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“Get the fuck off me.”
Carter must sense my eyes on him, because he looks over at me for a second and grins deviously. He hops off the stage and walks toward the love of my life. I watch in slow motion as he places his hands on her cheeks and kisses her.
Every bit of rage I’ve ever felt pales in comparison to this. An angry red haze covers everything in my sight and I’m ready to lose it. Within seconds, I’m halfway across the street and ready to kill him with my bare fucking hands. My friends scramble to get a hold on me regardless of how much I fight them on it.
“Let me fucking go!” I roar, turning everyone’s attention turn to me—including Delaney’s.
Confusion and concern grace her face as she takes a step away from Carter and toward me, but I’m too focused on Zayn trying to push me back. Stone, Easton, and Gage all struggle to keep me held back while Zayn attempts to get through to me.
Doesn’t he realize there’s nothing he can say that will stop me?
“I swear to God, I’ll kill you all if you don’t get your fucking hands off me!”
“Listen to yourself,” Z says with disgust.
“He fucking kissed my girl!”
He shakes his head. “She’s not yours anymore, man. She’s not.”
It all happens so quick. Gage’s hold on my right arm slips, and my vision blurs as I deck Zayn right in the face. Everyone around gasps, including those across the street. He stretches out his jaw and narrows his eyes on me.
“Did that make you feel better, scumbag?”
“Fuck you!” I spit.
Carter tries to grab Delaney’s hand but she pulls it away, keeping her gaze on me. Meanwhile, Zayn gets even further in my face.
“Go ahead! Hit me again. Get it all out.”
“I will if you don’t get out of my way.”
“For what?” he shouts. “So you can get arrested for attacking the DA’s golden-boy son? Fuck that, you’ll thank me for this shit later.”
My breathing is so fast, so labored, I know I’m bordering on hyperventilation. I close my eyes for a couple seconds, and when I open them again, they meet Delaney’s. She’s so close, yet so far, as we stand with no more than thirty feet between us—and for a minute, she’s mine again. Only, she’s not. It’s my mind playing tricks on me, like this is some great fucking game and I’m the pawn.
Carter gives Grayson a pleading look, and he nods at Tessa and Savannah. I can do nothing but watch as her sister and her best friend pull her away and back into the school—leaving me in pieces once again.
I turn around and remove myself from the grasp of my friends, taking off running. Fuck knows driving my motorcycle isn’t a good idea right now, but I need to get out of here before I do something else I’ll regret.
27
DELANEY
I sit on the kitchen island, ignoring the party going on around me. Jace is doing body shots off Paige. The music is so loud that the bass vibrates the floor. And there’s enough alcohol being passed around to drown in. Yet, I can’t seem to get my mind to focus on anything but Knox.
The last thing I expected after being asked to prom in one of the most epic ways possible was for Carter to kiss me. We’ve been hanging out and getting to know each other for weeks, but never has he made a single move. I figured he was waiting for me to tell him it was okay. Realistically, though, that was never going to happen.
Carter is great, and in an ideal world he would be the perfect guy for me. He’s sweet, and funny, and a great listener when I need someone to talk to, but the spark just isn’t there. At least not for me, anyway. Not the way it was with him.
Three weeks have passed since the harrowing betrayal that left me the laughing stock of the entire school, and every day he’s been on my mind. Whether it’s when I’m reading my favorite book, watching a romantic comedy, or even getting out of the shower and catching my reflection in the mirror, seeing the masterfully drawn angel wings that are inked into my skin.
They say that time heals all wounds, but I’m starting to think that’s not true. No amount of time away from him could wipe his memory from my mind or cure the pain that his absence brings.
“You’re quiet tonight,” Carter tells me, leaning against the counter next to me.
“Aren’t I always?”
He shakes his head. “Not lately, no.”
