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Zak looked at me with the same exact look he’d given me that night, a look that told me to wait, to let him explain. But I’d done that. I’d let him say all he had to say when my parents told me I should hear him out. What more could there be?
“Fine,” I whispered, “say what you want, but let me go, Zak.”
He was slow in releasing my wrist, though he didn’t make any moves to step back and give me more space. “I’m sorry, Charlie. I am. I never wanted to hurt you. I… I should’ve done more to tell her I wasn’t interested. I guess I was just worried that since she was your friend, the signals were all in my head.”
Amelia had ghosted me after that night. It was like she thought our friendship wasn’t worth salvaging. But that was fine, because I had nothing to say to her. They’d broken my trust, and I’d cut them both out of my life because of it.
“You were everything to me,” Zak spoke, lowering his voice to a whisper as he stepped closer. “You still are. I never stopped loving you. How could I? Knowing I hurt you… you have no idea how sorry I am. I wish I could take it all back.”
I hated how sincere he sounded, and I hated that I wanted to believe every single word he spoke. I guess it was true: you never really stopped loving someone. A tiny piece of you always loved them, now and forever, even if the memory of how you crashed and burned hurt like a motherfucker.
Zak now stood directly in front of me, less than six inches away. He reached out, lightly touching my arm, and he ran his fingertips along my sweater, swallowing hard before he added, “I miss you so much.”
“Is that why you’re here, to miss me?” I asked.
“I live here now.”
That was news to me. Zak never seemed like the type. “You’re in a frat?”
“Yeah, my dad pushed me to join. Listen, Charlie, I—” Whatever else Zak was going to say, he kept to himself. His eyes shifted off me, moving to someone behind me. I didn’t know who it could be, who would make him stop talking like that.
But then whoever was behind me curled an arm around my lower back, beneath my sweater, sweeping his fingers to my hip, where they rested in place, firm. A dangerously low voice spoke, “There are you, Charlie. I was looking for you.”
I turned my head, and I had to bend back a little to see his face since he was so damned tall. Brett wore a smile, his sunglasses shielding his eyes and his cheekbones. His face was turned in my direction, but after I looked at him, he brought that smile to Zak.
My eyes almost bugged out of my head. It was a good thing Zak wasn’t looking at me, otherwise he would’ve noticed. It took all of my effort to stay calm and not pull myself away from Brett.
“Who’s this?” Zak sounded suspicious.
Brett responded by pulling me against his side, holding me as close as he could without devouring me. His reply came easily, “I’m her boyfriend. Who the fuck are you?”
I opened my mouth to say he was not my boyfriend, but it was like Brett knew I wanted to resist, and his fingers on my side tightened, as if telling me to keep quiet and follow his lead. So I said nothing, which was probably a smart thing anyway, since all of my thoughts had jumbled together the moment Brett had appeared.
He didn’t leave me. He’d stayed and watched over me this whole time. Was it wrong that that made me happy?
“Boyfriend, huh? I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.” Zak’s eyes lowered to me. “Charlie and I used to date—for a few years, actually.” He almost sounded like he was trying to rub it in Brett’s face, like he was jealous or something.
Which was just ridiculous, because there was nothing to be jealous of, no reason at all Zak should be envious of Brett.
“Thatisfunny,” Brett shot back, still grinning. “She hasn’t mentioned you once. Those few years must not have been that great.”
Zak prickled. “I’m sorry. Who, exactly, are you? I don’t remember seeing you inside the house.” He was holding his ground, which was more than I would’ve expected from him.
Now that I could see them together, now that I could compare the two, it was like night and day. Zak was the cute boy next door, the perfect high school crush, the perfect high school boyfriend.
But Brett? He was older, bigger, taller, and way better looking, even with that smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. With those glasses on, though, you couldn’t tell. And the way he held onto me, how he kept his arm locked around my back, hand on my side just beneath my sweater, made me feel things I hadn’t in a long time.
Protected.
Zak had made me feel like that, but the good memories I had of us had been tainted that night when I caught him and Amelia together. And with Brett—he was a monster, a killer, but that meant he could protect in ways most people couldn’t… or wouldn’t.
My heart had started to beat fast when I’d seen Zak, but now it beat fast for a whole different reason.
This wasn’t good.
Chapter Thirteen – Brett
I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. What could I say? Seeing that little asshole grab her, seeing him stand so close to her. What was I supposed to do? Stand back and let him try to reinsert himself into Charlie’s life?
