Chapter 49 Astrid
ASTRID
“What’s wrong?” Paige asks the second she enters our dorm and sees my face.
“I did what you said. I called all three London colleges and”—I pause to draw a breath, placing my hand over my heart, willing it to calm down—“they all said the same thing. That I’d withdrawn my applications a few days after submitting them.”
“What the fuck?” Paige sinks onto the bed beside me.
“What the hell is going on?” My voice cracks.
I’ve been under a lot of strain these past few weeks as I waited to find out if I’d gotten a place in one of the colleges I’d applied to.
The adviser on campus here told me not to stress.
That places for international students are awarded all the way up until June.
But I’m due to move to London in three weeks, and I needed to know.
So, on Paige’s advice, I called them, and they dropped the bomb.
“I know I didn’t rescind my applications, but I still checked my sent items to be sure.
The cancellation emails did not come from me, even though all three said the communications came from the same email address. ”
“If it’d happened with one of the applications, you could’ve said maybe it was an honest mistake.
Someone mixed you up with a different applicant, but all three?
Nah. That’s not a mistake or a coincidence.
Someone wanted to sabotage you.” Paige’s gaze darkens.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think this is Gwen. ”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Is it?” Paige quirks an eye. “There is something off about that girl, and I know, I know, you’ve known her since you were eight and she’s like a sister to you, but you are blind to her faults, Astrid. You refuse to see what others see.”
“You don’t like her, and you want to see the bad in her all the time.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but I can’t bite my tongue any longer.” Paige takes out her cell and swipes her finger to open the screen, tapping away before thrusting it at me. “Look at her Insta, and tell me you don’t see it.”
“Don’t see what?” I glance through her most recent posts. “Is this because she changed her hair?”
“Her hair, her clothes, her makeup.” She points at a pic Gwen took last night. “Look, Astrid. Really look at it, and tell me she’s not trying to be you.”
I do see what Paige is saying, but it’s not what she thinks. It can’t be. “She started embracing her girly side when she was with Scott.”
“Astrid.” Paige curls her arm around me, peering deep into my eyes. “I adore you. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, but you are completely na?ve when it comes to Gwen. Wake up and smell the coffee, girl, before she steals every aspect of your life, including your man.”
I burst out laughing, which is a miracle when I’m destroyed inside. How will I tell Callan I’ll have to return to the US after summer break because I don’t have a London college place? “Callan can barely tolerate Gwen. She’s been driving him nuts.”
“So why is she still living with him?”
“She’s not. She moved out three weeks ago.”
“No, she didn’t.” Sympathy splays across her face as she points to a couple of the most recent pics. “Unless I’m mistaken, isn’t that Callan’s kitchen in the background?”
I swallow thickly because, yes, Paige is right. That is Callan’s apartment. “I don’t understand,” I whisper. “Why did they both tell me she’d moved out if she hasn’t?” I rub at the knot forming in my chest. “Maybe she was visiting him.”
“As you’ve rightly pointed out, Callan doesn’t like her, and he fought with you for weeks over her. She wasn’t visiting. My guess is she never returned his key, and she took those pictures on purpose. You need to call Callan and tell him about those pics.”
“I’ve been trying to talk to him all week, but he’s been crazy busy, and we’ve only messaged.”
“You said he’s been acting a little distant. Do you think he knows, and maybe he’s afraid to say it to you, because I know I’ve been afraid to say anything. You get super defensive when it comes to Gwen.”
“Gwen wouldn’t do this to me.”
The pitying look on Paige’s face makes me feel like an innocent six-year-old who still thinks unicorns are real. “Don’t look at me like that!”
“I am only saying this because I care. Maybe it’s not Gwen. But how do you explain the college applications?”
“I can’t,” I whisper. “What if someone is stalking me?” I sit up straighter. “Oh my god. What if it’s one of the girls on campus who wanted Callan and she’s trying to split us up? Or it could be one of those nasty online trolls impersonating me.”
“Or it could be Gwen.”
“Paige, just drop it. I agree that Gwen’s been evasive lately, and I need an answer as to why she’s taking selfies in my boyfriend’s kitchen, but she wouldn’t try to fuck up my relationship or my future. She wouldn’t do that to me.”
“I have a harder time believing some random student on campus or some crazy bitch online did this, but I suppose it’s plausible.” She squeezes me in a bear hug, and I soak up her warmth because I feel chilled to the bone.
“If someone is out to get me, what more might they do?” A shiver works its way through me.
“You should talk to Beth, and I’d go to campus security too.” Beth is our RA and she’s always been helpful.
“I want to talk to Callan first. I’ll see what he says and take it from there.”
