Drawn to You: Volume 3 (6 page)

My fist hits Ceci across the mouth with a furious vengeance. Despite my petite frame, I have one hell of a punch, and I have my brothers to thank for it. Ceci yelps like an injured dog as she goes flying onto the bed. I straddle her as blind rage consumes me.

“How could you?” I scream.

Cecil pushes my hands off her, but it doesn’t stop me from slapping her hard across the cheek.

“Get her off of me,” she screams.

“Emily, that’s enough,” Tristan pulls me off her.

I push out of his arms as his touch sears me. The pain is blinding.

“Don’t you ever fucking touch me again.”

Tristan’s eyes immediately darken.

“Emily. Wait.”

Ceci stands as she wipes her mouth. A small gash adorns her lip.

“I knew it. I knew something was going on between you guys, but I never guessed you were in love with him.”

I may have physically struck Ceci, but the cruelty of her words knocks the wind out of me. Tristan looks at me with pleading eyes. He steps toward me with open arms, but I immediately retreat. I can’t stand to look at him. The sight of his bare form sends a wave of nausea through me. The feeling of betrayal is enough to suffocate me.

“I hope you guys are happy together,” I blurt.

My body is moving before my mind can catch up. I walk out of the room and head back to my bedroom. Tears flow down my face as a shooting pain hits me in the chest. The sensation sends me swaying against the hallway. I gasp to catch my breath just as my brother walks out of his bedroom. I can only imagine how I look with puffy eyes and a red nose. I’m a mess.

“Emily, what’s going on?”

He heads straight toward me. As he reaches me, his gaze shifts in confusion. I feel my cheeks warm in embarrassment as he stares down at me in surprise.

“What’s going on?” he asks again.

“Nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

Nicholas pulls me into his arms and holds me. I sob into his shoulder as his warmth surrounds me. I’ve never needed my brother more than I do now.

“I heard shouting. I almost fell trying to get dressed to see what the hell was going on.”

“It was nothing.”

“Then who the fuck made you cry? Is it that bartender?”

On cue, the guest bedroom where Tyler had been sleeping opens. His half-naked form pops into view. Before Nicholas has the chance to stride over and kick his ass, I stop him.

“It wasn’t him,” I say tugging on his arm.

“Then who? Ceci? Tristan?”

His eyes grow wide.

“NO.”

Without another word, I run to my room and slam the door closed behind me. Nicholas’s voice carries across the hall as he approaches Tristan’s room. For a moment, all hell seems like it’s going to break loose, but the voices in the hall eventually dissipate. The only noise left is the sound of my heart drumming against my chest. I lay there, broken. Too hurt to move and too alive not to feel.

Tristan

Pain radiates through my chest as I watch Emily walk—no, run away from me.

I’m just about to chase after her when I hear Ceci behind me. I turn on my heel to confront the little monster who had ruined everything. Ceci’s eyes widen as she looks up at me. Her lip is still bleeding from the shot Emily took to her face. If it were any other situation, I would be proud of Emily for sticking up for herself, but this isn’t any other situation. This is a goddamn disaster.

I hate myself for not knowing the petite frame sliding in bed with me last night wasn’t Emily. I should’ve known when I didn’t smell Emily’s lavender shampoo. God, why would Ceci even do this? I’ve never had a moment of interest in her. She’s only been a means of distraction with mind numbing conversation, especially when I have to watch Emily talking to that bartender from Oasis.

I can’t count how many times I wished I could just punch him in the face. I never thought Ceci would take my interest in her conversations as an interest in her. That fucking shows me.

“What were you thinking when you climbed in my bed?” I growl.

Embarrassment washes over her faces as she presses her hand to her lips. A trail of blood trickles down the gash on her bottom lip. I almost feel sorry for her, but not after the way she reacted when I woke. She did this on purpose, and it befuddles me why she would purposely hurt Emily if she knew she had feelings for me.

“I was thinking of how much I like you,” she admits.

Ceci steps forward to place her arms around me, but I immediately stop her. She’s the last person I want to touch me right now. She just ruined any chance Emily and I might have had. Now, Emily will never trust me. The loss of her trust isn’t something I take lightly, either.

“While that’s flattering, I can’t say I feel the same.”

Her face falls at the coldness of my words.

She steps back slowly lowering her head in defeat. I know what Ceci wants. She’s starved for attention. A product of her wealthy parents ignoring her over the years. I’ve met plenty of women like her, but I’m not here to soothe her. That’s someone else’s job. I grab the pink halter and shorts that are scattered on the floor in front of my bed and throw them to her. Her lips quickly form a scowl as she looks at them and then up at me.

“I thought you liked me,” she blurts.

“I did, but not the way you think. You’re Emily’s friend and that’s the only way I look at you.”

She brushes a stray cluster of hair from her face. She won’t admit it, but I know from her watery eyes that she’s hurt by my words.

Ceci has some serious growing up to do.

“Do you like her?” Ceci asks.

“I love her.”

It feels strange saying it to someone else. I’ve never even allowed myself the pleasure of saying this to myself.

Ceci looks up at me in shock. I’m sure she wasn’t expecting that confession. She takes several seconds to wrap her head around the idea of us before continuing her interrogation.

