Page 15

brOOKLYN

I cried the entire way home. What a fool I was. I know I was stupid for allowing myself to open my heart this quickly, but I couldn’t fight it. I couldn’t fight that attraction. I know in my heart he didn’t mean what he said, but it’s the fact he would even go there. Knowing what kind of pain that would truly cause me. Knowing he would be shattering me. I’m still in shock.

We went from having the best few days of my entire life, to my greatest nightmare. Once we return home, I head straight up to our dorm and hide myself in my bed. Jenny comes in a few moments later, making her way over to my bed. Sitting next to me, she gently rubs my back while I let my tears fall.

“I am so sorry, Brook. I never would have made you go back if I knew he was that fucking horrible,” she says, wiping a tear from my eye. “I am so fucking sorry, babe.” Peeling my face from my pillow, I turn to look at her.

“It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you at all. I just feel so numb right now. Just give me some time, okay?” She slowly nods and gives me a small smile. Turning back around, I roll onto my side and let my exhausted eyes fall closed and allow myself to drift off into a dreamless sleep.

I wake, the afternoon sun beaming into my puffy eyes, still feeling exhausted from the night before. How could he do this to me? What happened to make him almost kill Chase? Something inside him had snapped. I knew he had some darkness, but I never thought he would be capable of murder.

I sit up and look around the room, Jenny is nowhere in sight. Checking my phone on the nightstand, I see a text from her saying she is with Dane. I am glad I have time to myself. I haven’t heard from Eli at all. A part of me is still worried about him, even after his hurtful words.

Getting off my bed, I head to the bathroom to pee and shower. I turn the water so hot, it scorches my skin, turning it red. The heat and sting pounding off my flesh feels so good to my numbed heart. I stand and let the water cascade off my back for what seems like forever.

After I finish in the shower, I head back into the room where I see Jenny and Dane relaxing, eating pizza. She has a scary movie on.

“There you are. How are you feeling, babe?” she asks nervously. Dane has a hard time meeting my eyes. I walk past and grab some clothes out of my drawer. Gray sweatpants and a white sweater.

“I’m fine,” I say as I walk back into the bathroom to throw on my outfit. I can hear Jenny and Dane whispering outside the door. Pulling the door open, they both stop talking and glance over to me.

“You know, you don’t have to whisper. It’s a really small room. I can hear everything.” Jenny looks at me, mouthing an apology.

“I think I am gonna head out, let you ladies have some time to yourselves,” Dane says, as he gets up to leave. Jenny nods at him and gives him a quick kiss. Before he opens the door, he turns to me. “I am really sorry, Brook. Last night was uncalled for. Eli just...”

I stop him before he can continue. The sound of Eli’s name coming off his lips makes me want to crawl up into a ball and just break. “It’s fine, Dane. Not your fault.” He takes a deep breath and then nods, opening the door and then leaving without another word.

Jenny gets up off her bed and heads over to me. She has a bottle of wine in her right hand. “I figured this might help a little. It’s your favorite…” Giving me a faint smile, I tilt my head at her and nod.

“Now, that will definitely help.” I give her a half smile as we both plop down on my bed. She opens the bottle and takes a pull from it.

“We don’t need any glasses for this, babe.” I laugh as she hands the bottle to me. I take a long swig and enjoy the warmness it creates inside my stomach. We drank the entire bottle, and then a second.

I was definitely drunk. Scary movies played on the TV as we ate pizza and cuddled up together. I laughed at all the dumb girls who just had to go see what the scary noise was down the dark hallways.

Then when the killer would emerge, I would yell, “Oh no, it's Eli! Run away!” Our laughter filled the room, causing students to bang on the walls to quiet us.

This felt nice. Just time with my best friend. It helped with the sting of my reality. Around two AM, I noticed Jenny was fast asleep next to me. I climbed out of her bed and grabbed my phone on the nightstand that was charging.

I scrolled through the photos I had secretly taken of Eli sleeping just a few nights ago. He looks so peaceful. My eyes start to swell over at the sight of him. I scroll to my texts and find his number.

