what you did confused me, and I didn't like it!" I snapped. A shocked expression came upon Parker's features.

Suddenly, I was too aware of his thigh against mine. I moved away from him, causing his frown to deepen.

"Is this because I left?"

My subconscious groaned and smacked her forehead. However, my external glare remained as hard as ever.

Finally, you big dumdum.

"You confused me," I admitted with sulking shoulders. "Imagine how I felt after spending the night with a guy and then waking up naked without the guy and a reasonable explanation."

He watched me for a moment, brows furrowed. I went on.

"You just left." I sighed. "I thought that I was just an object to you."

"You're not-" he began to say but cut himself off, stare intensifying on me. "I thought we were just helping each other forget."

"We were." We were. I'd just felt cheap. He made me feel cheap by walking away. I wasn't developing feelings for him or anything. "But that doesn't justify your actions. Imagine if it were you."

"I'm sorry I left like that, but I had things to attend to." Pain. "And besides, it didn't mean anything, right?" His voice was so small towards the end that it sent moisture to my eyes and a metaphorical knife to my heart.

More pain.

He was apologizing, finally giving me the explanation I wanted, yet the tension within me still stood tall. The air around me grew thick as I struggled to breathe properly.

I stood up with a racing heart and a confused mind. That one-night stand didn't mean anything. Why was it so hard for me to grasp that?

"I have to go."

He sighed in defeat, shaking his head at me and rising to his feet. "You're running away again."

It's not like he was making it easy for me to stay.

"You did the same thing five years ago, yet you keep pointing it out whenever I walk away from you."

"That's because you're not supposed to walk away. We're supposed to be talking."

"We were meant to talk then as well, but you ran away before we could. So give me one reason why I should stay here and listen to you." I paused. By now, I was leaning so close to him I could hear the sound of him breathing, almost feel it against my face. I leaned away. This was stupid. "It's not like you have anything to say anyway.

"But you were right," I continued. "I have work to do. You have work to do. Let's pretend that night never happened."

"Camsy," he groaned, taking a step forward which I countered by leaning back. "I wasn't thinking that morning, but I swear I wasn't using you."

"We were both drunk, Parker," I uttered, staring him in the eye as the last part of my statement fell from my lips. "We used each other. So let's forget about it because talking won't solve anything." I gave him a sickly sweet smile, taking another step away to put a considerable amount of distance between us.

"I-" His eyes flickered around like he was searching for the right words to say, and they were hidden somewhere in the room. And then they came to a stop on me, gaze drifting down to literally swallow my figure. I lifted my nose in the air and scoffed. "You look pretty in that dress," he suddenly said out of the blue.

"And you look handsome all the time. What's your point?" I retorted, successfully deflecting the effects of the compliment from taking action. Red colored his cheeks.

"We're cool, right?" he asked hopefully, green eyes gleaming. "No hard feelings."

Despite my aching chest and feeble knees, I managed to sustain a convincing smile and posture. "You don't see me yelling at you for standing me up, do you?"

I thought I saw a dark expression cross his eyes, but it was quicker than I was, so it slipped away. A twitchy smile settled on his lips. "I'll see you at the dance tonight, or we'll bump into each other in the hallway if I get lucky."

My breath hitched in my throat. He wasn't supposed to say stuff like that, not to me.

"I'll see you at the dance, Parker," I promised. And without waiting for a reply, I hurried out of the room, stopping outside in the hall to place a hand on my chest and take deep breaths.

I recognized this feeling.

It was the same thing I'd felt when I saw James kissing that girl when we were ten, the same feeling I'd felt when I'd seen Liam making out with another woman on the dancefloor. The same feeling I'd felt when I'd woken up without Parker after that night.

It was the feeling of my heart breaking once again.

"Mida, is it possible to have your heart broken without first being in love?"

Mida was better at the things of love than I was. Not even thirteen boyfriends could teach me as much as she knew about love. So she was my first resort.

My said cousin was seated in front of me, facing the mirror with her back to me. Her hair had been made into an elegant style with braids here and there, all pinned and held together in one perfect pattern. Her makeup too was exquisite, and her usual pouty lips were now painted a deep shade of red, highlighting her face. A golden tiara-not sure if the gold was real or not-sat on her head.

The dress she was wearing had to be the best accessory on her. It was red, just like the color on her lips. Gold highlights swirled around its hem and waistline, giving the gown that royal look. Generally, my cousin looked like a queen.

Her gaze met mine through the mirror, perfectly drawn eyebrows pulling together. "Listen to yourself. Anything pertaining to heartbreak is certainly linked to love, even though you don't have to be in love to have your heart broken. I mean, any friend could easily break your heart." She shrugged.

I bit my lip. Parker and I weren't just friends. Hell, I didn't even know what we were right now! I knew I was angry at him for being indifferent, but I had no clue why I wanted him to show concern.

It must be this wedding. I hate weddings.

And I need champagne.

"Why are you asking this?" Mida raised a skeptical brow, her lips parting as she gasped. "Did your heart get broken? Oh my goodness, are you in love?!"

"Shh!" I shushed her. If I hadn't done that, probably everyone in the building could have heard her. "I'm not in love, not recently at least. I told you I'm not a love person."

She pouted. "That's not true. All you need is the right guy."

"Yeah, right." My mind went to Parker, his eyes, his smile, his kindness. He could have easily passed as the perfect guy, but things were just too complicated between us. "So you know where I can get some vodka? Or whiskey. I think whiskey's the better choice."

Mida repeatedly blinked at me, standing up abruptly and pushing her chair back. She spun on her heel and stared me dead in the eye.

"You have been heartbroken," she accused. "You've been hiding stuff from me, haven't you? Speak, little one!"

"I'm four years older than you!"

"You're little in love."

"Why don't you stick a knife in while you're at it?" I sneered, my face inches from hers. Slowly, a sinister smile crawled onto her lips, contrasting strongly with my scowl.

"So, are you going to tell me or not?"

I snarled at her, internally accepting defeat. "Not now. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"And when will that be?"

"When everything's right."