Chapter 6
Six
Hayden
“What was with that first punch to the face?” Kayden asks as I pull a hoodie over my head.
He’s been nagging at me since I got in the dressing room. Kayden likes to think he has control over me because he doesn’t have control over his own life sometimes. He would make his ghost girlfriend control every movement and decision.
Sure, I make mistakes every now and then. It’s human, but I always get the first punch in.
But I had to look in the crowd at the girl with brown hair and sad eyes. “I got distracted. Happens to the best of us. You should know that.” I look at Kayden with a knowing look.
A few months ago, Kayden almost crashed his car while racing because he got a vision of his ghost girlfriend who haunts his dreams at night. He doesn’t like to talk about her but I see him writing in a notebook every once in a while. He told me about her when he almost crashed his car. That was the first time he really opened up since I met him.
“Are you going to throw that in my face every chance you get?”
I pocket my phone and stand up from the couch. “Well you are giving me a hard time.”
“You don’t get distracted. You always throw the first punch. Was it because of that new girl?” Kayden raises an eyebrow at me.
My gaze darkens, not at him but the thought of her. I don’t know why I feel this need to hurt her. The night when I was seventeen, I saw something in her. She had this fire that I wanted to ignite.
“No.”
“Your eyes say something else.”
“What is she even doing here? Is she following us like a creep or something?”
“No. She is Natalia’s new friend. I’m thinking that she’s here to stay.”
“We’ll see about that.”
After that little moment we had in the hallway, I had to admit, I smiled. She is still the same girl from that alleyway. She still has that fire in her eyes and attitude that makes me want to tie her down and make her scream .
But her saying she can ruin my mentality, that surprised me. Most girls throw the sexual assault thing but this girl went a totally different route.
I was fucking starstruck because she has this darkness that calls to mine.
Kayden and I leave the room after Marco’s men pay me for the fight.
Marco is the owner of this club and he also just happens to be my boss who makes me do his dirty work so his hands don’t get messy.
Kayden leads us towards the table Chris reserved for tonight. He told me that I would probably be hungry after the fight but knowing Natalia, she is the one who gets hungry after watching a brutal bloody fight.
We walk closer towards the group and Natalia smiles when she sees me. She runs towards me and wraps her arms around my neck.
“You did so good!” she says, but I pay no attention to her because I see that girl standing next to Max staring at me.
Jaclyn’s her name.
Jaclyn King.
I still remember her name, it’s hard to forget since it’s engraved in my mind.
I don’t know why this girl ended up being stuck in my head after that moment in the alleyway, but I just couldn’t get rid of her .
Jaclyn is wearing a black dress that goes down to her mid thighs. She has thighs that were made to wrap around any guy's waist. She has a body made from the devil but eyes that were made by an angel of God. I force my eyes away from her long legs and instead my gaze goes to a little patch on her arm. It makes me wonder what it is and what it does for her.
I didn’t notice it four years ago.
Natalia lets go of me and she pats me on the face before going back to Chris who wraps his arm around her. “Good fight. Now let’s eat because I’m hungry.”
We all sit down at the table Chris reserved and Jaclyn is sitting right in front of me. She is looking everywhere but me while I can’t keep my eyes off her. She is wearing minimal makeup. Only mascara and I’m assuming that shit you put on your face to cover your pimples and scars or whatever.
The waiter gets all of our drinks. I order a whiskey while Jaclyn orders a water after smiling sweetly at the waiter. The waiter tells us he’ll be back to get food orders in.
“So Jaclyn, where are you from? I’ve never seen you around here before and I know almost everyone,” Max asks her while giving her a flirty smile like he did at the diner.
“California. I moved here not that long ago.”
So she still lives there ?
“Really? What part?” Kayden asks her.
“Orange County area.”
“Jaclyn is actually in my journalism class and she is also studying psychology too,” Natalia mentions while smiling at Jaclyn like she is proud of her. “I told you that Hayden is also studying psychology, right Hayden?”
Natalia looks at me but I keep my eyes on Jaclyn who is avoiding my gaze. She keeps her eyes on Natalia.
“Why don’t you look at me? It’s rude to not look at someone,” I say, directing my words at Jaclyn, trying to get on her nerves.
She finally looks at me with those fucking eyes. “You’re not talking so why should I look at you?” She raises an eyebrow, fire starting to form in her eyes as she gives me a deadly look.
Her voice seems calm and collected but I know I’m pissing her off.
Still the same girl, just more deadly.
“You’ve been avoiding my gaze this entire time. Are you scared or something?” I raise an eyebrow at her.
“No.” She furrows her eyebrows at me. “Why are you acting as if you are the only person in the room and I should be staring at you?”
“You look at Kayden and Chris even though they aren’t talking. Am I special?” I lean back into my seat and raise an eyebrow at her while trying to conceal the smile that’s wanting to spread on my face .
“You’re trying to start a fight on purpose. You’re acting like a child doing that. I feel bad for whoever you spend all your time with. I bet it's exhausting. Do you start a fight with everyone you talk to?”
“I think-”
“No, Jaclyn, I don’t always do that,” I say, cutting Natalia off.
“So what am I just special then?” She gives me a sarcastic smile and tilts her head slightly.
I shrug. “Sure. Something like that.”
Jaclyn rolls her eyes and her lips lift in a small smile. “You’re unbelievable,” she mutters before leaning toward me and resting her elbows on the table. My eyes can’t help but go down to her chest where I see a glimpse of her cleavage. “What is wrong with you? I am just sitting here not bothering you or anything and you decide to pick a fight. Are you okay? Do you still have those mommy or daddy issues we talked about?”
Something in me snaps and I can’t help but want to pick apart every little insecurity about her and turn it into an insult.
I lick my bottom lip before leaning out of my chair and towards her. “I wouldn’t be talking about attention. You’re the one who is wearing a dress so short it’s making every guy's head break. If you want to look like a whore then maybe you should go to a strip club,” I say, not meaning it but I can’t help it .
Even though I barely know the girl, she makes me feel insane.
Jaclyn’s lips part and this time I see a hurt flash in her eyes.
“He didn’t mean that. Seriously Hayden?” Natalia says from the other side of the table but I don’t look at her, I keep my eyes on Jaclyn.
Jaclyn nods her head before grabbing her bag and looking at Natalia. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow. Thank you for inviting me but I just don’t feel like sitting at a table with him as he points out things he doesn’t like about me.”
“Jaclyn, he didn’t mean it-”
“It’s okay, Natalia, seriously. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jaclyn gives Natalia a fake smile before leaving towards the exit of the club.
I’m not going to lie and say I don’t feel a little bad.
But she has no clue the shit I’ve been through. She was being nasty so I decided to hit her back with the same energy.
She should be more careful around me.