Page 51 of Dark Tangled Truths
When I straighten, he sets a red paper flower on my books. A tear escapes, and he catches it with his finger.
I choke down the rest of them and pay attention like nothing’s changed. I shut off the waterworks and push Damon to the back of my mind where he can fester. After all, I still need to get into the colleges I applied to, and to do that I need to keep my grades up. Maybe I won’t have to apply anywhere else.
After all, what’s our relationship without all of us? Hawk and Cam won’t betray their best friend to stay with me. I’ll be all alone again.
My chest aches, hollow and empty.
Cam walks me to my next class, calculus. After I take my seat, Damon drops in the chair next to me. He doesn’t flirt with me like he’s done all week. Nope, he sits there like a sullen little bitch. He doesn’t even text or Snapchat me.
I bite my lip to keep from crying more. Which just makes me angrier because I didn’t push us to this. I’m better than this weepy mess.
When I found out about Chase, I didn’t cry. It barely felt like a scratch. Yes, it wounded my pride, but it didn’t hurt. Damon and I aren’t even broken up. Not officially, at least. And I feel cut through to the bone. He’s just icing me out, which is almost more painful.
I don’t remember anything from calculus, but he follows me to history class. Part of him is still protecting me, even if he’s angry at me. It doesn’t help the turmoil of my insides. Because I just want to turn into his arms, have him hold me and tell me he’ll take care of me.
“Cam’s right.” Hawk sits across from me and shifts his gaze from me to Damon. “You two need to get locked in a room until you either fuck or fight or both.”
I glance toward Damon but look away when it looks like he’s going to meet my eyes. I can’t see that coldness again. I wince. It hurts too much. Mia comes in and sits next to me.
“No more bandages?” She looks at my hand with a smile. “Honestly, I was afraid you were going to make wearing Band-Aids cool and everyone would be doing it.”
She notices the tension and narrows her eyes on me, really taking me in.
“We need to hit the girls’ bathroom before lunch. You’re nearly translucent.” Mia pauses and looks at the guys and then me again. “What did Damon do?”
He’s not paying attention to anything right now. His jaw is tight like he’s chewing on rocks. He’s definitely not listening to Mia.
I can’t play this game, so fuck it. Acting got me here. I straighten and act like everything is just fine.
“Our parents found out about us, and I told his father about the accident after he told my mother about Chase cheating on me and leaving me in the woods. Oh, and basically calling her negligent.” I pull out my history book and flip it open. “But he’s going off to college today, so we won’t have to argue about anything. And he can do whatever he wants to whoever he wants. I guess.”
I sigh and blink back the tears trying to make an escape. Fuck. I’m done crying. I’m not crying anymore. A hand grabs my arm, startling me.
“Hey,” I say, trying to pull my arm away.
I glance up and meet Damon’s eyes, but they aren’t cold. Far from it. I freeze, captured in those eyes. They’re narrowed on me, but the blue is sharp, not soft. I narrow my eyes on his. If he wants another piece of my mind...
Hawk grabs Damon’s arm. “Come on.”
Damon releases me and lets Hawk lead him out of the classroom.
“How bad was it this morning?” Mia asks gently when the door shuts behind them.
I drag in a breath and shake my head. “I don’t even know.”
CHAPTER 17
Hawk
I pushDamon into the nearest men’s bathroom and check the stalls for stragglers.
“What the fuck?” I glare at Damon. I’ve never seen Annie crumple before. No amount of pressure has broken her, but Damon seems to hold the fucking key to make her small. And she’s struggling from what happened this morning.
Damon texted to let us know we’d be responsible for Annie today, that something happened.
Damon runs his hand through his hair. “I can’t go to Crowne Mawr. I’m not going to leave. Heather’s getting fucking texts from an anonymous texter. They fucking set us up.”
I lean against the sink and watch him pace. If I’m going to have any chance to fix this, I need to know what I’m working with. “What happened?”