“I didn’t know it was so serious.”

I grit my teeth as I grab my shirt off of the floor and slip it over my head.

“We have a history together.”

Her eyes widen with understanding.

“You’re the guy she lost her virginity to? She mentioned it to me soon after her brother died. I thought she was joking because we were drunk.”

I wince at the memory of the night on the stairs. It’s not my proudest moment, but it led us down this twisted road. I’ve often wondered how different things would’ve turned out if I had never crossed that line between us.

Emily

“Emily!”

It’s the desperation in Tristan’s voice that gets me. He’s outside my door calling for me at the top of his lungs. The knocking on the door continues despite my refusal to answer him. He’s persistent, but I’ve never known him to be anything but. The minutes click by and the knocking only grows. God help me if Nicholas can hear him. The door shakes from the pressure of Tristan’s hand. It vibrates the whole right side of the wall.

“I know you’re in there.”

Tristan’s words are fueled by anger.

I shove my clothes in my small suitcase and begin pushing my toiletries in a plastic zip lock. I’m getting the hell out of here. I can’t spend another minute on this boat with Tristan or Ceci. The sting of Tristan’s betrayal festers inside of me as I watch his shadow beneath the door. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to look at Ceci again. My heart hurts just thinking about her and Tristan together. The sight of her half-naked in his bed sears its way into my mind. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to scrub it out of my memory.

“Emily, open up,” he commands. “I need to explain to you what happened.”

I never thought Tristan would sleep with me, and then move on to my best friend, but I guess I was naive. This was why he didn’t push her away every time she threw herself at him. How could he say all of those things to me and then sleep with my friend? Women have always surrounded him, so I guess I should’ve known it wouldn’t be any different with me. I fooled myself thinking he cared about me this whole time. I believed every beautiful word he said to me. A bitter taste fills my mouth at the thought of all of the lies he’s spewed.

After several seconds, Tristan’s pounding stops. I cross the room and press my ear against the door. Tristan’s breathing is ragged like he’s been running. The door creaks as his frame presses against it.

“Emily, open the door… I didn’t sleep with her.”

“Fuck you.”

The words fly out of my mouth without a second thought. I hear an exasperated sigh as something slags against the door. There might be several inches of a door between us, but I can still feel his disappointment.

“Pet, open the door.”

“No.”

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” Someone else calls out.

The strangely familiar voice calls out again, but this time, it sounds like it’s right outside my door. Is that Tyler?

Tristan’s voice booms throughout the hallway.

“What the fuck do you want?” Tristan growls.

Shit. I push open the door to find Tyler standing right outside. His familiar boyish smile is set in a thin-lipped scowl as he watches Tristan. His eyes disconnect from him as he looks over to me.

“Is he bothering you?”

“Yes.”

“No,” Tristan argues.

Tyler glances back at me as if trying to decipher the emotions on my face. I can only imagine I’m not sending off very positive vibes toward Tristan. In fact, I’m glaring at him now. Tyler steps back and puts up his hands to surrender.

“Look, I don’t want to fight, but you need to leave her the hell alone. If she doesn’t want to talk to you, then she shouldn’t have to.”

Tristan crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a hostile laugh. He finally stops laughing after he notices me just outside my bedroom door.

“I’m only going to tell you this once. Get the fuck out of my way.”

A sliver of anxiety runs through me as I watch Tristan advance on him. Tyler might be younger, but he’s nowhere near as built as Tristan. The menacing look on his face is enough to make me fear for Tyler’s safety. I have no doubt Tristan could do a lot of damage.

“I’m not afraid of you,” Tyler says, puffing his chest.

“You should be.”

I step between them before Tristan has a chance to get any closer. He looks down at me in surprise. I’m sure he wasn’t expecting me to get in the middle of this fight, but there’s no way in hell I’m letting him hit Tyler over me. I push my hands against Tristan’s chest as I force him to step back.

“Stop this.”

“Let’s talk inside the room,” Tristan says, grabbing my wrist.

I pull myself out of his grasp with a force that nearly sends me flying back.

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

Tyler steps to my right as he waits for me to slip back into his room. Tristan doesn’t let up as he tries again to pull me to the side to listen to him.

“Tristan, please, just leave.”

“Emily, you’re not listening to me.”

“Please, I can’t take this anymore.”

“I need you.”

I know what I’m about to say is going to hurt him, but I shouldn’t care. I don’t. I don’t care. Maybe if I keep saying it, it will finally come true.

“I don’t need you,” I lie.

The surprised look on his face hurts my heart. The man I’ve fallen in love with slowly backs away in defeat. He presses his fist against the hallway wall as if he’s ready to knock it down before slowly backing away.

Tristan turns and begins to walk away. He’s only a few feet away when I see him turn and look up.

“I know you’re saying you don’t need me now, but I will always be here if you decide one day you do,” he says.

Hot tears come crashing down my cheeks as I watch him disappear out of view. Tyler grabs my shoulders as I sway against my door. I want to run after him, but my pride tells me to stop. I’m tired of being on his yo-yo string. One day, he needs me. The next day, he’s sleeping with my best friend. My heart can’t take it anymore. No amount of poetry could wash away the pain he’s caused. I’m done with Tristan Knight.