Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,48

him to want something.

Unfortunately, as soon as the elation settled in, so did the truth. A truth I couldn’t ignore.

The reason I felt so drawn to him was because I could trust him. Now he claimed he couldn’t reciprocate that trust. He’d keep secrets.

His eyes searched my face. For the first time they looked hopeful. “What are you thinking?”

As much as I wanted him and whatever he could offer, I knew for my own well-being, my own state of mind, my own shattered heart, it wouldn’t be enough.

I needed someone to want to be with me. To seek me out and show me off. I wasn’t high maintenance like he presumed at Jake’s. I just needed a real connection. Not one that only existed when Remy wasn’t around.

“I’m thinking…” I knew what I wanted to do. But I also knew what I needed to do. I deserved more. I’d been through hell. Now the guy who saved me couldn’t be seen with me. I needed distance. I needed to straighten out my head. “I should probably head home.”

Hayden nodded, like he already knew my response.

I stood from his bed.

He reached out, his warm hand grabbing hold of mine. His normally strong hold was gentle. But I could feel his unwillingness to let go.

I didn’t turn. Turning would’ve caused me to stay. And I needed to leave. I needed time.

“I’m sorry I can’t be what you need me to be.”

I closed my eyes as his words struck something deep inside me. Something fragile. Something teetering on the balance of happiness and despair.

And in that moment I knew…his words weren’t only the truth, but also goodbye.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

HAYDEN

Dark storm clouds loomed overhead. Rain sat ready to burst from the sky. I’d waited in my truck outside the Taco Barn for over an hour staring at the front doors of the cantina-style building.

Finally, Cameron stepped outside.

I jumped out of my truck and jogged to him. Before he even saw me coming, I grabbed the back of his neck and slammed his face into the brick building.

“What the fuck?” he cried as I yanked his startled body to the alleyway beside the building and slammed his chest into the wall. With everyone avoiding the impending storm, the area was deserted and his pleas went unheard.

I leaned into his ear, my teeth gritted in disgust. “What did you do to Alex?”

“Alex who?” he cried.

With my hand pressed firmly into the back of his head, I scraped his pretty boy face against the wall.

“You mean Taylor’s friend?”

I spun him around, squeezing his shoulders so hard he had no other option but to look at me. Bloody dirt-filled scratches marked up his cheeks. A giant gash split his bottom lip. He deserved so much worse. “Tell me what happened.”

His eyes widened once he realized who I was. He’d heard the rumors. But he didn’t know the truth. If he did, he would’ve been even more terrified. “Nothing. Nothing happened. I swear.”

I tightened my grip on his shoulders, digging my fingers in deeper. “Did you slip her the drug?”

His eyes shot away.

I slammed him back. His head bounced off the wall like a rag doll. But rag dolls didn’t talk, and I needed him talking. I reeled in my anger and eased up my hold. “Did you drug her?”

His eyes shot down. “It was Taylor. She made me—”

My tempered anger was short-lived. I slammed my fist into his stomach with such force his body folded, air abandoning his lungs in a giant whoosh. “Did you touch her?”

He groaned, his shaggy blonde head moving from side to side.

“I said did you touch her?”

With his body still slumped, he screamed, “No! Taylor wanted it to look that way. But I swear on my baby sister, I’d never touch a girl who’s unconscious.”

“Did anyone touch her?”

“I don’t know, man. I don’t think so.”

The sight of him whimpering like a bitch made my stomach turn. I slammed my fist into his side, needing him to feel my anger. My disgust. My need for vengeance. “You didn’t have to do it.”

His body slid down the wall, drawing into a ball on the concrete.

“Fuck, Hayden. You probably killed him.”

I shook off the all too vivid image.

I needed to get out of there.

With clenched fists and my head spinning, I stalked toward my truck.

“With Taylor, you don’t have a choice,” Cameron muttered.

I looked over my shoulder at the pathetic mess I’d left behind. “You always have a choice.”

I drove in circles for almost an hour, trying