Not Another Cinderella Story

Chapter 17 - Cinderella lost more than a Shoe

~ But the prince said, "I will go along and escort you," for he wanted to see to whom the beautiful girl belonged. However, she eluded him. ~

Cindy was devastated. All of her worst fears had been reassured in one moment. Peyton had been using her – he never even wanted to break up with Evelyn in the first place.

God knows what would've happened if she hadn't shown up to his house. He was probably planning some sort of big reveal at the festival. He was going to show the world what an idiot shed been. He was going to announce how stupid she'd been to believe him.

Well, maybe it wouldn't have been something so large, but he had gone to great lengths to cover it up. He'd even staged a pretend fight with Evelyn to convince Cindy to even go to the festival.

As soon as she was off of Peyton's property, she collapsed on the curb and let out a strangled cry. He had dug the nail even deeper when he said that he loved her. He was saying everything he could to give her maximum pain. He must've known that she loved him, even if she'd never even admitted it to herself. And he used that against her, taunting her with it.

But even with what was at hand, she needed a way to get home. She'd been planning to spend the night with Peyton (not in that way you horny teenagers) but that plan was obviously crushed.

She couldn't call up Fanny, there was no way she could tell her what happened without breaking down even more. And there was no way she could crush Fanny's feelings about Pendy.

So she did the natural thing and waited for a cab.

Ten minutes later, she finally caught a cab. Inside it was musty and one seat was a little sticky, but she couldn't complain. She deserved the worst for falling for someone she knew she wasn't right for.

She gave the driver her address and sat back in the seat. She'd wiped away most of her tears by then, so she didn't want to break down again. She just had to wait until she got home and then she would let herself cry. There was no need to make this stranger feel uncomfortable.

"Do you want the radio?" The driver asked in a thick accent that she couldn't place.

"Sure." Maybe some music would cheer her up.

"There's no way to describe your perfection, baby"

Cindy's heart tightened at the familiar lyrics. "Can you please turn that down?"

"The way your hips move just right, oh it-"

"Turn it up?" he questioned. "Okay."

"No-"

"And now that you want my heart

Just know that you're a work of art"

"Just turn it off!" She yelled at the driver.

"Okay, okay." He defended himself as he turned off the radio, leaving the car in an awkward silence.

Peyton's voice had threatened to push her over the edge. His singing about a girl that he liked just reminded him of what he did to her.

The car gratefully stopped at her house a couple minutes later, and Cindy handed him a couple bills before darting out of the vehicle, not even looking at the amount she was giving him.