Why Don't You Want Me?

Chapter 4: Go to Hell, Both of You

Riaya's POV

The nerve of him. How dare he tell me what I’ve always known but never wanted to admit. The reason I never confessed. I knew Angel would never love me—not the way I wanted, not the way I loved him. But for him to stand there and rub it in, to drive the knife in even deeper, like the damn fool he is... that was the final blow. The last thread of whatever friendship we had left had snapped, and I was done.

I was done with Angel Daughtry.

As I sat in my room, tears streaming down my face, I made a decision. It wouldn’t be easy, but I was going to get over him. If it was the last thing I did on this planet, I would let him go.

Earlier that day, when the last bell rang, I was walking to my locker, trying to keep my head down, when I overheard a couple of girls gossiping. “Did you hear? Kaya’s officially one of the Regina’s now. She’s going out with *the* Angel Daughtry.”

My heart clenched, my mind spinning. *Kaya?* How could my best friend do this to me? No—how could *both* of them do this to me? Angel... well, I knew he hated me. That much was clear. We hadn’t spoken in years, and he made it obvious that he wanted nothing to do with me. But this... this was a new low, even for him. He’d hurt me countless times, pushed me away again and again, but this?

This was different. This was unforgivable.

And Kaya... How could she? She knew how I felt about Angel, even if I never outright said it. She was my best friend, the one person I thought I could trust. But she went and did the one thing I never expected. She betrayed me.

I walked home, my thoughts tangled in a mess of pain and anger. Every memory of Angel and Kaya, every shared laugh and secret, twisted into something ugly. I told myself over and over, *Get a grip, Riaya. You just need to get over him. Move on. He’s not worth it.* But it didn’t stop the ache in my chest. It didn’t stop my heart from tearing in two.

The worst part? I knew Angel didn’t owe me anything. We weren’t together. We hadn’t even been friends in years. But that didn’t change the fact that we *were* something once. He was my best friend for as long as I could remember. We had more good times than bad, more laughter than arguments, and yet he chose to cut me out. He made the decision to end things, not me.

He always made the decisions, didn’t he?

He decided when we stopped talking. He decided to make me feel like I wasn’t enough, like I didn’t deserve his friendship, his time, his affection. He pushed me away, over and over, and I let him. I let him make me feel like I was the problem, like I was the one who needed to fix things. But this time, I couldn’t forgive him. This time, I *wouldn’t* forget. I would make him regret it.

And Kaya... God, Kaya. How could she look me in the eyes and still go behind my back like that? She knew what Angel meant to me, even if I never told her everything. She knew. And she did it anyway.

My hands balled into fists as I walked faster, my breath coming in short, angry bursts. I thought of all the ways I could get back at them, all the things I could say, all the hurtful words I could throw back at Angel. But the more I thought about it, the more my anger simmered into something else. Something darker.

*Get over him, Riaya.* That’s all I had to do, right? Just get over him.

But how? How do you get over someone who has been part of your life for so long, even after they’ve pushed you away? How do you forget all the times he made you laugh, all the times you thought, for just a second, that maybe, maybe he felt something too?

my mind went back to the conversation we had...

"Yes, it's true. I’ve been seeing Kaya," Angel admitted, his voice harsh and unfeeling. "And I need to make something clear, Riaya. I will never want you. I will never be with you in a romantic way. You’re not my type. I would never date or be into a girl like you."

The silence that followed felt like a slap across my face. I stood with my back to him, my whole body tense, every word replaying in my mind like a cruel echo. He said it. The one thing I had feared all these years but never dared to speak out loud.

I could feel my heart cracking, but I refused to let him see it. Not this time. Not after everything.

"Really?" I whispered, my voice barely audible, though I knew he heard me.

Something inside me snapped. I didn’t even think—I just acted. I turned around slowly, my eyes locking onto his, and I stepped toward him, closing the distance between us with purpose. I saw his confidence falter as I came closer, his chest rising and falling quickly, like he didn’t know what to do with me so near.

He backed up against the old oak tree, his body tensing as if he was trapped. Good. Let him feel a fraction of what I’ve felt all these years.

I pressed my body close to his, too close, letting him feel the heat of my skin against his. I could feel the rush of his pulse, the quickening of his breath. His eyes widened, his lips parting slightly as he struggled to say something, but I didn’t give him the chance.

I rested my hands on his shoulders, my voice a whisper as I leaned in. "What’s the big deal with being with you, huh?"

His eyes were glued to my lips, his resolve crumbling right in front of me. I knew I had him for just a moment, knew that he wanted to lean in and close the space between us.

But I wasn’t going to let him.

A soft laugh escaped me, and I stepped back, pulling away from him just as he was about to give in. The look on his face was priceless—caught between desire and shock, unsure of what had just happened.

I turned and walked away without another word, my heart pounding but my head held high. I could feel his eyes burning into my back, and before I reached my door, I heard him shout.

"Riaya!" His voice was laced with frustration, maybe even desperation. "We’re not done talking!"

But I didn’t care. I didn’t stop. I threw up a middle finger over my shoulder, not even bothering to look back as I disappeared into the house.

Inside, I leaned against the door, my breath coming fast. Had I broken him? Maybe. But something in me had changed, too. I wasn’t the same girl who pined for Angel Daughtry.

I was done letting him have that kind of power over me.

I hated him for making me feel like this. I hated him for always deciding everything for me, for making me doubt myself, for making me believe I wasn’t enough. But most of all, I hated him because I couldn’t stop loving him.

And I hated that too.

Angel Daughtry would never know how much I loved him, because I would never tell him. That secret, that truth, I would take to my grave.

But one thing was for sure. I was done with both of them. They could have each other.

As far as I was concerned, they could both go to hell.