Chapter Thirteen
Axel
Jonah was losing his shit.
"I know she's in there!" he yelled, pounding on my door. "Lindor! Come out here and talk to me!"
"She's not here," I said through the door. "And even if she was, she doesn't want to talk to you."
"Fuck you, Axel. You stole my girlfriend."
"I didn't steal anyone. You threw her away, and I picked her up. Big difference."
"She's mine!"
"She's not a fucking possession, Jonah. She's a person. And she chose to leave you."
"Because you manipulated her! You took advantage of her when she was vulnerable!"
I opened the door, stepped into the hallway. "You want to do this? Fine. Let's do this. But get your facts straight first. I didn't manipulate anyone. Lindor kissed me. Lindor came home with me. Lindor chose to be with me. All I did was give her what you never could—respect."
"Respect?" He laughed, bitter and sharp. "You fucked her to get back at me."
"I fucked her because I've wanted her for three years and she finally wanted me back. You're not even part of the equation anymore, man. You're irrelevant."
He swung at me.
I dodged, barely, and shoved him back. "Don't."
"You think you're better than me? You think you can just take what's mine and there won't be consequences?"
"She. Isn't. Yours." I stepped closer, got in his face. "She never was. You just convinced yourself she was because you're a controlling piece of shit who can't handle the idea of her being happy without you."
"I love her."
"No, you don't. You love the idea of her. You love having someone you can control. But you don't actually love her, because if you did, you wouldn't have humiliated her in front of everyone."
"That was a mistake—"
"Yeah, it was. And now you get to live with it.
So here's what's going to happen. You're going to leave.
You're going to stop calling her, stop texting her, stop showing up places.
You're going to move on with your life and let her move on with hers.
Because if you don't, if you keep harassing her, I will make your life a living hell. Understand?"
He stared at me, jaw clenched, hands fisted at his sides.
Then he turned and walked away.
I watched him go, making sure he actually left, then pulled out my phone.
Me: Crisis averted. He's gone.
Rennedy: Thank fuck. We're on our way.
Me: Tell Lindor she's safe. And tell her I love her.
I stared at the message after I sent it, heart pounding. Too soon? Probably. But fuck it. It was true.
My phone buzzed.
Rennedy: She says she loves you too, you sappy idiot.
I grinned, relief flooding through me.
Yeah. This was definitely worth the drama.