Page 99 of Unexpected Prejudice

“What happened to Miles?”

“I didn’t know he would…” He paused and shook his head. After taking a deep, trembling breath, he finally lifted his eyes to meet mine. The tiniest ray of moonlight landed on his beautiful face, now mixed with so much pain and remorse. His cheeks were soaked with tears while his lips quivered with the sobs he tried to conceal.

He looked like an angel. So beautiful and broken… my fallen angel.

“What happened to Miles?” I asked after forcing myself to quit admiring his pain.

“He almost died.” His words, barely heard, shook me. Miles almost died? How? When? But before I could ask, he continued.

“He overdosed on the pills I-I gave him.” His voice carried all the pain he was holding. “It’s my fault, Jordy. I hurt him. And now…” His whole body trembled as more tears continued to glide down his face. “N-now, I don’t know what to do. He was the only one who loved me, and I ruined that, too. I-I’m repulsive.”

“You’re not. Not at all.”

He shook his head. “I-I’m a terrible human… No one can love somebody like me. I’m disgusting.”

Haunted by his words, I held him tighter and pressed him until we were both one unit. It was sweaty, uncomfortable, wet, and sticky, but none of that mattered. He was in my arms, shattered and begging for the love he thought he didn’t deserve.

“It’s not true,” I whispered, my voice begging for him to hear me. “It’s not true because I love you, Shay-Lee, and I’m here. I’m right here.”

Still shocked by my confession, I looked down at him. His bloodshot eyes lacked faith, doubting my every word. Telling Shay-Lee I was in love with him during his most vulnerable moment made me feel guilty like I was taking advantage of him. But wouldn’t he do the same? He had, many times.

“You mean it?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yes.”

He then hit my chest with his palms. “So, stop it.”

“No.”

He hit me again, harder this time, and instead of stopping him, I stroked the side of his cheek, softly brushing my thumb underneath his eye, touching his soaked lashes, and tracing the trails left by all those tears.

How can I stop loving an angel?

“Stop it,” he cried.

“No,” I repeated, ever so softly.

His velvet lips trembled, but he didn’t continue to protest before he nestled his head in my chest.

“Then I’m going to hurt you, too.”

Jordan

I woke up with a sleeping Shay-Lee snuggled by my side and guessed we had fallen asleep together.

A quick look at the window confirmed it was the early morning.

Shay-Lee was so worked up when he showed up yesterday that I didn’t care to confront him about everything that had happened. At the end of the day, he and the guys took Jess and planned on hurting the others. Unlike me, who needed to stay in the hospital, Jess and the guys all got out of it almost unharmed, so at least they were okay. By no means was it something that was okay to do, the same as breaking Andrei’s arm or breaking into their house, but I already discovered my morals were nearly non-existent when it came to Shay-Lee.

I cared for the guy more than I cared for justice, which was… frightening. But the mere idea of keeping away from him for the sake of sanity or doing the right thing frightened me even more, and my body reacted by pressing Shay-Lee’s sleeping body closer.

The sounds of his soft breathing, the warmth of his skin, and his sweet scent tightened my chest with emotions. His sleeping face was stunning, and as my eyes traveled down his body to admire his beauty, they stopped when I saw the state of his throat.

The butterflies I’d felt were quick to demolish in the fire that burned inside my gut at the sight of the reddish marks around his neck. Choking marks. The thought of him being hurt filled me with rage, and all I could think about was how to kill the son of a bitch who had dared to touch my fucking angel.

“You’re awake,” Shay-Lee said in a sleepy voice that snapped me out of my fury.

“Yeah.” I smiled at him and traced my fingers across his face, pushing his blond hair away from his eyes.