Heartbreak Lover (Broken Hearts Academy #2) - C.R. Jane Page 0,23

you so scared tonight?” he demanded.

“What do you mean?”

“Why was Caiden the first person you thought would push you down the stairs? Why were you so scared?”

I gaped at him, my mouth opening and closing, no words coming out. Not once in all these years had he ever come even close to asking me for my version of what happened. Not once had he ever asked me about Caiden.

“Did you feel like he would do something to get back at you because of that summer? Because Caiden’s not like that. He was asking about you as soon as he could. He misses the hell out of you.”

That feeling that had begun to wind its way through my veins, the one that felt suspiciously like hope…it evaporated in an instant, leaving nothing but ash and disappointment.

We looked at each other for a moment, and I registered the confusion in his gaze as he saw what must look like utter devastation in mine.

I fixed my clothes and then turned over so I could get away from that stare of his.

He didn’t say another word.

Despite what had just happened, the pain medicine and how heavy my head felt made it easy to fall back asleep.

The next time I woke up, it was to heat, a veritable inferno that covered every one of my limbs. Jackson surrounded me, his large legs and arms enclosing me tightly. I didn’t know how it was possible for me to feel so sheltered, so secure…even after everything…but I did.

“You didn’t think he would push you to get back at you, did you? You were just scared,” he said hollowly, and somehow, I knew that he hadn’t slept at all. I stiffened, and he pulled me against him so that I was lying against his chest, his steady heartbeat keeping me grounded in the moment.

“Because I’ve been thinking about it, going over the night of the accident and tonight over and over again these last few hours…and I can’t get that look you had out of my head. It was like you’d experienced evil. You were scared down to your soul.” He idly traced down my spine.

He sat us up abruptly, making me look at him as he held my face with both hands. “What haven’t you told me?” His tone was harsh and demanding. And it pissed me off.

How. Dare. He.

How dare he demand answers when he wouldn’t let me have even one answer all those years ago? How dare he demand answers when I had to recover from my injuries all alone? Memories of how excruciating PT was, how I had to relearn how to walk…how painful my surgeries were barreled through my mind. My head hurt so fucking bad right now, and once again, it was the Jackson show. It was all about what he wanted.

This night was giving me whiplash with how soft he was in the beginning. But this…this was the Jackson I knew.

I tried to lash out and slap his face, but the pain of moving was too much. Jackson was holding me in place anyway. He pulled me back against his chest, and it was a testament to how in pain I was that I didn’t even bother struggling.

His body was shaking as he held me tighter, as if he was having an internal debate.

This time, I didn’t fall back asleep.

By the time daylight cracked through the window, I felt even more like shit than I had the night before. And Jackson didn’t look any better. He had held me the rest of the night, not letting me move an inch. The intensity of his thoughts barreled against me. It was like he was trying to see inside my head and uncover my secrets.

Strangely, the urge to blurt everything out wasn’t there. There had been a time for Jackson to believe me.

And it had passed.

In the light of day, it was easy to remember why I’d said goodbye in the library stacks. Because there had been a time for Jackson to be my hero. And he had failed, a million times over.

I didn’t think it was possible for him to make that up to me.

“I need to get back,” I told him hoarsely when he still hadn’t let go, and I could tell by the light that was coming in from the window that it was getting later and later in the day. I didn’t have any intention of going to class, but I at least could get a little bit of