MERCEDES | SEBASTIAN STAN

THIRTY SEVEN

PAPARAZZI

037.
❝He moved on before I could even give him an answer.❞

━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━

It had been a week since Mercedes' return and everything had seemingly gone back to normal, Sebastian, Fleur and Anthony had gone home and her parents locked themselves away in their studies.

Her siblings were as close as ever, Astra and Bentley had college to go to and Cruz work to go to but they always made time for each other.

Naturally, her siblings had grilled her on Sebastian. So, she told them about the conversation he had with her in their mother's rose garden.

She told them about how he said he would wait for her because he cared for her and didn't want to rush her into anything. He had told her how he had liked her since when they first met and cared for her since long before.

Mercedes didn't say anything to him, she was just in shock that they kissed and that Sebastian had confessed his feelings for her.

They hadn't spoken since last week, despite the odd text checking up on one another. He said he would give her some time to think over what she wanted.

Which she deeply appreciated.

But now she was sat staring at her phone with a photo of Sebastian and Alejandra, his supposed now again girlfriend.

Mercedes felt as if her world had crashed down on her. She knew that she shouldn't have made him wait for her response. She knew she that she should have told him that she loved him the second he pulled her away from her family.

The brunette let out of an uncontrollable sob. She quickly brought her hand up to her mouth, hoping to quieten her sobs. She rested her head against the wall as she looked at the photo.

She pulled up Sebastian's number and decided to text him. She let out a heavy sigh as she typed out 'I can't do this, I'm not ready to get hurt just yet. I'm sorry'.

She wanted him to respond and fight for her. She wanted him to tell her that he wouldn't hurt her and that all he wanted to do was love and protect her. That the press was wrong and those photos weren't real. But all she got in response was, 'Okay.'

And that broke her heart more. Angered, she threw her phone across the room. She didn't want to hear from him, she didn't want to look at the photos. She just wanted to ignore everything.

"Lou?" Bentley furrowed his brows as he walked past his sisters bedroom and heard her faint cries. "Can I come in?" He questioned, lightly knocking on her door.

Mercedes angrily wiped away her tears and cleared her throat. She plastered a smile onto her face and said,

"Of course."

Bentley walked into the room and could instantly tell that his sister had been crying. She had red eyes and tears stained cheeks. He offered her a sympathetic smile.

"What happened?" He questioned softly, taking a seat on the edge of her bed.

"He's got a girlfriend, Benny." Mercedes smiled through the pain. It hurt so much, but she always put on a smile for her siblings. "He moved on before I could even give him an answer."

Bentley hated watching his sister break, but it happened more often than not. He instantly pulled the girl into his arms and held her tightly. He wished he could take away all of her pain.

"Then he's a fucking idiot." Bentley was seething but he kept his calm in front of Mercedes.

He knew that it terrified her whenever people got angry, despite her always appearing to be brave, he knew that she was always shaking.

"I love him, Bentley." Mercedes whispered as if it was a secret. She gripped onto his shirt tightly and her tears began to dampen his shirt. "I love him and I didn't even get a chance to tell him."

~

"FUCK." Sebastian shouted as he threw his beer bottle across the room, causing it to smash against the wall.

He ran his hands through his hair and tugged slightly. He didn't know what to do. He felt like everything was falling apart. Like his whole world had just crashed down on top of him.

He allowed himself to fall to the floor and pulled his legs up into his chest. Tears streamed down his face and he hated himself.

Sebastian only said okay when she text him because his biggest fear was hurting the girl. She had already been through so much and she didn't deserved any pain. So he understood that she was scared to love.

He just hated that he couldn't show her the love that she deserved. He hated that he couldn't take her out on dates and kiss her in the rain. He hated that he couldn't hold her hand or take her dancing or even tell her that he loved her.

He loved her so much that it hurt. He loved her with everything in him and all he wanted to do was tell her.