I know I shouldn’t, but I messaged him anyway. My drunken stupor has me fixated on making sure he knows exactly how I feel.

Brooklyn: Just so you kno I hateee you, assface man. You weree not evn goo d in bed either. So, HA on you! My pussy goes to Chase now fuckerrr. You have a babydik too eli. Not good. BYe boy!

I send a bunch of random emojis at the end, smile and laugh then hit send. “That’ll te..ach him,” I mumble through my drunken, slurred speech. My head hits my pillow as I knock out.

Waking up the next morning, I had a pounding headache. My eyes are crusted over from the tears I shed as my stomach turns. I sat up slowly and grabbed my phone. Opening it up, I see the text message that was still on the screen. My eyes go wide in fear as I read what I wrote.

“Oh, my good fucking god!” I yell, causing Jenny to jump up and out of bed.

“What!” Her eyes are wide and alert, hair plastered to her drool-ridden face. I give her a worried look and then hold out my phone to her. She rushes over to me, taking my phone and reading the text.

A burst of laughter escapes her throat. “Oh, babe! Nooooo! Not drunk texting!” She continues to howl. The worst part of this is...it says ‘read’. He read it and didn’t reply. Which honestly pisses me off a bit, but I was so focused on being riddled in embarrassment that I could die, than to be upset at the non-reply. Jenny just continues to laugh through my pain.

“He fucking read it and didn’t reply,” I growl as she hands me my phone back.

“You know, that’s probably for the best, babe. I am sure by your words; he could tell you were super gone.” She giggles and heads towards the bathroom.

Throwing my face into my pillow, I let out a loud scream. Well, if he didn’t hate me before, he definitely hates me now.

CHAPTER 15

DANE

I headed back to the mansion after the awkward encounter with Brook. I knew I would see her. I just thought it wouldn’t have been that bad. Yeah, I could hardly even look at her. The embarrassment from the night before, wracking through my mind. I figured I would give her and Jenny the night.

Have some girl time. Once I got back, Eli was gone. I am guessing he probably went to the nursery to work and get his mind straight. Whenever he has a big episode, he unwinds by working. Picking the new buds and checking on the production of the cannabis.

I sent a few messages to Jenny, which have gone unread. I am sure those girls are getting up to no good. I am still exhausted from the night before. But I decided to get some company emails done on my laptop and check on the social media pages.I have not said one word to Eli about any of it and damn him if he thinks I will be the first one to talk.

His episodes have been getting worse lately. I am not sure why. But that’s not my business. He is a grown man. If he won’t seek out help for his own mental health, I will not be the one shouldering it all. I headed upstairs to my room to get some much-needed rest.

Laying on my bed, I passed out immediately. Slept through the night. I must have gotten at least twelve hours of sleep. I awoke to Eli knocking on my door. I stir awake, roll off my bed and open it.

“Hey, man,” he says, holding some Chinese takeout in his hands. “A peace offering.” He gives me a slight smile. I open my door more and motion him to come in. Once we were both sitting on the bed and shoving the warm salty food in our mouth, I let out a low groan.

“Damn this is fucking good.” We both look at one another and laugh. I can’t stay mad at the asshole. No matter how hard I try.

“Look at this,” he says as he hands me his phone out of his back pocket. Unlocking the screen, I see a text message from Brook.

“Ouch,” I say as I let out a small chuckle. “A baby dick, huh?” He rolls his eyes and puts the phone back into his pocket.

“Yeah, I didn’t reply. Probably best I leave that alone.” I can see hurt in his ashen eyes. I know this is not what he wanted. This self-sabotaging has him in a spiral.

“Well, you know you can message her or call her. Explain yourself,” I offer as he shakes his head.

“No, Dane, this is for the best. I can’t give her what she needs. Hell, I fucking pushed her into the fridge.” He looks down at his fried rice, poking it with his chopstick.

