Release day May 27th!:)

Chapter 2
Reese

I lie awake, frozen at the sound of someone walking outside my bedroom window, a shadow lurking on the wall. My father left me with tearstained cheeks, the taste still lingering on my tongue. I wipe them away and climb out of bed, searching my room for a weapon. I’d rather do this alone than involve the person responsible for the throbbing above my eye. Reaching for my bat, I creep toward the window, hoping my imagination has gotten the best of me. The only barrier I have is the thin cotton material of my curtain. An outline of a person stands on the other side. My pulse quickens, and my body trembles. I’m terrified. Stretching out the bat, using the end to open the curtain, I find a boy holding up his hands. He takes a step back.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” His gaze is steady on the bat. “You’re safe. I promise,” he says, his voice calm.

I loosen my grip, recognizing the boy from across the street, then place my weapon on the ground, embarrassed. I don’t know why he’s here. He’s older—he drives a car—and we’ve barely ever talked to each other.

The darkness outside makes my injury easier to hide. Maybe he won’t notice. He watches me with gentle eyes, and the corner of his mouth tips up.

I look at what he’s wearing, assuming he just crawled out of bed. He’s got on pajama pants and a hoodie that doesn’t match. His hair is sticking up. It’s the middle of January. It’s cold, late—too late for him to be here—and way past my bedtime. If my father catches us, I’ll be hiding my face for a while.

Realizing that my weapon is no longer a threat, he lowers his hands. “Can you hear me? I’ll try to be quiet.”

I peek over my shoulder to check that my door is still closed; I turn and give him a nod.

“You probably shouldn’t talk,” he replies. “I don’t want you to get into trouble.” When I look at him, confused, he adds, “Just nod your head yes or no. All right?”

I agree.

His gaze falls to the ground, and he scratches the back of his head. “I saw what happened … with your dad earlier.” Shoving his hands into his pockets, he continues, “Are you hurt?” he asks sincerely.

I want to disappear. He saw my dad hit me? I blush. Probably saw me crying, too. Closing my eyes, mortified, I wonder what all he had seen, and how it looked from the outside.

“Does he do it a lot?”

My eyes open. I press my lips into a tight line and force myself to answer. It’s only when he drinks. If it weren’t for the alcohol, he wouldn’t do it. The problem, though? He drinks all the time.

His gaze stays on mine. “You know it’s wrong, right?” He cocks a brow.

Of course I know it’s wrong. I nod.

“Have you told anyone?”

Only you. I shake my head, and he gestures toward his house.

“Come find me if he does it again.” He lifts his chin. “I’ll teach him a lesson.”

The thought of him teaching my father a lesson makes me laugh. It’s nice of him to offer, but he obviously doesn’t know how strong he is.

“What?” He gives me a dimpled grin. “You don’t think I could take him?”

Shaking my head, I smile but try to hide it.

His eyes widen. “Shit! Is that blood?”

I flinch, touching the spot where my face had hit the dresser. Pulling back a sticky piece of hair, I meet his eyes, and his expression goes hard.

He reaches for my chin. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispers, turning it toward him, carefully eyeing the injury. “That’s going to leave a scar.” I don’t know what to say, so I stay quiet while he examines the rest of my face. “I could kill him,” he hisses, releasing me and looking around. “I better go,” he points. “You should get back in bed. I don’t want to risk you getting in trouble again.”

I nod.

“Don’t forget what I said.” He lifts his brows, walking backward toward his house, nearly tripping when he almost misses the curb. It makes me smile.


My eyes pop open, and I’m short of breath. The ceiling fan spins above me. How am I supposed to move past this when my memories constantly bring him back? My chest tightens as the familiar ache burns from deep within, triggering tears I don’t want to cry anymore. I hate him—hate him for what he’s done to me. I grab a pillow and throw it against the wall. I doubt I’ll be getting any sleep tonight.

