Until Alex (17 page)

Vertical lines creased between his brows.
His damn puppy dog eyes were enough to send me over the edge. “What?”

I threw my hand out at him. “Stop looking at me like that. Stop saying nice things to me. Stop being possessive over me. Stop treating me like I’m something precious then ignore me at school. And stop
rescuing
me.” The last I wanted to take back the second it left my lips. Because if he didn’t rescue me, who would?

He looked hurt.
He
looked hurt. The irony.

“I was stupid to agree to your terms. Agree to not ask questions or be seen with you. Because that’s just not me.”

He looked genuinely perplexed. “Then why did you?”

I drank in his beautiful face. Sometimes he looked like a lost little boy in need of love. This was one of those times. “Isn’t it obvious?”

He shook his head, his eyes staring blankly at me for a long moment. Then, as if I’d explained it to his satisfaction, he sat back on his elbows. His attention shifted back to the water. “I’m taking you.” 

My head recoiled. “What?”

“To the dance.”

“Now I know you’re crazy.”

He shot me a sidelong glance. “You don’t want to go with me?”

I watched the seagulls swoop overhead, as my mind worked to keep up with his split personalities. I looked over at him. “Why would I?”

His incredulous gaze told me I wasn’t at all convincing.

“You’d have to get dressed up.”

His eyes swept over my body in a slow seductive sweep. “I own a tie.”

A traitorous shiver rolled through me. “People would see us.”

He shrugged, his eyes studying my legs. “So?”

I swallowed, his inspection causing ripples in my stomach. “You’d have to dance with me.”

He nodded, though his eyes zoned in on my stomach. “You don’t think I can dance?”

“I’d have to touch you.”

He nodded while his eyes moved over my chest. “I hope so.”

Sweet Jesus
. “You might have to kiss me goodnight.”

His eyes focused on my lips. “Oh, sweetheart, you can count on that.”

A smile curved both our lips.

His eyes finally met mine, blazing with amusement.

And for the first time all day, the silence wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

HAYDEN

I stared into my bathroom mirror, tying my navy tie—the only one I owned.
I still couldn’t believe I agreed to go to the lame-ass formal. It didn’t start for another two hours, but since it usually took me that long to tie a tie, I figured I’d get it out of the way.

Unable to calm my damn nerves
after returning from the beach, I’d taken off, clearing my head one of the few ways I knew how. Now my shoulder was throbbing like a motherfucker.

My phone vibrated on the sink. I let go of my tie and grabbed it. 
Shit.
I had a job.

Telling Remy
no
would cause too many questions. But telling him the truth would be worse. It would put Alex on his radar. A place she didn’t need to be.

I dialed his number, speaking before he had the chance to. “Can we do this tomorrow? I have plans.”

“Plans?” I could hear the irritation in his voice. “What plans?”

“Plans I can’t break.”

Remy paused. “What time?”

“Seven.”

“Tell whoever she is she can wait. I’ll have you back by eight.” He hung up before I could respond. He knew I’d show. I’d never let him down.

Dammit.

ALEX

My red sequin dress hung from the bathroom door, sparkling in the fluorescent lights. I’d spotted it in a boutique window a couple weeks before, never imagining I’d have any use for it. But after the beach, I drove over and bought it.

I applied the final touches on my face—a little pink blush, some mascara, and gloss. I checked the time on my cell noticing a text from Hayden. Ripples
attacked my stomach. I wished the mere thought of him didn’t make me such a stupid girl.

Gonna be late. Eight the latest.

My body deflated. Why weren’t things ever easy with him?

I walked into the living room and dropped down onto the sofa, preventing myself from redoing my makeup or messing up my hair.

I guess I couldn’t be too disappointed. What was an hour when I had all night to be seen with him? Dance with him? Touch him?

At seven thirty, I changed into my dress. It stopped well above my knees and clung to all the right places. It made me feel beautiful.

Since it was strapless, I slipped the diamond and ruby necklace my parents gave me for my eighteenth birthday around my neck. My eyes welled.

If my parents were still alive, they would’ve insisted on meeting Hayden before the formal. Sure, I would’ve been living off-campus with my friends, but they would’ve made a special trip for the event.

