Page 75 of Fake It For Him

Ella was dressed in the same jeans and sweater ensemble she’d had on when I’d dropped her off earlier, but her hair was messy, like she’d spent all this time shoving her hands into it. Her mascara had run, blackening the bottoms of her eyes and running in stripes to her temples where she’d wiped the tears away.

Something squeezed in my chest at the sight of her like this. I hated it. I was struck with the sudden urge to burn it all down—I just didn’t know what it was yet—and to fight all the armies in the world as long as it would make her feel better.

The urges were alien to me. Completely foreign. But they were there and they were very, very real, confirming once again that what I’d realized in Maui was true. If I could, I’d have charged right past her, fists banging on my chest as I tore into the building and faced off with whatever demon inside had done this to her.

But I wasn’t a superhero.

I was just a guy in love with a girl who needed me right now.

Still halfway across the sidewalk to the building, I opened my arms to her and she walked right into them, hugging me. I folded my arms around her shoulders and held her tight. I rested my head on top of hers, content to just hold her for as long as she needed me to, even if my heart was racing and all I wanted to know was who to punch for hurting her.

We stayed like that for a long time before she finally released me, her body seemingly so much smaller than it was before. She glanced up at me with shimmering, sad eyes. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course.” I took a step back and walked around her, heading over to where she’d left her things.

“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked as I collected her bags and popped open the trunk.

Ella shook her head, miserable and obviously still fighting to hold back tears. She bit her lip, her arms now wrapped around herself, and drifted over to my car. I was burning to know who was responsible for this, but I left it alone, focusing on getting all her stuff loaded up instead.

As I was putting in the last bag, someone called Ella’s name. I looked over my shoulder and slammed the trunk shut. Mikey raced toward us, looking pissed. Jaw as hard as ice and muscles locked, he sped past the pedestrian gate and finally slowed down as he neared her.

He cut a glare at me, his eyes widening and his jaw slack, and he turned back to Ella. “Seriously? After everything we just talked about, the first person you call to bail you out is this fucking guy? Seriously?”

Aggravation rolled through me. So he’s the one who hurt her.

I was tempted to give him a piece of my mind—or a broken jaw—but I hung back, trusting Ella to handle herself and her friend. She was still struggling to hold back tears, her throat working. She turned on him with fire roaring back to life in her eyes.

She was a fighter, my Ella. It was one of the things that I loved about her, the size of her balls and her unwavering determination to face everything head on. “Why did you even come after me, Mikey? Why are you doing any of this, actually? Why are you acting this way? Can you please just stop?”

“I told you why I’m acting this way. I’m worried about you. You’re one of my best friends in the world and you’re so much fucking better than this.”

“Better than what?” She tossed her arms out to her sides. “I know it probably looks crazy from the outside looking in, but it’s more complicated than that. Why can’t you just trust me on this?”

Mikey laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “Yeah, you know what? It does look crazy. It doesn’t even just look crazy. It is crazy and it’s not that complicated. Why would a girl like you ever love an asshat like Calan Reid? The short answer is that you wouldn’t. Not if you saw him for what he really is, which you don’t, because he’s got you fooled and he’s going to hurt you, Ella.”

While I heard everything else he said, my ears had started ringing when he’d said that word. Love. Did I hear that right? She loves me?

“Shut up, Mikey,” she snapped, finally risking a quick, fearful glance at me, like she was afraid I was going to bolt because of what he’d said. When she saw me still standing there, leaning against the car and waiting for their showdown to come to an end, she spun back to him. “Just go back upstairs. Obviously, you and I aren’t going to get anywhere with this.”

Mikey strode forward, advancing on her with that messy brown hair shielding his eyes. He seemed a little off kilter to me. Possibly drunk or just blind with rage.

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Ella.” He got in her face, voice and body shaking. “You’re going to regret this, and when you do, I won’t be there to pick up the pieces. You’re a⁠—”

“Okay,” I said evenly, inching in between them and pushing Ella back gently. “That’s enough. Why don’t you take the night, calm down, and you can try to talk to Ella again in the⁠—”

I didn’t even see it coming. Mikey’s fist rammed right into my nose and pain seared through me. My hands flew up, and I stumbled back, so fucking surprised that I couldn’t get a word out or a swing in.

He’d punched me. That wiry little fucker had punched me.

Ella shot out from behind me, shoving her friend away and getting in his face this time. “Go away or I swear I’ll never talk to you again. Jesus, Mikey. Who the hell are you? What happened to you?”

The sudden act of violence seemed to have startled the guy, and even though my vision was blurry, I saw him deflate. He lifted his hands and looked at them like he didn’t know who they belonged to. He shook his head, spun around, and headed back into the building.

Meanwhile, I pinched my nose and tilted my head forward, cursing under my breath. Blood dripped onto the pavement and I flinched when someone touched my arm. As soon as I realized it was Ella, I relaxed, glancing up at her and trying to smirk through the pain.

“Is it bad?” I asked.

She groaned. “It’s Edinburgh all over again. Here, take this.” After disappearing for a moment, she handed me a shirt. “Hold this to your nose and give me your keys. I’ll drive.”