Page 48 of Saving The Shortstop

Sitting on the edge of my mattress, I pull my socks over my feet before I sit up and look at my now made bed. I cringe when flashbacks of practically begging Dallas to have sex with me flood my memory. I looked pathetic, and now, I don’t even want to face him later. At least he left before I woke up though, so I guess there’s that.

One last nail in the … I don’t like you that way coffin …

My bedroom door swings open, and when Dallas walks in, I don’t know whether I’m surprised or not.

He closes the door behind him, and his expression is different than the one he usually wears. He’s usually unfazed. Now? Worry and concern lace his features.

“I need to talk to you,” he says, coming closer until he’s standing in front of me. I hate that he has the ability to just … keep me here.

He humiliated me hours ago. I woke up all alone, and now, he expects me to sit here and listen to whatever he has to say?

No. I think I’ll pass.

“I have to get going,” I lie. I don’t have shit to do till this afternoon, but he doesn’t know that. Well, he probably does, but I could make something up.

As I start to stand, he crowds me, making me unable to walk away.

“No, Short.” His eyes burn into mine. “You don’t. Not right now.”

His hands fall to my waist, but not to touch me. Instead, he pushes me back down onto the bed. “Sit,” he commands. “I need to tell you something.” His voice is shaky now, and he swallows. “I need to tell you a lot actually.”

He begins to pace in front of the bed, and even though I still feel like I don’t owe him the courtesy to sit here and listen, I do it anyway. Maybe he’s going to tell me he fucked up last night. Maybe he’ll tell me that he really does want me.

And this is why you’ll never get over him, you idiot. I shake my head at myself, wishing I could turn my feelings off like a light switch.

“This thing with Tabor, Haven …” He stops pacing, his face even paler than when he walked in. “It’s bad. It’s … really bad.”

“What do you⁠—”

“Last night, someone wrote something on your Jeep and threw a brick through your window.” His head hangs with sadness. “It’s in my parents’ garage since they’re out of town, but later … we need to talk to your dad.”

“What did he write?” I ask, knowing right away it was Tabor. No one else would do that, and even though a few days ago I wouldn’t have thought Tabor was capable of this, it had to have been him.

“It doesn’t matt⁠—”

“Tell me!” I roar, and he flinches.

“Slut,” he utters.

“Nice,” I whisper, feeling numb because how the hell do I even process what he’s saying right now.

“There’s more.” He grimaces. “I didn’t tell you all of this right away because I didn’t want to cause you pain, but the night I went to see him—after the flowers showed up.” He stops, resting his hands on top of his head, showing how stressed he really is.

Dallas isn’t the type of person who shows when he’s worried, but right now, it’s clear as day that he’s uneasy.

“The reason why things didn’t go worse for him, and why I didn’t tell your dad, is because Tabor said he had … pictures of you.” He looks down. “Pictures of you naked. At first, I figured he was bluffing, but when he said that if I did anything to him, he’d show the world these photos, I didn’t know what to do.”

I feel like I might throw up. I know damn well that I never sent him any nude pictures. I’m not dumb enough to do that with people I don’t trust, and I’d never fully trusted him.

“Did he—” My lip trembles. “Have pictures of me?”

Dallas takes a few steps toward me, sinking onto his knees in front of where I sit on the edge of the bed. His hands rest on my knees and reluctantly, he nods.

“He did, but not anymore.”

“You … saw them?” I croak, so incredibly embarrassed, and yet, instead of my skin burning hot with shame, I find myself freezing cold.

“I didn’t look at them,” he says, and I know he’s telling me the truth. “Lilly … I asked her to break into his phone to find out if he was bluffing.” One hand reaches for my cheek, cupping it. “The last thing I’d ever want is to lie to you and keep something from you. But I didn’t know what to do.”