I could see the whole scene playing out. Them greeting him at the door. My mother taking lots of embarrassing pictures. My dad pulling him aside to give him “the talk.” It would’ve been hilarious to watch Hayden squirm under my dad’s perceptive dark eyes. My mother on the other hand, would’ve been gushing over his good looks and telling me what a cute couple we made. She never liked Preston, so she would’ve been pushing for Hayden.

I inhaled a deep cleansing breath, giving myself a moment to mourn what could have been for a little while longer. Then I dabbed my eyes with a tissue, reapplied my mascara, and headed out to the living room to wait for Hayden.

Alone.

HAYDEN

My dashboard clock read seven forty-five. Remy wasn’t ready when I showed up at his house. The next thing I knew we were headed to some pool hall in another town, a good half hour from my apartment.

Alex was gonna
kill
me.

We walked into the seedy dive. All eyes turned our way. Fucking great. Bikers. Their snarls indicated they didn’t appreciate us on their turf. And to make matters worse, the scantily clad girls huddled on the bar stools watching them play pool ogled us like fresh meat.

Ignoring the unwanted attention, we sauntered over to the bar in the center of the room like we just stopped by for a beer. The burly bartender in the wife beater stepped up to us.

“Two Buds,” Remy ordered, his eyes scanning the room.

I settled on a stool, figuring Remy would tell me which guy we were there for. But instead, he grabbed his beer from the bartender and took off, stopping to talk to different groups as he circled the room. Some of the guys clearly knew him, and others probably knew of him because of his ties to Cooper. But none of them looked happy to see him.

A redhead in a
low-cut black top and tiny jean skirt slid onto the empty stool beside me. “Hi,” she purred. “Haven’t seen you here before.”

I took a long pull of my beer, keeping my eyes on Remy. “Haven’t been here before.”

“You looking to have some fun?”

“Nope.”

She ran her fingertips up and down my forearm. “You’ve got no idea what you’re missing.”

Ignoring her and her damn hand on my arm, I watched Remy follow a lanky bald guy in a leather vest out the back door.

“Erica,” an angry voice shouted across the room, sending my head snapping in its direction.

A guy with a shaved head and snake tattoos wrapped around both arms advanced. He looked about ready to kill the woman beside me.

“What the hell are you doing?” he asked her, but his eyes slid to mine.

“What’s it look like?” she responded.

Oh, no fucking way.
I leapt to my feet and headed to the same door Remy exited through.

“Smart move, pretty boy. Get out before you need to be carried out,” he shouted.

I shoved open the back door, sending a gust of cool air wafting inside.
Shit
. Remy twisted on the ground, shielding his head from the bald guy who stomped relentlessly on his chest.

I bolted toward them, grabbing the guy from behind and pinning his arms to his sides. His long legs kicked out in front of him in an attempt to escape my hold. “Relax, man. Relax.”

Remy struggled to his feet, staggering back a foot or two. I tightened my grip on the guy, knowing he wasn’t finished with Remy yet.

Out of nowhere, pain ripped through me like nothing I’d ever felt before. Shards of broken glass rained over my head, splitting my scalp in two. I released the guy and cradled my throbbing head. As I sank to my knees, broken bottle crunched beneath me.

I brought my hands around to see how much blood gushed, but a heel to my back sent me face-planting into the concrete. I braced my hands on the glass-covered ground, but heavy boots kicked me from all directions, preventing me from getting up.

I covered my head, steeling myself and enduring the attack on my body until I could find a time to take out their legs. But that just left my throbbing shoulder unprotected.

My attackers showed no mercy. Their blows alternated between the right and left. They were unyielding, beating every inch of my body. Their voices were muffled, all meshing together. I caught
my girl
and
Cooper
. Then something inside my body literally snapped. 

Holy fuck.

Like a vacuum, the air sucked right out of my lungs.

Stabbing pain shot through my sides. My shoulder burned as if on fire. I groaned loudly, but it didn’t stop them. They were driven. Angry. Psychotic.

After a fierce blow to my head, I felt myself slipping. Fading. Teetering between consciousness and darkness. If they kicked one more time in just the right spot, they’d surely kill me.

“Fuck, Hayden. You probably killed him.”

I couldn’t shake off the image
this time. It’s what my life had come to. I’d taken a life and now mine sat on the brink. I deserved their rage. Their hatred.

I deserved to die.

“Hey!” a distant voice shouted.

Feet shuffled. Footsteps withdrew. Sounds grew further and further away.