“Finally,” I say when Callan picks up. I’ve been messaging and calling him for hours, and honestly, I’m a little pissed.
My messages said it was urgent and I needed to speak to him ASAP.
I know he’s not always contactable, but I know he’s read them, so why the fuck didn’t he say it was an emergency and call me immediately?
“Azzie.”
All the blood drains from my face when I hear Gwen’s voice and see her smiling face.
“What are you doing answering Callan’s cell?” I look behind her, and my heart falters. “Why the hell are you in his bedroom?”
“Cal’s in the shower. I know you’ve been calling and messaging for hours, and I don’t think it’s fair to continue doing this to you. I’ve told him he needs to man up and tell you, but it’s obvious he’s waiting for me to do it.” She rolls her eyes, and I’m so confused.
My heart is racing like crazy, and pressure sits on my chest. “What are you talking about?” I hate how my voice trembles, and I really wish Paige were here, but she’s studying in the library.
“I’m so sorry, Azzie.” She doesn’t sound in any way apologetic. “We didn’t plan to fall in love, but it just happened.” She wears heart eyes as she stares at me. “We didn’t know how to tell you, but I couldn’t keep deceiving you. It’s been killing me.”
I crack up laughing. “You can’t expect me to believe that. Callan doesn’t even like you.”
“That’s no longer true.” She flashes me a cruel smile. “Let’s get real, babe. Someone like you was never going to hold on to a guy like him.”
“Whatever sick game you’re playing, it ends here.” Paige was right. Paige was so fucking right, and I’m the idiot who didn’t see it. “Did you sabotage my college applications?”
“What? Someone sabotaged your college applications? Oh no. I’m so sorry. Guess things really aren’t going your way right now, huh?” Her pitying look enrages me.
“You did it! You did this on purpose.”
“It’s understandable you’re stressed, Azzie, but I really wouldn’t start throwing accusations around, especially when you don’t have proof.”
Oh my god. She did it. I just know she did. I trawl quickly through my mind, and it comes to me. “My laptop was open that day you were at my dorm when I dropped down to Neve’s room to discuss our project. You went into my inbox and sent those emails, deleting them after they’d been processed.”
“If I did, it’d be quite clever, wouldn’t it, Azzie?”
Her smug grin ramps my rage up another notch. “You fucking bitch! And stop calling me Azzie,” I yell. “Get Callan. I want to speak to him now.”
“What the fu—” Callan comes racing out of the en suite bathroom, wearing a towel around his waist with water sluicing down his muscular torso. His face pales when he sees me, and I stop breathing as I watch the naked terror in his eyes.
Gwen turns to face him, giving me her back and blocking my view of them. “Lover, you need to explain things to Azzie. She won’t believe me.”
A strangled sound rips from my mouth. Lover?
No. No. What is going on? This can’t be happening.
This can’t be real. It isn’t. Callan hates her, and he loves me.
He’d never be with her. I just need to keep my cool until Callan explains.
Paige is right. This is all Gwen’s doing.
She’s set this up to make it look like he’s cheating on me, but he would never.
Especially not with Gwen. He might not have said it outright, but I know he hates her.
“Astrid.”
Looking at Callan on the screen is like looking at a stranger. His face is devoid of the terror I saw a minute ago, his features wiped clear of all emotion. “I’m sorry to do this to you over the phone, but we’re over. I’m with Gwen now.” He jerks a little. “I love Gwen.”
“What? What are you saying? You can’t… No. No. I don’t believe you.”
“It wasn’t planned. It just happened, but she’s who I want. I’m sorry, but it’s over between us for good.”
I examine his face for something, anything, but it’s like he’s a robot. “Stop lying! You can’t stand her! Is she making you say this? What has she done?”
“Gwen’s pregnant,” he blurts, and if I weren’t sitting down, I’d have fallen over. “We’re having a baby, and you and I are done. My future is with her.”
Tears spill down my cheeks of their own volition. My mouth opens and closes. The pain in my chest is so severe it feels like I’m dying. “You’re having a baby with her?” The words are barely a whisper as I feel my soul shattering. “No. No. This isn’t real.”
“It’s real. I’m sorry, Astrid. We didn’t mean to hurt you, but we can’t help how we feel.”
I stare at him through blurry vision as my heart ruptures in my chest. My hands are shaking. My entire body is trembling, and I feel cold. I’m struggling to draw enough oxygen into my lungs when Gwen’s gloating face reappears. “It’s best for everyone if we cut all ties. Don’t contact my man again.”
The screen turns black when she hangs up, and the phone slips from my hand as I collapse on the floor, curl into the fetal position, and break apart.