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"Gray, let go of him," Claire says behind me. "We're leaving."
I release my grip and Harvey falls to his knees, coughing and rubbing his throat. He gets to his feet as I open the door for Claire to let her back in, but she hesitates at the door when he calls her name.
"Claire, you have to tell me if you're pregnant with my baby," he says. "I'll take you to court."
"The baby is Gray's," Claire shoots back. "He fucked me better than you ever could."
"It'shis?" Harvey says, getting to his feet. "Claire, you were living in my apartment only a few months ago. You were sleeping in my bed, you fucking slut--"
I see red, and before I know it, my fist collides with Harvey's face. I hear the crunch of bone and know I've broken his nose--and I shake my hand as I pull back, ready for another fucking round.
But Claire grabs my wrist.
I turn around to look at her.
She's crying.
My temper settles and I realize what I've done. "Shit, I'm so sorry Claire," I say. "I...we should go..."
"Yeah, we really should," she says, her face stony. She gets in the car and slams the door, and I join her a second later. I’m still in shock as we pull away, Harvey shouting through Claire's open window.
We ride in complete silence for half the trip, Claire's stuff rattling in the bed of the truck. I don't know what to say to fix this, to set her at ease. I'm so scared I just fucked things up with her, my temper getting the better of me and ruining my life like it always has before.
Not to say the guy didn't have it coming.
I'm glad I broke his nose.
"Claire," I say quietly, "I don't know what to say but that I'm sorry."
"He was being a dick," she replies just as softly. "He's always been a dick."
"But I didn't need to do that," I say. "I just...he called you that and I couldn't stop myself--"
Her hand finds my knee. "I know you're not violent," she says.
Fuck, if she knew about my past...
"I'm just worried that he might press charges," she continues. “It should be fine, he doesn’t know your name and I could get you off easy, but–”
I take a harsh breath, unable to stop myself.
"What?" she says.
I have to come clean. If it's going to come out anyway--if the cops come looking for me--it isn't like I'll be able to stop her from finding out.
"I have a criminal record, Claire," I say, trying desperately to keep my voice steady.
Her face falls. "For...for what?"
I swallow hard. "Jesus, I don't want to tell you. Please let me explain before you freak out."
"You're making it worse," she says.
The trees slide by outside the windows. I focus on them instead of my pounding heart, but it doesn't help. We're out in the middle of nowhere and I need to calm down, to talk to her, to hold her hand while I tell her this.
"It was for aggravated assault," I whisper.
Claire gapes at me.
