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Then, he smiled, and all that I felt was anger.
Lacing my voice with ice, I spit out, “What are you doing here?”
His smile faded instantly. “I…I thought maybe we could talk.”
The softness in his voice cracked the wall I’d put up to keep him out.
Toning my anger down, I asked, “Talk about what?”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know. Us?”
I swung my backpack over my shoulder and headed toward the parking lot. “There is no us, Mitch. You made sure of that when you slept with…what was her name again? Let’s just go with whore.”
Following me, Mitch replied, “It doesn’t matter what her name is. All that matters is, I miss you. Will you just give me five minutes? Please. That’s all I’m asking for.”
I swung around, and Mitch nearly ran into me. When his hands landed on my shoulders, I gasped. I went silent as his eyes searched mine. I hadn’t realized how much I missed his touch.
Cue the guilt, please.
“Please, Michelle. Please give me five minutes.”
I was about to agree when someone said, “Why don’t you take your hands off of her, asshole?”
The sound of Zeb’s voice cut through the air and caused my breath to stall. Mitch’s gaze moved past me as he frowned. I knew I had to quickly defuse this situation.
“It’s okay, Zeb. Mitch is Skylar’s brother.”
When Mitch swung his eyes back to mine, I saw the hurt in them, and it nearly dropped me to my knees. Even after everything Mitch had done to me, he was still so much more than my best friend’s brother.
“Is that really all I am, Michelle? We can’t even be friends?”
Zeb walked up and pushed Mitch away from me. “I said, take your hands off of her.”
Mitch turned to Zeb. “I don’t believe she’s your property, asshole.”
My stomach churned. Something terrible was about to happen. I could feel it in my bones.
“Well, she’s my girlfriend. So, your hands on her isn’t working for me.”
My head jerked back, and I turned to Zeb.
“What?” Mitch and I said at once.
I didn’t know what had stunned me more. Mitch, here in Waco, or Zeb professing that I was his girlfriend.
“What do you mean, she’s your girlfriend?” Mitch asked.
Zeb smiled. “I mean, we’re dating. We’re doing all the things a boyfriend and girlfriend do.”
He glanced at me and winked. My mouth felt like cotton, and I wanted to hit Zeb for what he was doing. He knew this was Mitch, and there was no doubt in my mind he was purposely saying this to hurt him. Maybe he thought it was what I wanted.
I’m going to be sick.
Mitch took a few steps back. His face turned white as a ghost. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was about to throw up right alongside me.
He slowly caught my eyes. “Did you…oh God, what have you done?”
I shook my head. “No! It’s not what you think.”
Mitch took another step away. His balance was off, and I was afraid he was going to pass out. I wasn’t sure why I even cared what Mitch thought. He was the one who had cheated on me, but I did care. More than I realized. I wasn’t sure if that pissed me off or hurt me even more.
Panic set in, and I had no idea why, but I cried out, “Zeb! Tell him we haven’t slept together! Tell him!”
Zeb looked confused as he glanced between us. Something moved across his face. “We didn’t do anything Michelle didn’t want to do.”
And there it was. The moment where I wished I could climb into a time machine and go back six months. Start this whole college nightmare over again.
Mitch turned and threw up. I rushed over to him and put my hand on his back. He jerked away, and I instantly felt the tears sliding down my cheeks.
“Michelle, what in the hell is going on?” Zeb asked. “Why do you care about what he thinks?”
Not taking my eyes off of Mitch, I barely had the energy to reply, “Zeb, please let me take care of this, and I’ll call you later.”
When Zeb didn’t move, I looked over my shoulder at him, giving him a pleading look.
He nodded his head and then dragged his hands down his face. “I’m sorry, Michelle. I thought you wanted me to say it. You know, with what happened earlier.”
The only thing I could do was force a small grin. Zeb had seen me upset, and he’d known Mitch was the cause. He had tried to dish it back out to Mitch, but I hadn’t been ready for that showdown, and Zeb had realized that after it was too late.
“I know,” I whispered.
Zeb nodded. “I’ll call you later?”
The only thing I could say was, “Okay.”
Mitch had finally stopped dry-heaving, but he was still bent over with his hands on his knees.
