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“Thank you. But I promise you, he’s worth giving everything up for.”
Sitting on the couch, we lean against each other. Dillon sniffed.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me.”
“I can’t believe it either. I love you, Dillon. I’m going to miss you so much,” I said sniffing as well.
“I would say that I’m just a FaceTime away but…”
I swallowed, trying to hold myself together and then, impulsively, I threw my arms around his neck. This guy had been everything to me. For so long, he was my entire world. I probably wouldn’t have survived without him in my life. And now I was leaving him. Was I making a mistake?
Hearing a knock on the door, I let him go. Glancing between the door and Dillon, my heart hurt.
“That’s him. That’s my man,” I said through a tearful smile.
“You’re at least going to introduce me, right?” Dillon said, wiping his eyes.
“Of course. I want the two most important people in my life to meet each other,” I said, straightening myself up.
“Then go do it,” Dillon said, gesturing towards the door. “Let him into our life.”
Gathering myself, I stood up, made the short walk to the front door, and threw it open. Terror filled me as I stared through it.
Standing on the other side of it was not Cali. I didn’t know who it was. The one thing I did know was that I had made a horrible mistake. This man was not here to help me. This was the man who had wanted me dead.
Chapter 18
Cali
Driving into the city was unlike anything I could imagine. Everything was overwhelming. Without giving it a second thought, I left my entire world behind. I didn’t worry about Mama. Thanks to Titus and Claude, she would be in better hands than she would have been with me.
But Mama had made me promise that I would finish getting my college degree. I couldn’t do that now. Even if I could somehow do my classes online while we traveled to wherever we ended up, I couldn’t afford to attend because I was only there on a football scholarship.
That was another thing, people were starting to talk about me going pro. I wouldn’t have been the first from my small town to get that opportunity, of course. Cage had the chance to go pro and he turned it down for Quin. His brother, on the other hand, was playing for the NFL. And after the damage he did this past season, Titus would also have that option; though I think he’ll turn it down to be mayor of Snow Tip Falls.
So, that brings it back to me. This year as a freshman, I broke records as a kicker. The college ranks had never seen anything like me. Cage was my high school coach and had helped me get my scholarship. I was pretty sure that if I asked him, he would connect me with his brother, and Nero would help me with anything I needed to enter the draft.
I was giving all of that up, though. And I didn’t regret it. The only thing that mattered to me was Hil. I was going to get to be with him. As long as I had him in my arms, nothing else mattered.
Would giving everything up be hard? Definitely. But would having a lifetime with Hil make up for it? You’re god damn right it would.
Following the last of the directions appearing on my phone, I was about to arrive. I had been driving for nearly two days straight. The only time I slept was when it became dangerous for everyone else on the road. That was when I parked in a rest stop, tilted my chair back, and took a quick nap.
I didn’t need to rest now. I couldn’t be more excited for my new life to begin. The first thing I was going to do was scoop him into my arms and find his lips. I wanted to taste him. I wanted to feel his soft curls in my hand and his gentle cheek pressed against my palm.
When our tongues danced, I would know that I’m home. I loved that man so much it hurt. Parking, and sprinting up the stairs to his friend’s floor, I felt like I was about to explode.
I slowed when counting the room numbers, I approached a door that was open. It wasn’t just cracked, the door was thrown to the side. This was the apartment I was supposed to meet Hil in. Wait, what the fuck was going on?
Staring from the hallway, I saw two people. One person sat bleeding on the couch and the other stood in front of him glaring down. The bigger guy looked like a monster.
From behind, I saw straight through him. Crisp white shirt, slicked back hair—this guy was pretending to be someone he wasn’t. And when he turned around and locked eyes with mine, I knew he was about to die by my hands.
“You,” he said to me as I rushed in preparing for the tackle.
He had made a mistake by not protecting himself. Grabbing him, I lifted him up and slammed him onto a coffee table as hard as I could. The table shattered beneath him. And before he could gather himself I went to work.
With him pinned down, I tried to break his face with my fist.
