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Miranda turned her head and saw me, her eyes widening. “Addy.”
When Collin saw me, he glared at me.
I noticed, though I wished I hadn’t, that Miranda’s mouth was redder than usual, swollen from Collin’s passionate kisses. Desperate, delicious kisses that had once been mine.
Everything slammed into me that had happened before, and now this, it was too much. I should be done with hopeful thinking and wishes, but I wished that I could wipe away ever having witnessed this.
Collin snarled at me. “Get out!”
I couldn’t speak. Completely numb, I just nodded, feeling like I was watching the scene unfold from a distance. As if my body was being sucked backward into a deep, dark tunnel that was collapsing in on itself.
Shaking, I staggered from the room. My balance was off. I tripped on one of Collin’s large boots discarded by the door. Falling to the concrete floor, I bit my lip and tasted coppery blood in my mouth. My body throbbing, I regained my footing, but I couldn’t breathe with the horror of betrayal wrapping its tight grip around my throat.
Somehow, I made it across the hall and to the stairs. I had my hand on the metal railing when the rest of the band suddenly appeared. A gust of outside air smelling of exhaust fumes accompanied Andy as he stepped inside the building from the garage, followed by the others.
“Good luck holding on to her longer than two seconds.” He glanced over his shoulder, looking petulant and totally strung out.
“It’s different with him.” My sister came in behind him. “I can trust him, unlike you.” Her cheeks were splotchy from crying. A tall handsome man with kind eyes and light brown hair was with her, his hands light on her shoulders.
He must be Daniel.
Barry came inside last. My former best friend’s expression was grim, and it turned grimmer as he took me in.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Since I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t answer him. Moving straight toward me, he walked to the open dressing room door and glanced inside.
“Fucking Collin,” he growled out.
“What’s happened?” Rachel asked. Coming closer, she glanced back and forth between Barry and me.
I should ask her the same question. She looked upset, but I didn’t have anything left inside me.
Nothing at all.
After witnessing the betrayal that I had, I was a fragile shell of myself.
No longer the girl I’d once been, who was I anymore? I didn’t know, but I was vulnerable. Anything, anyone could break me. I wanted to scream, cry, rail at my life, but I was in shock. A silent, weaker version of my former self.
Before Barry or my sister could get to me, Collin emerged from the dressing room. His jeans only partially buttoned, he moved toward me, his silver eyes on fire. But I only felt cold as he stopped in front of me.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he said in a soft voice that nevertheless shook me. “What did you think would happen after you broke up with me?”
I wanted to tell him to go away. He’d moved on. He’d made his point. Didn’t he see that he’d hurt me enough? But he continued, apparently compelled to not only break me, but destroy me.
“This is your fault, not mine.” His expression was dark. “I should have resisted you. Andy told me to stay away from you from the very beginning. But how could I resist when I wanted you from the moment I first laid eyes on you?”
That wasn’t right. Collin didn’t even notice me at first. It was me who’d wanted him all along. He wasmyfatal error, not the other way around.
He pressed his palms against the wall behind me, caging me in. Glaring at Barry for a second, he said, “Back off, Evans. This is between Addy and me. There are things that need to be said, and I’m fucking saying them.”
“What things?” I asked, finding my voice, even though it wavered.
“Do you know what they call you at school, Addy?” Collin asked, his gaze pinning me to the wall.
I shook my head.
“Icy hot.”
