I’ve put up with a lot of bullshit in my life. Gone through the highs and lows from my family situation. But never has my heart broken in a way it is right now. This instant. It’s like a dream has shattered, and I’ve woken up in a nightmare. I can’t comprehend exactly what’s happening because I don't want to believe it. I don’t want to believe what I’m seeing with my own two eyes, even though it’s right there, directly in front of me. The blonde bitch doused in pink rhinestones, and the biker boy who has occupied my fantasies for as long as I can remember, are literally strangling my heart.
I let my guard down. I trusted him. And this is what I get for it? A slap in the damn face. For the first time in my life, I understand what Shyla and Sable’s mother felt when she found out my father was cheating on her. I understand what betrayal feels like. I understand how much it hurts and how fucking angry it makes you.
With a rage in my core I have never experienced before, I charge toward the two of them. Pushing Hannah so hard she falls over, I focus my anger on Damon.
“Liv.” His startled expression says it all. Cheater, liar, jerk. I don’t say a word, I just wind up and smash Damon right in the face. All those boxing lessons with my father have finally paid off.
“Asshole!” I scream before storming off.
I run through the lobby, nearly tripping on the hem of my teal dress, past teachers and fellow classmates, trying like hell to keep the tears at bay. I will not cry. Not in front of anyone anyway. Once I’m alone, though, no promises.
“Liv,” I hear Damon call my name, but I ignore him. After tonight, I never want to see or hear or talk to him again.
Just as I make it outside into the warm night air, I feel him grab me. “Liv, Jesus Christ, stop!”
“No!” I yank my arm out of his grasp and continue to walk toward the parking lot. I avoid looking at him at all costs.
“Will you stop and just let me explain?” Damon pleads.
That stops me dead in my tracks. I turn with brute anger. “Explain? Explain to me how Hannah’s tongue made it halfway down your esophagus? I already know the answer to that. She’s been flirting with you all night. And I was so stupidly naïve to believe you weren’t interested. I actually bought all that shit you were selling. Like a fucking idiot.”
“It was not shit. I meant everything I said. It’s you I want to be with,” Damon spits back, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose.
I shake my head in exasperation. “That’s the biggest crock of shit I have ever heard. If you wanted to fuck Hannah, then you should have just hung out with her all night. Why string me along?”
“Because I’ve already fucked Hannah,” Damon snaps. The admission feeling like a blow in the kidney.
“Jesus, that was fast. What'd ya have? A quickie in the boys’ room while I peed?” My tone is dripping with disdain. I’m disgusted. I knew all about Damon’s reputation, but I never expected him to be this low. To be this fucking douchey. To me, of all people. Because of our past. Because of who my father is. Damon must have a death wish.
“It was a few months ago. We were at the same party. I didn’t even remember her until she hunted me down by the staircase.”
“Just another mile ridden by Damon La Rue,” I sneer.
“Yes, she was just another mile,” Damon agrees. “But you are not. And I’m not just going to let you walk away believing something that isn't true. She kissed me.”
“I didn’t see you beating her off with a stick.”
“She caught me off guard.” As if that is some kind of excuse.
“Damon,” I shun his name. I’ve had enough.
“Liv.” He snatches my hand. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I should have handled it better. But it’s you I want to be with. It’syouI want to kiss.” He steps closer, and a million different emotions burst like springs from a broken clock.
I continue to shake my head, confused, hurt, and unsure of what to do next. “I knew this was a terrible idea from the start.”
“It wasn’t. This has been one of the best nights of my life. And it doesn’t have to end. You just need to trust me.”
“That’s the problem, Damon. I don’t.”
The present.
I didn’t trusthim then, and I don't trust him now. He knows all the right things to say, and knows all the wrong things to do.
“Hello, Earth to Liv.” Kira waves her hand in front of my face. “We need to get out of here before Ky finds me. Or our girls’ night is going to get rudely interrupted.”
I steal one last glance at Damon flirting with the cocktail waitress, a hole the size of Jupiter eating away at my gut.
“Let’s go, then.” We hurry to catch up with the rest of the party. I push Kira into the middle of the group, hoping to hide us as we make our way out the front door. We climb into the pink stretch limo waiting for us, and pull off a safe getaway.
