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The dude worried about the cleanliness of his car over the fact that I’d been covered in tar-like liquid. He had it coming. Phil needed to get acquainted with my petty side.
Ah, vengeance is sweet.
And when I walked the short distance from where I parked his car to the school, still amused by the thought of Phillip struggling to find a way to get there, I wasn’t ready for the person waiting for me in front of the parking gates.
My mouth opened and I froze. “Nigel?”
Dark eyes lifted, catching the light and giving them a golden hue. “V.”
Next to him was a man I didn’t recognize. The beefed up stranger sported glasses over a pair of striking grey-blue eyes. His dirty blonde hair was tossed to the side, and his jawline was covered with a similarly colored beard. Tattoos marred his arms, and one in particular snagged my attention. It was some kind of crest. Looked sort of like an ancient depiction of a wolf howling.
The new stranger’s silent stare was dangerous and skeptical when it landed on me, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
“What are you doing here?” I questioned, stalled where I stood.
Nigel eyed his counterpart, then tried to walk my direction. But I swiftly recovered the space with a few backwards steps of my own. “This is my beta, Topher. He insisted on coming.”
“Bet he did. Still haven’t answered my question,” I demanded, and Topher’s agitated glance suggested he didn’t like my tone.
Not that I cared.
“I’m not leaving until you explain why you changed your mind about us.” Nigel’s tone suggested he meant business, but it was the very reason I had to meet it on level ground.
“It’s not working.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It doesn’t matter if you do. I’m capable of making my own damn decisions, and you’re not going to intimidate me out of this one.”
Nigel’s jaw worked. “It’s not my intention to intimidate you. It just doesn’t make sense why you would end things without even talking to me first.”
“Says the dude who ignored all my texts,” I clapped back angrily.
Nigel’s look was apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. I had a good reason, I promise.”
“I’m sure you did, but it doesn’t change anything. It’s just better for us to part ways.”
“You don’t actually believe that,” he accused, stabbing me where it already hurt. “V, you’ve convinced a lot of people you don’t care, but I know better. The girl I know would never cut someone off like this without a good reason.”
“Then trust I have a good reason.”
Our stares locked, and Nigel went silent. Still, something changed in the way he looked at me. “If there’s a reason, then I need to know it. If you’re worried about me getting hurt, don’t.”
My throat burned from trying to hold back tears. “We’re not suited for each other, Nigel. You’re amazing and wonderful, but we’re not meant to be together.”
“I don’t believe that when you haven’t even tried.”
Angry, I glared. “I have. More than you know. You’re the one who handled me like I was made of glass.”
I hated myself for the things I said in desperation to get him to leave. I hated myself more than any time in my life. Even if it was for a good reason, I didn’t want to hurt him.
Not like this.
Never like this.
And the defeated expression, the visible pain from the words I said, the desperation to get me to listen, to explain, projected in his eyes. They all battered me emotionally in a way nothing ever had.
I don’t deserve him.
