“I know it’s crazy,” he whispers, “but I’ve been in love with you for too long. And now that you’re mine, I’m never letting you go.”
Tears stung my eyes.
“I love you too.”
Present Day
I'm so happy I don’t have a class this morning, now I can see if I can get my car fixed. I mean this was the last place I wanted to spend money, but if there's an emergency with mom I need my car.
Making my way to my car I stop, what the hell is going on?
“Wait!” I shout, half-jogging toward the guy. “What are you doing?” I stop by him as he tows my car, I’m allowed to park here, so I have no idea why he’s towing it.
He barely glances at me. “Called to pick it up.”
“I didn’t call anyone,” I snap, breathing hard, and stand face to face with him so he can see I’m not messing around with him.
He grins like this is a joke to him. “A friend called me; he told me you might fight. Go talk to him.”
“Who are you?” That’s the first thing I need to know, so I know where the hell my car is going.
“Blake, my friend has all the details.” He turns around and continues to tow my car.
“What friend?” I blink, my stomach already tightening, because there's no one in this place who'd help me, so this has to be a joke.
He lifts a sheet of paper, then tears it off his pad and hands it to me. “Crawford called me, I came.” Blake doesn’t wait for me to say anything else, mainly because I have no words at the moment.
He gets in his van, leaving me there with a receipt, a fully paid invoice, and a whiplash of confusion. What the hell is Hayden doing? Why would he pay for this? I’m the last person he should be helping.
I’m pretty sure I would be on his kill list if he had one.
Still holding the paper, I find myself walking toward his house, because that’s what you do when someone wrecks your sense of reality.
Still confused about what's happening, I check my purse. I don’t have much on me at the moment, but I pull out what little cash I do have. I scribble a note;This is all I have now. I’ll get the rest to you soon.
Just leave it at the door, Olivia.
I don’t have to talk to him, I don’t even have to see him, but there's no way I’m letting him pay for my car, that’s not happening.
I look up at the house, and take a deep breath, quickly slip the note in and get out, that’s all I have to do.
As I move to slip the note through the crack, the door opens.
“Hi, Olivia,” Miles says, surprised, like I’m not standing here completely unraveling. “H, someone’s here?—”
“No—no, no. Please just give this to him.” I thrust the paper toward him, but he doesn’t take it, doesn’t even put his hand out to try and take it from me.
He stares at me for a moment; it’s the same look Declan had in his eyes when he picked me up from the hospital. Hate.
I see Hayden walking toward the door, and everything inside me crumbles. He stops by the door, Miles leaves, and I look anywhere but at Hayden, because like before every time I seehim a knot in my stomach pulls to the point I want to cry, because I can’t be with him.
“I just came to give you this,” I whisper, my voice small and cracking as I hold out the envelope.
He doesn’t say anything, just walks back into the house. I follow him inside, my hands shaking.
“Hayden, thank you… but here.” I place the envelope on the table, wishing I could sink through the floor. His eyes are burning into me, as they move up and down my body and if I didn’t know him so well I wouldn’t notice the slight movement in his body, but I do know him. I know him too well.
His voice is low and sharp. “Why did you do it?”