* * *
“Get off of me, Logan! It isn’t funny,” I growl, jabbing my elbows into his chest. He chuckles, taking his time before slowly rolling away, finding my effort amusing. The man drives me crazy. If he weren’t my best friend’s boyfriend, I’d take the opportunity to knee him in the balls. It’s a fantasy I have on a regular basis.
“Why are you always laughing at me?” I brush off my shorts. He had me pinned face down on the ground. It isn’t the first time, and I doubt it will be the last. Like Luke, he pushes my buttons, except he takes it to a completely different level that I didn’t know was possible.
He quickly stands. “I like to find the humor in things,” he says, leaning against the counter, crossing his feet at his ankles. “You should try it.” Then he strikes a pose to show off his muscles. I realize what he’s doing when an attractive woman walks by and shoots him a flirty look. He eats it up, his ego growing by the second. She’s wearing boy shorts that expose three-quarters of her butt. He purses his lips, and his eyes follow the back of her as she walks farther away.
“Maybe if you look long enough, you’ll get to see her vagina.”
He grins. “I hope so,” he says, keeping his gaze on her backside until she’s completely out of view. He’s messing with me; it’s what he likes to do.
“Earlier … you were saying?”
I’m about ready to tell him when he interrupts, “Oh yeah, something about my sense of humor, and your lack of one.”
I glare. “You repeatedly pinning me to the ground isn’t humorous. It’s annoying,” I say, reaching back to smooth out the mess that is my hair.
His eyes crinkle at the sides. “You know you secretly like it.”
“You’re a pig.”
He fakes a frown. “There’s no need for name calling, little virgin. I do it to prepare you, and I promised a buddy I’d cover what he hadn’t. Whether you like it or not is irrelevant.”
I roll my eyes. “What is it that Gia sees in you? Did your mother ever teach you any manners—perhaps the meaning of the word no?”
“You know this is different.” Walking behind the counter, he opens up a drawer and pulls out a protein bar. “I already told you,” he says as he takes a bite. “I made a promise … and I’m gon—”
“It doesn’t matter what you promised.”
He stops chewing. “How so?”
“Because, I’ve moved on, and so should you.” That’s not entirely true, but I’m trying.
Logan took Luke’s place here at work, which apparently was another promise I was left unaware of until the day he walked in, strutting around the gym as if he owned it. Luke prepared Jim and Pam in advance, and Logan agreed to take over. I guess it worked out for all of them. Logan dating my best friend is hard enough, but having to work with him … well, it’s nearly unbearable.
“You trying to convince me or yourself?”
“You read the letter.” I blow out a breath. “Forget it. I don’t want to get into this again.”
It’s been five months. I haven’t heard from Luke in the last three, and only a handful of times before that. It started with a few texts I received from an unknown number, saying things like, “I miss you,” or, “When this is all over, I’ll explain everything,” and finally followed by, “Do you trust me?” I never replied to any of them, though a few times I came close.
Why the untraceable number? I didn’t know, but I definitely didn’t like it. The last one came around three months ago. Telling me he loved me—that it killed him to be away from me. I read it at least a hundred times, wanting to believe he had good reason for all of this. I needed to know the truth, and he wasn’t planning to give it … at least not anytime soon.
One day I received a package with no return address. When I opened it, I found a Taser gun wrapped in a bow with a note that read: KEEP THIS ON YOU. ASK LOGAN TO SHOW YOU HOW TO USE IT. IT’S IMPORTANT.
What the hell?
“Forget about the letter,” he groans. “He didn’t mean it.” He waves goodbye to one of our regulars, and I do the same.
“How am I supposed to forget it? I can’t.”
He shrugs. “Maybe I have more faith in him than you do.” Finishing what’s left in his mouth, he throws the wrapper in the trash.
“Faith has nothing to do with it. He wrote it, Logan.”
The letter said he was sorry for all that he had done, that he would always love me, but it was best we both move on. He wanted me to be happy … blah blah blah … and a person like him doesn’t deserve a person like me. It was the last time I’d heard from him. He had made his point pretty clear.
“Doesn’t matter.” He folds his arms. “There are things I know about him that you don’t. And you won’t until it’s over. Things aren’t always what they seem. Remember that.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
“Do you miss him?”
The question catches me off guard. “I don’t want to,” I reply.
He grins with a nod. “Good.” Jerk.
“Are you one of those people who secretly gets off on torturing animals?” I narrow my eyes.
“Nope.” He guzzles down a full bottle of water, then crushes the plastic.
“I’m not sure I believe you.”
“Believe what you want.” Glancing at the clock, I see there are only ten minutes left before his class starts. “You leaving?”
“Yeah, I just need to get my stuff.” I head to the counter, and he walks behind it.
“Do me a favor,” he says, grabbing my purse. “Tell Gia to wear the red one tonight.” He hands it over. “She’ll know what it means.”
Eww. “You couldn’t just tell her that yourself?”
His mouth tips up. “Thought it’d be more fun to have you do it instead.”
“I guess that’s my queue.” I turn around and wave. “See ya.”
“You planning to see loverboy again?” he asks from behind me.
I glance at him suspiciously. “Maybe … why?”
He shrugs. “You may need to defend yourself from him one day, and I’d be happy to help you with that. Just let me know.”
“Oh, I’m sure you would. Look … Sean’s been a good friend to me, but nothing more. Be nice, okay?”
He snorts. “Right.” He emphasizes the word. “A friend who’d love to get inside your panties.”
“Not all men are like you,” I retort, pushing past the door. “Good bye,” I yell.
“If you can’t see that this guy’s a bigger douche than I am, then you’re blind,” he yells back. I do my best to ignore him and crawl inside my car.
Sean’s and my friendship sparked at a time when I needed someone most. If I wasn’t drowning myself in work, I was spending much of my days alone. If that wasn’t possible, I was forced to be around Logan and Gia’s constant display of affection. Their relationship had blossomed, while mine had fallen apart. After months of making excuses for him, becoming everything I never wanted to be, I’d finally had enough. I’d climbed up to the rooftop to get some air. I’d only been there a minute when a familiar male voice called out to me. I peeked over the edge. Sean stood below, looking nervous as he stared up at me. I could see that he was carefully choosing his words.
“You expecting company?”
I contemplate turning him away like I’ve done before. Instead I reply, “No.”
He lifts his brows, clearly surprised. “Would you mind some?”
“I don’t know,” I reply, regretting it. “I mean, yes, I’d like some, sorry.” I close my eyes, embarrassed. When I open them, he is already climbing up, and he is smiling—probably laughing at me. I would, too, if I was him. I am a mess.
“So you finally said yes,” he murmurs. “What made you change your mind?”
I lie down on the blanket and focus on the stars. “Believe me, I was doing you a favor. I haven’t been that much fun these last few months.”
“You going to tell me why you’re so sad all the time?” Sitting down beside me, he leaves plenty of space between us so it won’t be awkward. My gaze moves over to him, and he taps a spot on his shoulder. “I’ll let you borrow these to cry on if you need to.” He shrugs. “Won’t bother me any.”
I grin, which is something I haven’t done in a while. I hold out a hand, saying, “To be honest … I think I could really use a friend.”
Watching me cautiously before he takes, he smiles. “If you let me, I think I could be that friend.”
We shake on it. “Good,” I nodded. “Then it’s settled.”