he says darkly, moving an inch closer and making Nic flinch at my back. “This is my property now.”
I clench my jaw and tear my eyes away from his before turning on my heel back to Nic. “Please, Nic.”
His hand snakes out and grips my wrist tightly. He pulls me into him. “Come the fuck home with me,” he orders, using that tone that I’ve never been able to deny, the one he uses on his Black Widows, the one that demands respect.
I pull back, everything breaking inside of me. “I’m sorry,” I say, tears beginning to well in my eyes. “I can’t.”
Nic watches me as I silently step back into Colton’s chest. Betrayal fills him and I watch as he starts putting together the pieces of a puzzle that I don't even think exists anymore. “I see how it is,” he murmurs.
“No, Nic. It’s not.”
He shakes his head and just like that, he turns and walks away, taking my crew with him and leaving me an absolute mess.
Colton stays right at my back until the last of the boys disappear from the ballroom then scoffs and walks away as though my heartbreak is some kind of joke.
I watch him go but the anger builds within me and I find myself racing after him, intent on … I don’t know what. Making a difference? Having a say? Putting him in his damn place? It’s lost on me. All I know is that this bullshit isn’t over until I say it is.
No one makes me choose between my boys and my future like that apart from me. How dare he force that on me. He knows how much they mean to me. Hell, I’m not even scheduled to work at this party. If anything, I should be free to enjoy my day with my boys the way I see fit.
As if knowing that I’m coming for him, Colton slips out through the back door and keeps on walking until he steps through to a private room, one that I’ve never been in before, and to be honest, I’m too fucking pissed to even look around to figure out where I am.
Colton closes the door behind me, locking it as I pass. “What the hell was that?” I demand, stepping back into him and slamming my hand against his strong chest as the emotions begin to overwhelm me.
“They’re fucking trash and they were causing a scene. They never should have shown up here and you know that. They don’t belong.”
“Neither do I yet for some fucked up reason that I can’t understand, you’re keeping me around.”
“You’re free to go anytime you want, Jade. I’m not fucking keeping you here.”
“Please,” I scoff. “As if you would have allowed me to walk out that fucking door.”
His jaw clenches and his eyes bore into mine. He doesn’t respond, but he doesn't need to. We both know it's true even though neither of us can fully understand it.
“So that’s how it’s going to be?” I question with tears in my eyes. “You’re going to keep hurting me, pushing me away and hoping that it can make you feel something inside your dead soul?”
His jaw tightens and I step into him, raising my chin as I rest my hand against his chest and feel his racing heart beneath, unsure why after everything he’s put me through, that I'm still here begging for more.
My voice lowers to a whisper as I take him in and realize that he’s a fucking mess. He’s lost and confused and desperately holding on to our fucked up relationship the only way he knows how—by hurting me. “You’re going to break me, Colton,” I say, hating the traitorous tear that rolls down my cheek. “Each time you push me away, it hurts a little more and every time you hurt me, you keep chipping away at the little parts I have left of myself, but I see you. I feel your pain. You’re confused and hurting and you don’t have a fucking clue what you’re doing.”
“Don’t,” he warns, realizing I’m climbing the invisible wall that’s been erected between us.
I shake my head, refusing to be pushed back down. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “Hurt me, Colton. Hurt me as much as you fucking need because in the end, I’m not going anywhere. You can’t push me away. Not anymore. I get it, I’m your outlet now. I’m the only person who can make you feel something. So, it’s okay. When you need to