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“Br—”
Before he gets the chance to say my name, I end the call. And when he tries to call back three times in the course of a minute, I turn the damn thing off. Because I’m already exhausted tonight. The last thing I’m trying to do is deal with his barbaric ass.
Brody
I pace around my motel room, unable to turn my mind off. And then I pace some more.
“Fuck!” I yell, slapping my hand against the wall. “Goddamn it!”
Why do I always have to fuck up everything? Why can’t I be a normal person?
I know I pissed her off. And I know that’s why she hasn’t answered me for hours now. But I couldn’t help it. When she mentioned there were assholes at Club 83 tonight, I got mad. I just wanted to protect her, and I can’t while I’m hours away.
The thought of someone harassing her made me see red before I could even tell myself to calm down. It wasn’t the issue of whether or not she could protect herself. It was about the fact that someone could hurt her. And now, I have no way of knowing if she even made it home safely or if she’s being held against her will…while I’m completely fucking useless.
She might not be mine, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to protect her—because I am. I’ve never had shit for family. My friends becomemyblood. So, to me, that girl is family now.
I’ll be thankful as hell when we get on that stupid bus in the morning and head back to Brooks. I know I made her mad. But now, I need to make it right.
The thought of her being angry with me has my stomach in knots, and even though all I want is to go down to the bar in the lobby and get wasted, hoping it’ll make me feel better, I’m not going to. I’ve done enough fucking up tonight.
I’ve never had to be better for anyone. But for her, I want to at least try.
I’m playing with fire, hanging on to her the way that I am. But I’m preparing myself for the burn because even it seems better than losing her right now.
She’s mad at me, and I feel like I can’t breathe. What the hell am I going to do when she actually leaves me in her past? And how the fuck did this girl dig herself this deep into my soul in such a short amount of time?
13
Bria
My mom coming to visit was truly a gift. Sometimes, we just need our mamas. And today was apparently one of those days. And the craziest part is, I hadn’t even realized just how much I did until she came to stay last night.
We started the day with a long walk around campus, ending with a trip to the coffee shop. I even told her I had made a new best friend. I told her he was a guy. I just left out the details that he is stupidly gorgeous and insanely charismatic.Small potatoes, right?
I turned my phone on this morning to find a dozen text messages and a few voice mails. All from Brody. I do plan on calling him back when my mom leaves in a few hours, but for now…I’m letting my agitation over the way he acted settle.
“Baby, I’m going to go shower real quick, and then we can go check out the photos you’ve taken in the photo lab.” She claps her hands together. “I can’t wait to see all you’ve done!”
“Don’t get too excited. They might suck.” I cringe. “Seriously.”
“Will not.” She scoffs before heading into the bathroom.
I made the mistake of mentioning that, in one of my photography classes, we had been developing all of our work and putting it on display in the building. Well, now, she wants to see said work, and I’m worried it’s not as good as I hoped it was.
Someone knocks on the door, and I almost jump out of my own skin.
“Shit,” I mutter, walking toward the door.
I fling the door open, and there stands Brody. In sweatpants and another Brooks Hockey hoodie. With his hair a tousled mess, he looks like he hasn’t slept a wink. Although, with an away game, where they won, it’s hard to predict what kind of fun he got into last night.
“Bria,” he says, almost surprised to see me. “Don’t be mad at me, please. You can’t hate me. I can’t take it.”
Pushing my hip against the door, I fold my arms over my chest. “Hateis a strong word.Pissed?Annoyed? Those are more appropriate.”
“I’m sorry.” He steps closer, dragging his hand down the back of his neck. “I just…I get protective of family.”
Gone is the guy who everyone thinks is this hilarious, carefree, absolute fuckboy of a dude. And left behind is an insecure, scared boy who is used to everyone giving up on him.
