AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He pulled backward, trying and failing to release himself from their grip.
“You think you’re so fucking hot, don’t you?” he said to me. “Well, I’ve got news for you. These guys are going to get sick of you as soon as they find out who you really are.” He gave me a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Just like I did.”
I knew I shouldn’t let anything Nathan said affect me. But I couldn’t help it — his words stung. It was like he’d delved into my soul, pulled out my deepest fears and displayed them for everyone to see. I blinked back tears and searched my brain for words that would wound him just as deeply, but they weren’t there.
“That’s it,” Jackson said. “We’re done here.” He and Xavier hauled Nathan back to his car, opened the driver’s door, and threw him in.
“Leave,” Xavier said with a growl. “Drive as far away as you can. If I see you hassling Emma again, I’ll kill you.”
Nathan stared at Xavier defiantly, but his face turned white. He fumbled in his pocket for his keys, slid them into the ignition, and started the car. He pulled out of the spot in one quick movement, doing a u-turn that spanned the entire street. Just when I thought he was about to speed off, he slowed and wound his window down.
“You’re dead,” he said, his eyes locked on mine, and accelerated as Xavier chased him.
All the strength I’d been holding onto dissolved as soon as he was out of sight. My body crumpled. I hugged Cora, letting her take my weight as I sobbed. She rubbed my back and pulled me close while the guys regrouped.
“I’ll kill you?” Adrian asked, giving Xavier a shove. “You can’t make threats like that.”
“Sorry,” Xavier said. “But he needs to know we’re serious.”
Cora’s hand stopped moving on my lower back.
“Shut up, all of you. This isn’t helping.”
Xavier relaxed his stance as I pulled away from Cora’s shoulder and pushed my damp hair away from my cheeks.
“You’re right,” he said. “What can we do to help?”
“You can tell me how you found me,” I said, anger rising above the other emotions. “Areyoutracking me?”
They looked at each other uncomfortably.
“I knew it,” I said, as I pulled the heels of my hands over my eyes to wipe away the tears. “I fucking knew it. You’ve done something to my phone, haven’t you?”
“Just so we know—” Adrian started, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear their excuses. At that moment, I was ready to walk away from them forever.
“I’m sick of being trapped all the time,” I said. “I’m sick of being followed, and being stuck in the apartment all the time. What’s the difference between Nathan stalking me and you doing it? I might as well be in jail.”
They didn’t have an answer. Other pedestrians walked around us, trying to avoid eye contact as we faced each other in a stand-off.
“I know how that feels,” Adrian said, looking at the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“I told you we shouldn’t have come out here,” Jackson hissed, but Xavier stopped him with an outstretched hand.
“Okay,” Xavier said. “You’re right. I don’t regret tracking you because this was going to end badly. But maybe we could have been more sensitive to what you need.”
“What if we compromise?” Jackson asked. “What if we keep tabs your location, just in case, but trim down our schedule so one of us is available to take you wherever you want to go?”
“We don’t even need to bewithyou,” Xavier said. “We can trail behind you, like bodyguards, and only bother you in the event that Nathan turns up.”
I wanted to stay mad and tell them to shove their ideas. But Nathan reallyhadscared me, and what would he have done if he’d pulled me into his car? The truth was, I didn’t want to find out.
“I’ll think about it,” I said quietly. “If it means I can see Helen…”
I sighed. Why did it have to be so complicated? Why couldn’t I just go out without fear, the way everyone else did?
“Where does she live?” Xavier asked. “I’ll take you there tomorrow.”
26
