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“Forty-five minutes?!” I choke as I check the bus app.
I should have gotten into a taxi with Cole. I was just feeling too awkward after our failed kiss. I need to let Mom know, she’ll freak out if I’m late. She’s been a lot less understanding since she came back from Tennessee. I dial her number and start talking as soon as she picks up.
“Hey Mom, my bus is going to be late, but I’m on my way.” I barely have time to hear her ‘okay’ that the call cuts off and I bring the phone back in front of me.
Shit.
My phone died. I click on the home button a couple of times as if it’s going to change anything and let out an annoyed sigh. I’m going to be in so much trouble.
“Need a ride, beautiful?”
I startle at Nathan’s voice. Slowly turning around, I’m not really surprised when I see the white Range Rover. So itwasthem.
Sam isn’t paying me much attention. Not like Nathan is. His ocean eyes are right on me, making me feel like he can see right through me. His dirty blond hair is in its usual bun and he’s casually resting his elbow on the open window.
“No.” My answer is so cold his eyebrows shoot up. I can feel my nostrils widening as I’m trying to contain myself.
“I was only trying to be helpful. You’re right on the edge of NSF, young girls shouldn’t hang around here on their own. I think your new boyfriend didn’t get the memo,” he smiles.
It’s cold and calculating and I want to punch it off him so bad it hurts. I’m not even going to tell him Cole isn’t my boyfriend. Hopefully, it hurts him.
For one second, I think I’m going to ignore him. Then the anger deep inside takes over. I take a step over and place both my hands on either side of his elbow, grabbing the windowsill tightly.
“I saw what you did to Rose, you piece of shit, so don’t talk to me about protecting young girls. How about you and your bestie go on your way, doing whatever little gang shit you love doing and leave me the fuck alone.”
I don’t think I ever swore so much in one sentence. This guy…he brings out the absolute worst in me. He’s the devil incarnate and burning in hell would be a vacation for him.
There’s a beat before Nathan explodes laughing and Sam turns to me, an eyebrow raised. When Nathan decides to open his door there’s not much else I can do than take a step back.
He steps out and I immediately have to look up to face him. He’s slightly scarier once he’s standing up. I had forgotten how fit he is. He’s not big but his muscles are cut and toned like a professional MMA fighter. He’s a little taller than Jake, that I remembered. He towers over me as he calms down from his laughing fit and my heart beats like a rock band drum solo in my chest.
“Are you extremely stupid or extremely brave, Jamie?”
It takes me a second to swallow the dryness in my throat. His eyes are hard on me, and I’m thrown back to the first time there wasn’t any love for me in his gaze. The night I thought he was going to kill his own brother.
He’s actually scary.
His eyes dart to my neck and he reaches slowly. I’m too petrified to even move when he reaches out and grabs the heart pendant with a ‘J’ engraved in it. The one Jake gave me for Christmas, the one that has ‘I love you’ written on the other side. The one he wanted me to wear every day.
I can’t get myself to take it off. I keep telling myself it’s because it’s a beautiful piece of jewelry. Truth is, I still can’t process that it’s truly over. I’m hanging onto the hope of him coming back to me like my last breath.
Nathan chuckles as he grips the necklace tighter and pulls on it, forcing me to come close to him. I don’t want it to break. God, please don’t break it.
“Nathan,” I seethe through gritted teeth. “Let go.”
From an outside point of view, we look like two friends, possibly a couple, close to each other. My chest is flushed against him and I’m tilting my head far back so I can look in his eyes, so he can see the fury in mine. His hand is tight on my necklace, so close to my neck I can feel the heat from his fingers despite the freezing temperatures. The humidity of our breaths in the cold air is mixing with each other. Everything about him is screaming danger, particularly the self-satisfied smile on his face.
“You’re only hurting yourself by keeping this on. He’s not coming back.”
“You’re the one who sent him away, didn’t you? He wouldn’t just leave. I know he wouldn’t.”
I know deep down that Jake truly loved me. I know what we had wasn’t just another one of his fuck fests. It was raw. It was beautiful. It was pure love.
“You don’t know shit about him. I told you you were making a huge mistake by choosing him, didn’t I? I told you he was worse than me. You should have listened, beautiful.”
I let out a sarcastic snore, enough to make Nathan raise his eyebrows in surprise.
“You know, Nathan. Jakebulliedme. Heblackmailedme. He pushed me past limits I wasn’t even aware existed. He crossed the line so many times. Hell, he threatened me with a gun. And yet, he’s not even on the same scale as you when it comes to disappointment. He–”
