Page 106 of Mistaken Prejudice

I sat in my truck, paralyzed, while Miles knocked on the window and screamed for me to open it. His behavior wasn’t rational. Was he drunk? I didn’t dare to look. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my lips, trying to ignore his shouting. He reminded me so much of my mom and her boyfriends, and the aggression that came with the drugs and alcohol they consumed so frequently.

I had no idea what he was high on right now, but his tantrum was not that of a sober person.

“Open the fucking door!” he screamed, and I could feel the whole truck shaking with how strongly he was pounding over the glass.

“Open up! Andrei! Open the fucking door.” His fist once again collided with the window, only this time, the glass shattered, and sharp pieces flew everywhere. I covered myself with my arms, but a shred of glass still managed to cut my cheek.

My heart raced fast, and my whole body shook as I slowly turned my head to meet him, only he didn’t look like himself.

My once-perfect porcelain doll was replaced with dark circles, hollow cheeks, pale skin, and sweaty hair. He was dressed in his pajamas, and from how he smelled, I was pretty sure he had skipped a shower or two.

His appearance turned on all the red lights in my brain, but then, a second before I got out of my truck and went to hug him with everything I had, I remembered what he did to me.

He slept with someone else while we were still together, and now he came knocking on my door. Breaking my window? Fuck him, and fuck that.

“The fuck you think you’re doing?!” I heard Diesel bark just before he pinned Miles against the hood of my truck, locking Miles’s hands behind his back and pressing his cheek to the metal.

“Fuck, Diesel!” I shouted as I finally made myself move and got out. “You’ll break him.”

Miles tried to move under Diesel’s grip like a fish out of water. Writhing and shaking. But Diesel didn’t seem to care. He only pressed him harder against the metal.

“He deserves it. I come back home to find this freak shattering your glass. What the actual fuck! First, he fucks you over, then he acts all maniac on you?”

“I didn’t. I didn’t. Andrei. Andrei, please, I love you. I just need to talk, I swear. Let me explain.”

Diesel tilted his head. “The fuck is he baked on?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care,” I said as I pushed Diesel’s hands away and freed Miles, who quickly took a step back.

“Wait for me inside,” I told Diesel before I passed him and moved toward Miles. “Come with me,” I ordered before I noticed his legs. “Jesus Christ, where are your shoes?” I asked while eyeing the mess he made out of his feet.

“I need to talk with you.”

“Did you come here barefoot?” I asked again, but he wasn’t listening to me.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him behind me until we reached our porch. “Wait here,” I said as I forced him to sit on the deck while I went back inside and grabbed the first aid kit, a pair of shoes, and a jacket.

He stayed quiet while I cleaned his feet from the shards of glass and then patched him up. Thankfully, the cuts weren’t too deep, but they were still unpleasant. After I put on his shoes for him and made him wear the jacket, I got up.

“Okay, so we’re done here.”

“I need to talk with you.” He sounded like a broken record.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said coldly.

“I have to explain.” He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me toward him, but I snapped my hand away.

“Explain what? How you fucked someone else?”

His eyes widened, and his forehead creased. “I-I didn’t.”

“You didn’t what, Miles?” I was tired of his shit. “Shay-Lee wasn’t naked at your house today while you were in your bed?”

“H-he was. I mean, I was,” he stuttered. “B-ut he kissed me, not the—” He shook his head.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, now I need to listen to how you two kissed?”

“No,” he protested,