“Look, Eli...she was okay. Your anger was not geared at her. If you just get some help--” He cuts me off right there.

“Not this fucking shit again, man. I have tried! Nothing helps.” He is a stubborn fuck.

“Look, it’s your life, Eli. If you want to stay miserable, then fine. But I can’t keep cleaning up your messes.” His eyes jump to mine, hurt, shading them.

“I don’t ever expect you to do anything for me, Dane!” Getting off the bed, he storms out of my room and slams my door.

Well, that went just great.

I headed to pick up Jenny from her dorms the next day. Eli and I are again on a ‘no talking’ term. He’s been quiet, though. Held up in his room. I am glad to see no late-night booty calls showing up like he would normally have. Especially after a massive episode.

I plan on making some dinner tonight for Jenny. Spaghetti...it’s her favorite. Okay, so maybe I am not actually making it. I’ve hired a chef for the evening. I pull into the university parking lot in my black Lamborghini.

All the students have their eyes planted on my car. Some of the girls are shooting glances my way, waving and smiling. I see Jenny make her way through the gawking crowd, shaking her head and rolling her eyes as she approaches the car.

“Really, the Lambo?” A cocky grin spreads across my face.

“Yeah, dollface. I wanted to pick you up in style.” I send a quick wink in her direction.

“Mmmhmm, you trying to impress me , or those girls?” She points at the group of blonde cheerleaders that have planted their eyes on me.

“Only woman who has my attention is you, dollface.” I leaned in and took her chin into my hand, giving her a deep sultry kiss. She lets out a light moan when my tongue collides with hers. I watch her roll down the window and smile at the girls, then flip them off. Their smiles turned to disgust.

“Nice.” I laugh as I put the car in drive and burn out of the parking lot towards the small country back roads.

“So, you said you had a surprise for me, what is it?” She glances at me impatiently.

I take a deep breath. “Okay. Don't get mad at me.” Her smile turns into a flat line.

“What do you mean, Dane?” Her tone is sterner now.

“Well, I hired a chef for the night. So, we could relax and maybe take a dip in the new jacuzzi.” Her eyes slanted. She looks pissed off.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Dane? I don’t want to be anywhere near Eli.” She lets out a low angry growl.

“Well, guess what, that’s my best friend that I just so happen to live with. So, until I get my own place, you will just have to deal with it.” My tone is a bit sharp. I fucking hate drama.

“Oh, that’s cute. Deal with it? What I am a fucking child now, and you tell me what I can and can’t do?” She huffs, pulling out a cigarette from her purse.

“I told you I don’t want you smoking that shit in my car.” I take her cig out of her mouth, roll down my window and throw it outside.

“Asshole! Pull this fucking car over, now!” She demands as I keep my hands placed firmly on the wheel. My knuckles are turning white from the grip. She starts to breathe heavily as she laughs then starts to open the door. “If you won’t stop, then I will jump out!” She says, yelling and unbuckling her belt, the car door opening a little.

This fucking woman is insane.

“What the fuck, Jenny!” I pulled my car over to the side of the road and stopped, just in time for her to jump out, grabbing her purse. “What the fuck is wrong with you!”

I yell as she slams the door shut and starts to walk down the darkening country road, flipping me off. I growl and turn the car off. I got out and ran up to grab her. “What the fuck is wrong with you, Jenny? You could have been killed!”

She giggles and lights a cigarette, blowing the smoke into my face. “I told you to stop, maybe listen next time.” She continues to walk off. I am fuming. Grabbing her wrist hard, I turned her to me. “Ow, that fucking hurts!” She tries to release her wrist from my grip.

“Good, I am glad it hurts.” She scowls at me and then shoves me back.

“You are a fucking asshole! Just like your friend!” Yeah, that did it. I decided I am not dealing with her shit today. I turn around and head back to my car, starting it up, revving the engine and then peeling back onto the road.

I watch her in my rear-view mirror, just standing there. Rounding a curve, I watch her disappear from my sight, I curse. Hitting my steering wheel hard, I whipped my car around and headed back to her. When I reach her, I can see tears in her eyes.

