pain and loneliness. He carried me to a place of self-care and acceptance. Decker Harris bled truths from me like a cherished offering. Nothing would ever be the same. But I couldn’t love a secret, not when our relationship was built on raw honesty. I couldn’t love a lie.
“Shouldn’t the two of you be at lunch?” a low voice growled. It was a voice that haunted me. Decker.
Maximillian snapped his attention toward Decker, but I kept my gaze firmly on the ground as shame filled my cheeks. I knew what this looked like and didn’t want to see the pain I just knew was on Decker’s face.
“Sorry, Mr. H. My girl here has a broken heart, and I was just trying to help her out.” His tone was dripping with insinuations and insults, and Maximillian was glowering in Decker’s direction.
Decker took a step closer to us, his fists were clenched like he was trying to grit back the words begging to spew from his lips. “I bet you were just waiting to step in and help out,” Decker replied. He stood directly in front of Maximillian, and I shoved my way between them. This was getting ridiculous. My hand touched Decker’s chest, and I felt him shudder at the touch and let out a hiss.
“Someone has to help her,” Maximillian growled.
Decker took another step forward and raised his fist, stopping once he realized we were in an open hallway. “Careful, Max.”
“You be careful, Mr. Harris,” Max retorted.
Decker rolled his neck and straightened his tie. We both looked utterly wrecked. There was a bruise forming on his neck and a lipstick stain on his collar. “You better go to lunch, Mr. Hemsworth. I’m not going to ask twice.”
“I can’t do this,” I whispered to myself, but Maximillian heard. I wanted to punish my heart for fleeing from what was giving it a pulse.
“Fine. Have a nice day, Mr. H,” Maximillian replied darkly. Grabbing my wrist, he pulled me away from the source of my broken heart and toward the lunchroom. Every step away from Decker felt painful. It was like I was walking through thick mud. I didn’t want to be away from him, but I knew I couldn’t stay. I was trying to walk away and hold on at the same time. There was a war brewing between my soul and my head. I wasn’t sure which would win. He was chaos to my heart, and I was poison to his realities.
I took one last glance at Decker from over my shoulder and nearly ran to him at the sight of his stormy expression. There was lightning in his eyes. Maximillian kept pulling me away.
Once Decker was out of sight and we were near the lunchroom, my phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out to check who was calling me during the day. The only people I ever spoke to were Lance, Decker, and Maximillian. It was a number I didn’t recognize, but I picked it up and answered anyway. “Hello?”
“Blakely! Do not listen to them—”
My stomach sank when I realized it was my father on the other line. His voice was scratchy and worn as if he’d been screaming. “Dad? Dad!” I was screaming into the phone. The answering silence was too loud, and my mind was morbidly interpreting each second that passed where he didn’t speak.
“I think that’s enough,” a dark voice answered that didn’t belong to my father. You could almost hear the evil in his tone, it was burdened with bad intentions. My stomach sank, and I nearly fell to my knees in the middle of the hallway. Maximillian was watching me in shock with his mouth hanging open. “I’m assuming this is Blakely, correct?” they asked.
“Yes, this is her,” I stuttered. “What have you done with my dad?” I bit the inside of my cheek to calm my nerves, knowing that I needed a level head to navigate this unexpected call. Blood pooled in my mouth, but I didn’t care.
“We have your father. He has a debt to pay, and it looks like you have the means to pay for it.” A debt? What did that even mean? Was he talking about money or something...else?
I felt hands on my shoulders as Maximillian forced me to look him in the eye. My wide eyes stared at him as I spoke on the phone. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, I have no money. I’m a fucking waitress! Where is he?” Although