Page 14 of Petals of Blue, Part One (Wilted Duet #1)

Nine

BLUE

Iknew if Felix was in town, the others most likely were as well. Hoping they were just visiting for the weekend didn't do much to curb the anxiety I've felt about seeing more of them.

My nerves after my run-in with Felix last night have been buzzing with anticipation. Almost as if my instincts knew before I was ready to admit that everything was about to change.

So, with my day off and nothing to do, I cycled this morning and this evening. Levi wasn't available at the gym, and I needed the vibes of hyped-up women to perk me up a little. He promised to pick me up and take me to get a snack after.

Walking out the doors with a group of empowered women with music following us was exactly what I needed. Knowing Levi is probably walking up as we speak helps me stay positive. Right up until Nichole's identity slaps me across the face.

Wrapped in Jared's muscled arms, Nichole cries in relief. Meanwhile, my soul is fucking bleeding, and tears spring to my eyes.

How could this be? Obviously I knew my high school friend had an older sister who moved away, but what are the damn odds?!

My tears dry right the fuck up as burning hot rage heats my heart. The sadness and longing I felt a moment ago scatters to the wind like ash. In no fucking universe do these self-absorbed pricks deserve anything but anger from me.

Yet, the scared seventeen-year-old still inside of me cries and wraps her arms around herself. How could they leave me? All these years later and I'm still asking the same questions.

A dull thud accompanied by a choked gasp of a name that no longer exists draws my attention.

Declan. Still the pretty boy of the group.

Dark scruff shaped to perfection around his sharp jawline.

Of course he'd have a basic man haircut with his dark brown hair long on top and short on the sides. His thin pink lips are open in shock.

What he does next absolutely fucking baffles me. Declan, my ex partner in crime and first one to betray me, smiles. Fucking smiles!

I'm going to kill him. That thought comes really close to reality when Declan rushes me with his arms wide open.

"Erica, holy shit!" He beams, acting as if he didn't randomly start icing me out in senior year. As if he didn't give me enough scraps of friendship to keep me hooked, only to drop me completely when I moved.

Leave me alone, Erica. Move on.

With the memory of horrible rejection, I retaliate against his unwanted reunion. Since my emotions are roiling at the surface, all my self-defense training flies right out the damn window. My failure to remember everything Levi and Kevin have taught me is something I never could have predicted.

I should knee Declan in the balls, or twist to the side and trip him at the last second, but I don't do any of those things.

His scent of manly aftershave assaults my senses, and his large hands coming closer send me into an angry panic. With my hands wide and my elbows bent, I push him with all my might. I don't account for the fact that Declan is no longer a skinny teenager. He's a solid man.

My miscalculation of Declan's strength and momentum cost me. With my hands splayed on his chest, I stumble back as my left wrist tweaks with a sharp zing of pain.

"Shit!" I cry and yank my hands back to cradle my injured one against my sweaty chest.

"Are you okay?!" Declan sounds panicked and far too close.

Looking up at him while I'm hurt and vulnerable reminds me of the last time he knew I was in a similar position. Hurt and vulnerable. His response was to leave me all alone. How could he?

"Don't touch me," I spit, ignoring the way my throat closes over with so much emotion I feel like I'm going to drown.

Declan frowns and reaches for me. "Erica—"

"She asked you not to fucking touch her, you son of a bitch."

My exhale of pure relief is grounding. Shifting, I rush to Levi's side passing a frozen Jared. I'm so fucking weak.

Declan's demeanor changes the moment he sees me standing next to my sexy married best friend. "Who the fuck are you?" he demands.

Levi clenches his fists. "Who the fuck are you? You always put your hands on women who tell you no?"

"WHAT?!" Jared booms, finally snapping out of his shock I guess, and runs over to stand beside Declan.

Nichole inches between us and them slightly. "Levi, this is Jared, my brother. And Declan, my brother's best friend," she says softly, trying to diffuse the situation.

It's then I realize we're alone; the rest of the class probably has been ushered outside.

Levi doesn't take his eyes off Declan. "I don't care. Blue said no."

"Blue?" Pissed off and perplexed, Declan demands answers. "Erica, what the fuck is going on?"

There's something utterly soul crushing about hearing my name come from Declan's mouth. With Felix, it was easy to snap at him, but with Declan, all I feel is so much hurt I can barely breathe.

"Erica, baby..." Jared murmurs as his hand lifts toward me. "Your hair..."

Just like that, the deep sadness I felt because of Declan, turns into hysteria. A laugh bursts from my throat without warning. How dare he comment on my hair like it fucking offended him?

Old ladies with zero creativity can scoff all they want at my choice of style, but this asshole? He's lost all right to even fucking look at me.

"Get out." My voice is strong and steady. I'm coaxing the broken parts of me back into their safe places. I'll let them out once I'm alone.

Both Jared and Declan frown at my demand. "What?" they question in unison.

"I said, get out."

They don't move except for the twitch of their jaws. These damn idiots still seem lost. I'll spell it out for them then.

Straightening my spine and lifting my chin, I allow my resilience to take over. In a fuzzy haze of trying to keep my heartbreak at bay and zoning out their masculine features, I make it so they won't have any question of where we stand.

"I don't want to see you, hear you, speak to you, let alone touch you ever again. Feel free to pass the message to the other two as well. If you're here to stay, I'll find a different studio, because unlike some people, I wouldn't be so heartless as to keep you away from family."

Nichole gasps, and my heart thumps an extra sad beat. "Blue, you don't have to—"

"I do," I cut her off. "He's your brother, but I will not associate myself and V with their brand of cruelty."

"Now wait a fucking second!" Declan snaps, pointing a finger at me like I'm a damn child.

Levi's quick to shut that shit down. "Don't fucking point at her."

To Nichole, I tell her in words she might understand. "I won't subject myself or Violet to the men who left me alone with my aunt."

Tears fill Nichole's eyes, and her hand flies to her mouth. Rounding on Jared, she stares at him as if he's a stranger. "That was you?"

I'm stingy with information and tend to avoid offering details. Names were never provided. She would never have known because there's a dark part of me I refuse to share with everyone.

Nichole and I didn't realize our connection until I saw her run into her brother’s arms. Watching her put the pieces of my trauma together and realizing the turning point in my life could have been much better if her brother and his friends had been there for me is upsetting.

I don't want to hurt my friend, and that's not my intention. I need her to let me go. Nichole is a spitfire and will do everything she can to keep me coming back here. I hope now she might cut me some slack.

Pressure on my bicep brings me one step closer to breaking. Levi leans down and catches my eye. "You okay? You zoned out."

I nod, but my eyes tell him no. He understands me immediately—I need to leave.

"Nichole, we're leaving. Don't let those two follow us out." With that, Levi wraps an arm around my waist and guides me to the door.

Jared and Declan protest, but they sound muffled behind the anguish building in my body.

I'm about to break, please just don't let it be in front of them.

"Violet's calling me," Levi says as we approach the glass door. I don't realize what he's doing until he answers it on speakerphone.

My girl's twinkly voice comes through the speakers, loudly. "Are you with Mama?"

"Yeah, kiddo. She's right here," Levi answers, then hands the phone to me so he can open the studio door and keep an arm around me.

I follow him outside, unaware of the chaos we're leaving in our wake.