Pretty Sweet - Christina Lee Page 0,91

tone, one I’d never heard from him before. “What the hell, Jake?”

“I…I dunno what came over me.” My breath caught in my throat. “He reminded me of… He put his hands on you, and I just…saw red.”

“I can handle myself,” he bit out. “And you’ll never know what I’m capable of if you don’t tone it down, whatever this is. This savior complex.”

I stumbled backward. Where had that term been thrown in my face before?

“You sure this isn’t about you taking care of someone again?”

Fuck, maybe Tucker had been right.

“I…I know that. I just didn’t want him to take advantage of you.”

“There are things I need to figure out for myself. Even if you’re trying to help me, if I shake my head no, that means you have to step back and let me deal with it. If you can’t see that, then maybe you…we…”

“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. I’d let my emotions get the best of me tonight. The belligerent guy being hauled outside when I’d arrived, then the dude standing by Seth’s piano all night like some obsessive superfan.

Except Seth was not my mom, and neither of those guys was my douchebag of a father. What the hell had come over me?

“I’m sorry,” I said again, and as I glanced toward the door, all I wanted in that instant was to get the hell out of there. “I should… I’m just gonna leave.”

And then my legs carried me up the stairs and out the door. By the time I got through the stuffy bar upstairs and to the street, I felt like I was having a panic attack. I bent over, gasping, my heart tight in my chest, much like the night Mom and I had finally escaped my father. What in the world was happening to me?

I jogged to my car, cranked up the music to silence my chaotic thoughts, and drove my stupid ass home.

35

Seth

I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I worked my way through the bar. It wasn’t a scared kind of shake, more a result of the anger and frustration rushing through my body and overwhelming me.

Jesus, tonight was supposed to have been such a good night. I’d been so confident and happy, felt secure in ways I hadn’t thought I ever would. I’d just wanted to let go, to be me and not worry that person wasn’t strong enough or funny enough or sexy enough.

Then that guy had put his hands on me. My first reaction had been to recoil, that time with Colton filling my head, but then something came over me—I was so damn tired of being scared, of being taken advantage of, tired of being the guy people thought they could mold and control, push around and manipulate and touch whenever they wanted. And for the first time, I stood my ground. I hadn’t let it go past a place where I was uncomfortable like I had with Colton. I hadn’t needed someone to save me like that night years ago when Jesse stepped in when someone got handsy. This time, I’d wanted to take care of it on my own.

And then Jake stepped in. When I told him I had it under control, he ignored me. He hadn’t thought I could take care of myself. He assumed I needed him, and as much as I loved him, I couldn’t need anyone anymore.

What was it about me that told people I was weak? Colton, Mom, random guys, and now even Jake. That was the hardest part to accept because he had never made me feel small before, never made me feel like he didn’t see my strength.

“Seth!” Jesse called to me as I got outside, but I didn’t stop. I ran toward my car, and then Jesse was outside too. “Hey, wait for me. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. I just need some space.”

“Let me go home with you. I’ll text Dane and—”

“No!” I cut him off. “I said I’m fine.”

He nodded, and I jumped into my car and drove away. Tears sprang to my eyes, and all they did was make me feel even more angry, even more weak. With a rushed hand, I wiped them away.

It was crazy how you could be so high, then drop so low. Tonight I hadn’t been Shy Seth or Inexperienced Seth or Weak Seth who needed protecting. Or I hadn’t thought I was until that one moment. Maybe they were right. Maybe Mom was right and— No! I