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And then there was the teenage version of him that was just as damaging to girls, just not directly to me.

I tugged on my warm boots and closed my duffle. Before I could stop myself, I moved in front of him and waited for him to meet my eyes.

“What?”

“Do you remember Jamie?”

A range of emotions crossed his face. Confusion, panic, then more confusion. “Jamie who?”

“What about Chelsea?” I tried.

He shook his head and opened his mouth.

“Allie?” I waited a second before saying the name of our friend who he was two-timing her with. “Sadie?”

His eyes widened, and I frowned at him.

“Guess who was friends with each and every one of them?”

His shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his face. “I was a hormonal, cocky teenager.”

“You were heartless and cruel.”

I couldn’t wait to tell Michelle about how I finally confronted him for all the misery he put our group through.

“I won’t deny that. I wasn’t a very good person. I was pretty wrapped up in myself.”

Huh. He sucked the fun out of things by admitting and accepting that.

“I knew I would be getting out of there as soon as I graduated, so I never considered my actions having consequences. It wasn’t even until sometime in my freshman year that I understood how messed up I acted back then.”

Well, this wasn’t how I pictured this conversation going. I planned on ending it with a clever remark and stomping off, proving I didn’t need a man to keep me safe on my walk home.

He sucked the wind out of my self-righteous sails.

“Are you ever going to let go of what I did?” he asked without meeting my eyes.

Let go? As in forget? Probably not. Especially not a moment before he apologized for what he did.

“Why do you care whether or not I do?”

“Because I don’t like knowing I hurt you, or anyone, beyond repair.”

Of course he didn’t. No one liked living with the uncomfortable reality of their mistakes. Guilt and regret for a week was no payment for the years of pain he caused me and later my friends.

“Well, I don’t like knowing that you didn’t even remember me or what you did. I had to work for years on undoing the damage you caused and to come out stronger.”

He closed his eyes, and I picked up my bag and walked out of the locker room. I might have gotten the last word, but it didn’t feel nearly as good as I imagined.

Were we destined to cause each other pain whenever we were close enough to speak?

Chapter 12

Hunter

Well, this was unexpected.

“Haley?”