Until nothing.

Thunderous roars whooshed through my ears. My pounding chest heaved. Sweat drenched every part of me. Pain engulfed me whole.

I cracked open my eyes. Black spots clouded my vision. I could see enough to know Remy and I were alone in the alley. Both on the ground. Both writhing in something worse than pain.

Blood covered Remy’s face. His shredded T-shirt hung off his skinny body. We needed to get the hell out of there. My head whipped around seeking an exit. Déjà vu
stopped me cold. A concrete wall surrounded the alley.

“You alright, bro?” Remy climbed to his feet
and spit out a wad of blood.

With as much effort as I could
manage, I pushed myself to my knees. Sharp pains ripped through my sides like I’d been stabbed repeatedly. With every motion the stabbing increased and everything spun.

I keeled over, warding off the inclination to heave.

My legs were pure jelly, so I began crawling toward the wall. I didn’t get far, before dropping my head in exhaustion.

“You just gotta make it to the gate,” Remy said.

My head shot up.

A gate?

Remy wrapped his beaten arm around me and lifted me to my feet. As my heavy body hung on his, we struggled through the gate and toward my truck, barely making it there without collapsing.

I half expected it to be surrounded by men with bottles or weapons. But the lot was empty.

Remy slid behind the wheel. I collapsed in the passenger seat. I tried to sit upright, but the pain made it impossible. I leaned against the window and prayed for the pain to be taken away.

Moments passed, but they could have been hours. Noise alternated with silence.  Darkness with light.

“I know who’ll make you feel better,” Remy said.

ALEX

I stood from the sofa, needing to change out of my dress. I had no idea why I still wore it. I guess it took some time to realize I’d been stood up. I know. Stupid, right?

I tried Hayden’s cell once eight o’clock came and went, but my calls were sent to voicemail. I wondered if a family member needed him, because why else wouldn’t he have called?

But when hours passed and he still made no attempt to contact me, I grew angry. Angry I’d given in to him so easily after the stunt he pulled the previous night. Angry he’d do something so terrible after all I’d been through. Angry I believed in him in the first place.
I didn’t force him to take me to the dance. It had been
his
idea. How could he leave me sitting home alone without so much as a call?

Then realization hit. A punch to the gut type of realization felt only after being made to look like a complete fool.

He’d apologized for not being what I needed him to be. He’d said no one could know. He’d brought two girls home.

Did I really need it spelled out for me?

Ughhhh
.

Why was I so naïve? So stupid? So hooked on the fairytale that wasn’t?

Shuffling in the hallway snapped my attention to the door.

Call me a glutton for punishment, but I hurried to
it, aligning my eye with the hole. Hayden passed by slowly, being held up by a short brunette.

With every bit of strength and every remaining ounce of pride I possessed,
I blinked back the tears that sat ready to fall. He wouldn’t see me cry. I was too angry for that.

I threw open the door.

Hayden leaned against his door frame while the girl unlocked his door. He glanced over his shoulder, wincing when he found me standing there. I didn’t look away. I wouldn’t. He needed to see what he did. Who he hurt. Who he’d never hurt again.

Whatever we had,
this thing
he needed, it was over.

HAYDEN

“Just give me a minute,” I growled at Marisol as I rushed into my bathroom.

Rushed
might’ve been pushing it. I found it difficult to even walk. My ribs were definitely broken, and I suspected one of them had punctured my lung, hence my difficulty breathing.              

I grasped the sides of the sink and examined my reflection in the mirror under the bright overhead bulbs. Except for some minor scrapes and cuts on my cheeks and chin, my face survived mostly unscathed. My body, which took the brunt of the attack and stung with broken glass, didn’t fare as well.

It was strange. I could endure the physical pain. The broken ribs. The punctured lung. The cuts and bruises. But the emotional pain—what I felt seeing Alex in her doorway—not so much.

The devastated look on her face when she saw me with Marisol was one of the most heartbreaking things I’d ever seen. And I’d seen my fair share.
She still wore her dress.  She held out hope I wouldn’t disappoint her. But of course, I had.

I closed my eyes tightly
.
I’d blown my chance at a normal life. With a girl who saw something in me others didn’t. And for what? To have the hell beaten out of me by guys who owed someone else money.

This wasn’t the life my mother wanted for me. Hell. This wasn’t the life
I
wanted for me.