22 #2
“You’re going to give me what I want, you little slut,” he growls in my ear. “All of Huxley’s girls come to me afterward.”
“I’m not like them,” I snap, struggling in his arms to get free.
My attempts come to a grinding halt when he rips my head backward, his fingers holding a tight grip on my hair, keeping me in place.
“That’s right. He’s your boyfriend. He loves you,” he mocks.
I try to move, but Carson tightens his hold, eliciting a cry of pain out of me. My hands claw at his as he moves us further from the house.
A truck flashes its lights a little way ahead. I glance to my left in time to see Carson tuck his keys back into his pocket to focus on me.
He’s taking me somewhere else.
He’s taking me somewhere else so he can…
Voices behind us grab my attention, giving me a sliver of hope that someone is going to help me. I turn my head the best I can, only to feel the blood drain from my face.
They’re all just standing there, watching.
I’m alone.
No one’s coming to help me.
“Please, Carson,” I beg, hoping to talk a little bit of sense into him. At least enough for him to let go of my hair.
“Where is your boyfriend, Princess?” His hand that’s not in my hair slips under my shirt, causing a whimper of fear to escape. “He’s not here to stop me. So I’m taking what I deserve.”
Ignoring the pain in my head, I thrash in his hold. “Please!” I scream, my voice cracking. “Please stop! Stop!”
I hit the ground hard, a little dazed by the sudden movement. Is he going to do this right here? I roll over, ready to kick Carson in the face, but my eyes widen when I see him on the ground with Huxley standing over him.
“Don’t ever touch my girl again!” Huxley yells as he slams Carson to the ground. Carson tries to say something, but Huxley grabs his shirt and pulls him a foot off the ground, getting into his face. “She’s mine, and you’ll never have her.”
He drops Carson to the ground and stands, turning to the onlookers. He looks ready to blow up at them for just standing there, but before he gets the chance, Carson heaves himself up and grabs Huxley’s shirt to get in his face.
“Best keep your girl close, Huxley,” Carson says with a wicked smile growing. “She’s on everyone’s radar now.”
He shoves Huxley away as he heads back to the house, making the crowd disperse as well.
But I don’t move.
Did that really just happen? Was Carson really going to drag me away to…God, I don’t even want to think about what he would have done.
And Huxley. How did he even make it out here in time? I mean, there was a group of people watching, so they must of heard something.
Did he hear me screaming? Is that why he came out here? Or was he just curious about what everyone else was watching?
“Valentine.” I flinch when Huxley appears beside me. “Are you okay, Love?”
There’s no denying the fear in his eyes, the worry. But it doesn’t diminish my anger.
I shove him hard enough to make him fall back on his hands, and confusion spreads over his face. “Fuck you, Huxley.”
I push myself up as fast as I can, heading off in the opposite direction from him. Thinking he’d actually leave me alone is a long shot, but I still have hope.
“What the fuck, Valentina?” he fires back. He catches my arm and spins me to face him, but I shove him away before he can get too close.
“You don’t get to be angry with me, you son of a bitch,” I snap, stabbing my finger into his chest. “Not when you completely ignored me.”
His confusion morphs into a sharp glare. “Really, Valentina? This is because I didn’t say hi to you?”
My jaw drops. Is he serious right now? “You let me walk away.”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re an adult. You can go wherever you choose.”
“It was your idea to come here together, though.”
How can he seriously be blaming me for this? The whole reason I was out here was because he wanted me here.
“And then I saw you with that girl.” My voice barely catches at the end, and I want to punch myself in the face for letting my voice break.
I should have left the minute he didn’t want to see me. And I definitely should have taken off after I saw him with that other girl.
Huxley frowns. “What girl?”
I fling my arm towards the house. “The girl sitting on your lap who had her hands all over you.”
“So a girl was sitting on my lap. Big deal.”
I swear my last bit of sanity is seconds away from leaving me.
“God!” I shove him again when really I want to slap him. “Fuck you!”
This time, when I turn, he runs to be in front of me.
Leave me alone. I nearly yell that out loud, but thankfully hold myself back.
“Why are you so upset over some girl?” he asks, honestly confused over the situation we’re in. That doesn’t surprise me, though. This is what he always does, so it just seems normal to him. But that doesn’t make it right.
“You can’t let another girl sit on your lap when you have a girlfriend,” I say what should be obvious already. “You especially can’t let her kiss you and touch you.”
“It’s not like I had sex with her, Valentina,” he says dryly.
“That’s not the point!” I think I’m going crazy. “Cheating isn’t just sex, Huxley.”
“I didn’t even notice she was there,” he admits.
My anger lessens a fraction. I knew he didn’t realize, but somehow, “That’s the worst part,” I manage to say.
“You know what your problem is?” He steps closer to me. “You’re jealous of her because she’s not afraid to touch someone.”
My body goes numb, and my mind is ready to tip over the edge. His words hurt for multiple reasons, but I say the one that reflects our situation the best, and the one that’s safest for me to talk about without exposing too much of myself.
“Right.” My voice comes out calm and nearly emotionless, sounding nothing like me. “Because why would I have any reason to be afraid of someone touching me?”
He closes his eyes, realization hitting him. “Valentine. I didn’t mean that.”
But he did. I know he did. All he wants is to save what we have for the deal. The deal that I realize is hurting me much more than it’s helping me.
Thoughts swirl in my head, telling me I deserve this. I deserve what just happened. I deserve this heartache.
I should have tried harder to be normal. Find a guy and date him, and let him have sex with me. Then let him dump me when he realizes I’m nothing to keep around, which is what Huxley will find out soon. So I should make it easier for him.
“I can’t do this, Huxley.”
He opens his eyes, confusion filling them. “What do you mean?”
“Us.” I point between the two of us. “Whatever this is, it’s over.”
He shakes his head quickly. “No. We had a deal. We said we’d do this till graduation.”
I shake my head, much slower than he did. “I can’t,” I whisper. “Not after this.”
As much as I want to stay, I know I can’t.
Being with Huxley Adams, even for the short amount of time I have, has shown me what I already know.
A man who has sex all the time won’t stop having sex all the time just because you ask him.
He has to actually like you to stop his old ways.
And Huxley Adams isn’t going to stop for someone like me.
I try to leave again, but he grabs my arm, and I’m too tired to fight anymore.
“You’re not leaving this.” He sounds scared, but I’m also tired of being told what to do.
“You don’t control me, Huxley.” I snap. “Just because we made this deal doesn’t mean I have to stick with it. Because you clearly aren’t.”
He grips my arm tighter. I just wish I knew if it was out of fear or anger. “I’m not letting you go.”
I try to weigh the pros and cons of staying, but there’s only one thought that runs through my mind.
He doesn’t want you the way you want him.
What little energy I have left fades away. “Let me go,” I whisper.
He stares at me as I grow weaker. Tears build in my eyes as my heart crumbles in my chest. I don’t know why he’s trying to keep me here. I’m nothing. Same as I’ll always be.
Finally, his hand slips from my arm, and I take off past him. The wind hits my fallen tears, each one a reminder of how I let a man who will never want me fuck with my head and destroy my heart.