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“Even me?”
“Just because we’re together, doesn’t mean things change.”
Well, that fucking stung. I flinch back from him as tears of anger begin to well in my eyes. “You’re messed up,” I tell him. “Why are you so intent on being perceived as an asshole? That’s not who you are.”
He turns away, refusing to answer the question as he looks out the window at the party which is still going strong. “Just, back down, ok?”
I walk up to him with my head held high. “No,” I tell him. “For five years, you made my life a living hell. I hated coming to school, I hated going to parties, all because Nate Ryder was going to be there, and yes, I know now why you did it but your actions forced me to grow a backbone.”
“Babe,” he sighs, reaching for me.
“No,” I demand, moving away from his touch. “I promised myself that I’ll never let you treat me that way again. So, when you try, which I know you will, I’m always going to fight back. Every single time.”
He grabs me and pulls me into him. “Tora, I fucking love you,” he tells me. “That shit is in the past. I’d never go after you the way I used to.”
I lean my head against his chest, needing his touch even though I desperately want to hate him right now. “But you’d still hurt me just to prove a point to the rest of the world.”
“Babe,” he says, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. “No,” he finally says. “I wouldn’t, but Brooke isn’t you.”
“She’s my best friend,” I remind him. “I’m always going to stick up for her, the same way you would for Max.”
“But-”
“No,” I cut him off. “She was hurting. She said herself that she was done. Why can’t you just leave it?”
“I did,” he says. “I told her she could have that.”
“But you should have stopped at that. Instead, you tried to intimidate her with a warning knowing she’ll never back down to you,” I say. “What if that was us, Nate? What if it was me one of the boys were trying to intimidate like that?”
“They wouldn’t,” he says with his eyes hardening.
“They would.”
He lets out a sigh. “What do you want?”
“I want you to just… leave it. She’s not going to go after him again.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Fine,” he groans. “But if she makes a scene, I won’t be holding back.”
“You know it would be an all out war, right? Brooke isn’t the kind to go down easy.”
“Yeah,” he says, pressing his lips into a straight line. “I never thought she would.”
I let out a breath and wrap my arms around him before sliding my hands under his shirt to feel his warm skin against mine. “I hate this,” I tell him.
“I know,” he says, reaching down and lifting me. I wrap my legs around his waist as he sits down on a bench with me firmly in his arms. I sink into him and let this moment wrap around me. He kisses the soft skin of my neck before resting his head on my shoulder. “I’d never let the boys hurt you,” he tells me. “I didn’t mean to remind you of the way things used to be.”
“It was five years of torture,” I remind him. “Just seeing you glaring at someone reminds me. It’s not something I can just forget about.”
“I’ll never forgive myself for all that,” he tells me. “It makes me sick that I treated you so bad.”
“I know,” I tell him as I untangle my hands from under his shirt and pull back to look at him. “It’s all in the past now,” I say, leaning in and pressing my lips against his. “Just don’t ever cheat on me. You won’t be able to handle the hell I bring down on you.”
“Really, now?” he says, kissing me again. “And what exactly do you plan on doing?”
“Oh, I’m going to let the whole world know that you’re not the hardass you pretend to be. I’m going to tell them that you prefer strawberry milkshakes over chocolate ones, that you sing in the shower when you think I can’t hear, and that under all the bullshit, you’re actually the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”
He looks at me horrified. “That’ll destroy me.”
“I know,” I grin.
“You fight dirty.”
“Did you expect anything else?” I ask him. “After all, you’re the one who taught me how to play.”
He looks at me with nothing but love in his eyes. “I never thought I’d end up with the one girl who could put me in my place and get away with it,” he tells me as he goes to get up.
I shake my head and hold him down. “Where do you think you’re going?” I question.
“Back to the party,” he says slowly, confused with where I’m going with this.
