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“She wasn’t my side-piece; she was just a friend who was there because we were working on a school project together!” Miguel grits. “Not that you stayed long enough for me to tell you that.”
I just stare at him for a moment, unsure if I heard him correctly, but Miguel doesn’t budge or back down.
“Are you seriously going with that excuse? Isawyou. Hell, I sawher.” Even saying that out loud felt like I was thrown back to that day. I could feel the ache squeezing my stomach as all the feelings were building inside me. Surprise, hurt, betrayal, heartbreak… Remembering it felt like I was riding on a rollercoaster I never signed up for, and there was no way out. “She opened your fucking door in the middle of the night wearing one of your shirts and nothing else. I don’t know what kind of ‘friend’ she was, but that ain’t friendly, Miguel. She almost ripped me a new one because I was interrupting you while you were ‘busy.’”
Miguel’s eyes narrow at me, those dark irises sucking me in, making me fall into their depths. My throat bobs as I swallow, but there is no getting rid of the knot that formed there. I start to turn away, but Miguel’s hand slips under my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“I don’t know what happened while I was in the bathroom, but if you would have just let me fucking explain. But no, you had to run out of there and push me away.”
“Because it hurt too fucking much!”
My fingers clasp together in a fist, and I jam it against his chest, but he doesn’t even react.
He wants to rehash the past?
Fine, we would rehash the past.
“I accepted a plane ticket I got as a gift from Emmett’s mom because she saw how much I was struggling to take care of everybody in my life, so she wanted to give me a breather, and after a lot of convincing, I finally agreed to accept it. I flew across half the country so I could see you because I fucking needed you. I needed my best friend, my boyfriend, to wrap me in his arms and tell me everything would be okay. I needed you to reassure me that I was not making a mistake and that I could actually do all of this. I just needed you” — with each new sentence, I jab my finger deeper into his chest, angry tears burning my eyes — “But what did I find instead? I found another girl in your room, dressed in your clothes, with no idea of who I was!”
“She didn’t know you because she hadn’t met you. She knew I had a girlfriend.”
“Then why did she put on your jersey?”
“I don’t fucking know, Rebecca.” Miguel runs his free hand over his face, and I can see the frustration building inside of him. “We got stuck in the rain on our way to the dorm. She was my partner for the project, and the library was closed, but weweren’t done yet, so we came to my place. I went to put on some dry clothes in the bathroom, and I guess she took one of my shirts to change into so she wouldn’t be sitting there all wet.”
“Are you seriously going with that?”
Miguel blinks, and I can see fury and irritation rising to the surface. “I’m not ‘going’ with anything. That’s what happened. Something I would have told you three years ago if you just fucking gave me time to do it.
“Well, she wanted something more. No girl in their right mind would take another guy’s jersey if she knew he had a girlfriend.”
“So this whole thing was about a fucking shirt? That’s why we broke up? Because a girl was wearing my shirt?”
“No, we broke up because you betrayed me, because you cheated… You know what? It doesn’t even matter. What happened happened, and there is no changing the past.” I shake my head. “I can’t keep doing this.”
I start to turn around. I needed to get out of here. I needed—
Hands wrap around my wrists, and I’m tugged back. Before I know it, my back is pressed against the car, Miguel’s hands caging me in. His breathing is heavy as he looms over me.
“Miguel, let me g—”
“I never cheated on you.”
I shake my head, my eyes searching for a way out. “It doesn’t even matter what happe—”
“It fucking matters.” Miguel’s hands slap against the roof of the car, making me jump in surprise. “I never cheated on you. Not once,” Miguel growls. “Not back then, and not since. There hasneverbeen another woman for me.”
My head whips in his direction, my mouth falling open. “W-What?”
Miguel leans closer, so close his nose is brushing against mine, those dark eyes holding me hostage.
“There hasn’t been anybody else, Rebecca,” he repeats slowly. His hand rises, those calloused fingers cupping my cheek, the touch of his skin against mine making a zap of electricity shoot down my spine.
He can’t be serious.
My heart is beating wildly in my chest, the strong beat echoing in my eardrums as I try to grasp his words.
My mouth falls open, tongue darting out to slide over my lower lip. “You’re lying.”
