“You didn’t think Chad actually loved you, did
you?”
She grinned, her voice full of contempt.
“He only pretended to like you to get revenge.
All because you stole my scholarship. But
<
guys are so dumb. 99 acts of revenge is
lame. The worst is when you love someone
and see them hurt you over and over. Does
that make sense?”
“Ashley, don’t touch things that aren’t yours.
You’re going to get punished.”
Tiffany laughed and walked away.
When I got back to the table, Truth or Dare
was still going.
Chad lost again.`
“Do you love your girlfriend?”
I could hear everything through the door.
Chad laughed.
Г
“I’d never love Ashley. I’m with her to get
revenge. Once I hit 99, I’ll ditch her. I’ll kick
her to the curb with no regret. Don’t ask
stupid questions.”
“Chad is so dedicated to Tiffany. He’s not
going to fall for someone else. He can’t wait
to finish his revenge so that he doesn’t have
to be around this gross women.”
“I thought you two may have developed
feelings…”
I was about to leave, but Tiffany came back
and shoved me inside.
It was my turn. The bottle was pointing at me.
Tiffany gave me a bottle of liquor. “Time for a
<
dare. Drink this. Chad said you can really hold
your liquor. One drink shouldn’t be so
difficult.”
I looked at the drink, tears welling up in my
eyes.
Chad knew I was allergic to alcohol.
But he took the drink and handed it to me.
“It’s just one drink, Ashley. You’re being a
party pooper, come on.”
I laughed. I took the drink from his hand and
threw it back. It burned. Everything became
hazy. It felt like something was sucking my
energy away.
I woke up in a dark hotel room, unable to
く
move. There were several men around me,
smirking at me.
I tried to yell, but no sound came out.
“Don’t be afraid. We’re going to take good
care of you.”
“You have a very pretty little body.”
Tears ran down my face. I watched as they
came closer, tearing at my clothes. I closed
my eyes.
The door burst open.
“Get away from her!” Chad roared. He
grabbed the closest guy and punched him in
the face, beating him to the ground.
L
The men scrambled to get away.
Chad’s hands were covered in blood. He
reached out to me, shaking. I saw fear and
panic in his eyes for the first time.
I flinched away.
He had made me drink that stuff. He had
planned all of this. There was no point in
pretending to care now.
“Ashley…” His hand hung in the air, a look of
pain on his face.
The pain was overwhelming. I lost
consciousness. I didn’t hear what he said
next.
I woke up in the hospital.
く
I could hear Chad talking outside my room.
He was trying to stay calm, but I could still
hear the anger in his voice.
“Why did you drug her?”
“To get revenge,” Tiffany said. “You said you
wanted to finish your 99 tortures, right? She
stole my scholarship, so she needs to pay.”
“You can’t have her attacked!”
Chad lost it.
Tiffany was in disbelief. “Why are you so
mad? We planned all of this together! To
make her pay, as brutally as possible! Why
are you being soft?”
“Don’t tell me you actually like her.”
Г
“No!” Chad said instantly.
He could never love Ashley.
She was selfish and “stole” Tiffany’s
scholarship. He could never love her.
He was just getting revenge.
Then why did he feel so angry when he ran
into that room? Why did his heart hurt so bad
when he saw her lying there, exposed?
Everything had changed.
Maybe it was when he saw her throw away
the ring, or when he saw her getting hurt. He
started having all these weird feelings.
Г
He wanted to see Ashley smile. He wanted
her to look at him the way she used to.
And when he saw her lying there helpless and
broken, he panicked. He didn’t want to see
her like that.
He remembered how she flinched away from
him. It hurt.
Chad fought back his emotions and spoke
softly, trying to comfort Tiffany. “I don’t like
Ashley. It’s always been you. I’ll do anything to
make you happy.”
Tiffany smiled.
“Good. She’s waking up soon. Go on in and
don’t screw it up. Once you finish those 99
acts of revenge, I’ll be with you.”
Tiffany left, but Chad didn’t go inside.
He didn’t know why. He knew Ashley was
waking up, but he didn’t have the guts to face
her.
Chad went to the window and lit a cigarette,
trying to numb himself.
The next few days, Chad took care of me at
the hospital.
Tiffany came to visit a few times. They’d talk
outside the room for hours, and Chad would
have this subtle look of tenderness on his
face.
He used to do that when we were together,
and I finally realize he was talking to Tiffany.
One day, the intern asked if the man outside.
was my boyfriend.
“He used to be,” I said quietly.
He asked for my number. Chad came back at
that moment.
He glared at us, not saying a word, but his
look was terrifying.
I never saw that intern again. I didn’t know
what happened.
I looked at Chad, feeling so conflicted.
He could spend hours alone with Tiffany, but I
couldn’t even say hello to another guy.
く
It was all supposed to be revenge. Where did
this possessiveness come from?