I roll my window down while I take a calming breath. “Please get in the car.” She stands there shaking her head, tears pooling in her eyes.

“You fucking left me!” Oh, here she goes again.

“Dollface, just get in the car.” She stamps her foot and sits there for a moment, contemplating, then lets out a small huff and gets into the car. We sit there quietly while the music plays from the speakers, both lost in our own minds.

“I’m sorry. Okay? I know you don’t want to be around Eli. I just wanted to do something special for you,” I say, as I take her hand in mine. I can feel her gaze turn to me.

“No, I am sorry. That wasn’t fair of me.” I sat there, in complete shock that this woman just admitted she was wrong. I can feel her sneer at me. “Okay, don’t get too happy. I am hardly ever wrong.” I let a small sly smile spread across my face.

“Oh, I am definitely taking this as a win, dollface.” She hits my chest gently then places her hand back in mine.

“It’s fine, I can avoid Eli. Your house is bigger than the White House, so I am sure there are plenty of ways to dodge him for the time being.” She lifts my hand to her lips and kisses my warm skin. We make it back to the house and when we enter the large double glass doors, Eli is standing right in front of us.

“Oh shit, sorry,” he says awkwardly. Of course, this is going to be my luck. I can feel Jenny’s heated glare on the side of my face. If looks could kill right now, Eli and I would cease to exist. She is not going to let this one go.

“I was just leaving. I know you two have plans tonight.” Eli grabs his black leather jacket and moves past us. Turning back around, his glance lands on Jenny, hesitating for a moment then asking, “Is she okay?”

Jenny is fuming. She lets out a tiny, wicked laugh. “Is she okay? What do you mean, Eli? Like has she offed herself, or is fucking anyone new?” I let out a low groan. This is not going to be pretty.

“Come on, Jenny. I care about her, okay?” She lets out a loud humph.

“You care about her? Oh, that’s just rich!” She lets out a loud laugh. “Like how you cared about her after all the vile, disgusting things you said to her?” She questions while raising her brow.

“Or was it the time when you fucking shoved her into the fridge while you were on your way to murder a man who actually gives a fuck about her?” She walked up to him, mere inches from his face, her finger pointing directly at his nose. I stepped in between them, moving her back.

The look on Eli’s face is one of massive pain and regret. As if he is currently reliving the memory in his head. “You have no idea what the fuck you are talking about, Jenny.” He grits teeth, leaning down towards her, fury in his eyes.

“What, Eli? Are you about to snap on me too?” Her words cut like a knife.

“Enough!” I yell, causing them both to jump. “Just fucking stop. Both of you!” Jenny shoots me a look, then storms up the stairs. When I turned back to look at Eli, he was already gone. His bike started up and then peeled out of the driveway.

This night is already turning out to be the worst night of my damn life. Making my way into my bedroom, I see Jenny sitting on the edge of my bed, her head in her hands. I stood there quietly for a moment before shutting the door, causing her to look up at me.

“I’m sorry, Dane. Fuck!” She wipes the tears from her eyes. “I was so mean to him. I am just so angry with him!” She continues to cry and gets off the bed to head towards me. I am leaning up against the door. Bringing her hands up to my chest, I let out a sigh and then wiped her tears away with my thumb.

“Look, dollface, it's fine. He will get over this. Can we just move on from this?” She gently nods her head as I take her into my arms, her small body fitting so perfectly into mine. I lean down and give her a soft kiss on her forehead. “Get ready and meet me downstairs, okay?” I let her go and head out of the room.

Closing the door behind me, I let out a long sigh. I definitely need a strong drink. This woman is everything I want, everything I need, but it will never work if she can’t control her emotions. I know that. I can’t have another Eli on my hands. The thought of her not with me is heart-wrenching.

My stomach drops at the thought of it. I will find out what it is tonight, what makes her so emotional and quick to anger. I need to know before I can let myself fall deeper for her.