Page 18 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

The air conditioning didn’t help matters. My eyes watered and my vision blurred. I was beginning to understand why Mom was so strict on sleep schedules when I was younger.

Stifling my yawn, I settled back in my seat, right as the warning bell rang, echoing throughout the building.

Mr. Cullen closed his laptop and rose, tugging his blazer around his torso. He was dressed for business—nothing like how the other teachers around here clothed themselves. Last year, I had a teacher who wore hoodies and sweatpants to class.

Right as he reached the front of the room, the door opened again, drawing everyone’s attention toward the newcomers.

My heart stuttered in my chest when my eyes locked with steel gray ones.

They were as cold as usual, but this time, there was a hint of surprise in them—like he hadn’t expected to see me so soon.

My gaze drifted to the person behind him, and a sense of calm washed over me.

Rodney and I might not have been close, but at least he was a friendly face.

Mr. Cullen cleared his throat, arching a dark brown eyebrow as he assessed the two boys that had stumbled in late.

A grin stretched across Rodney’s face, and he shouldered his way past Dominic. “Sorry I’m late. I got lost.”

Our teacher grunted in response but waved a dismissive hand in their direction before tearing his gaze away and returned his attention to the class.

My heart thudded against my chest cavity violently, my eyes pinned on Dom. A current of anticipation bubbled up inside of me. Used to, he’d choose a seat near me. Anytime we had a class together, we ended up seated side by side.

Dominic’s eyes lingered on me momentarily before he jerked his gaze away and stalked across the room. A lump formed in my throat as I watched him go, confusion and pain slashing through me with ferocity.

Why was he acting this way?

We’d left on good terms—no— great terms. He promised he’d come back for me, that I had nothing to worry about.

Before I could dwell on that much longer, Rodney slipped into the desk beside me and shot me one of his boyish grins, instantly lightening my mood. He was cute, with dark brown hair, green eyes, and had a slight tan going on.

“Hey. We have a class together,” I told him, stating the obvious with a small smile gracing my lips.

He rolled his eyes playfully and leaned toward me. “Which you would’ve known, had you not run away like a bat out of Hell earlier.”

I snorted a laugh. “I didn’t run away.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, sweet Hazel. ”

Nervous energy prickled along my spine at the new nickname. Was he … flirting with me?

Mr. Cullen’s voice cut through my thoughts, bringing them to an abrupt halt. He was going over the syllabus for the semester and telling us what the requirements were for the year. It was the same shit they spewed every year. Monotonous and repetitive.

As he droned on and on, my thoughts began to take over again, drowning him out. My conversation with Tory at the diner bulldozed to the forefront of my mind.

Move on.

Make him jealous.

Show him what he’s missing.

I couldn’t possibly do any of those things, though …

right? It was wrong. Dominic was clearly in a dark place.

He needed me now more than ever, even if he wouldn’t admit it.

I refused to believe that everything we shared was gone just like that.

He had to feel something for me. He told me he loved me for fuck’s sake.

If he loved me, why was he still doing everything in his power to keep me at a distance? Did I do something?

I blew out a breath and flicked my gaze toward the ceiling. If I sat around, replaying the same questions over and over again, I was going to drive myself crazy.

The first thing I did when arriving home was flop face-first onto my bed, allowing the mattress to seep into my body. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me, pulling another yawn from my throat.

School had been uneventful. Dom hung out with his little group during lunch and barely spared me a glance through most of the day.

Tory and Rodney hung out with me, though, so that kept me somewhat distracted.

Rodney was funny, which was a nice reprieve from the dark thoughts racing through my mind.

I groaned and rolled over, settling my gaze on the mundane ceiling.

Loneliness seeped into my body, crippling me.

I used to wonder what it would be like to have a sibling—someone to share everything with.

But then I befriended Dominic, and suddenly, that didn’t matter as much.

There was never a dull moment when he was around.

After he left, it felt like my heart had been ripped from my body, and he was the only one who could fix it.

That was why I’d waited for him, because I knew he’d be back.

He didn’t wait for you.

My chest tightened with a painful constriction, heat building behind my eyes.

I needed to talk to him—to find out why he was giving me the cold shoulder and to get to the bottom of this.

He told me not to contact him again, and I wanted to honor that wish, especially since he’d blocked me by now, leaving me no other alternative.

He couldn’t hide from me forever. He owed me an explanation. I’d give him one more day or two before seeking him out and demanding answers. Dom was probably still settling in, and I could at least give him that.

Fuck. Even after all this time, and after the way he treated me, I couldn’t get him out of my head. Was I really that pathetic?

Another yawn tore its way free, causing my eyes to water. I blinked away the wetness and rolled onto my side so that I was staring at the wall instead. Memories prickled along the forefront of my mind, and even though I tried pushing them away, one managed to slip through.

“Your hair looks pretty like this,” Dominic said, tugging at one of my chestnut-colored strands and rolling it between his fingers.

I’d opted to wear it naturally—the length brushing against my upper arms. It fell flat with minimal volume, and I couldn’t understand why he preferred it this way. As much as I enjoyed the compliment, I swatted his hand and smoothed it back out.

“Why?” I frowned. “It’s boring like this.”

Dominic rolled his eyes in that playful way he always did and stepped forward, eliminating the distance between us.

My heart galloped into my throat as his body heat rolled off him and onto me.

“Nothing about you is boring, Hazel Montgomery.” His gray eyes sparkled with something I couldn’t quite place, but it was gone before I could even try.

“You’re just saying that to be nice.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but before he could get the words out, a shadow fell over us, halting further conversation.

Stacy scowled at me before turning her attention to Dominic, plastering on a flirty smile. “Hey, Dom.” Her voice dripped with seduction, something I’d never be able to master in this lifetime.

“Hi,” he replied curtly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.

“Lauren wants to know why you haven’t returned any of her calls.” She motioned to the group of girls standing on the opposite end of the hall near the lockers. “You two seemed to be getting on well at the party. I figured it would last longer than a one-night stand.”

Dominic tensed at the same time bile rose to the back of my throat. I had to remind myself that he was only my friend—nothing more. Unfortunately, it didn’t hurt any less.

“If I didn’t contact her, there’s a reason for that,” he snapped, his voice much colder than I think I’d ever heard it.

Licking my lips, I took a step back. “I’m going to head to class.” I didn’t want to be in the middle of… whatever this was. I didn’t want to hear about how he fucked Lauren DeMello, or how hot and heavy they’d been in public.

I turned on my heels, ready to book it out of there.

Dominic cursed under his breath and as I started to step away, Stacy put her foot out. My eyes widened, panic searing through me, but there was no way to stop it as my foot connected with hers. The air whooshed around me, the ground barreling forward during my descent.

Stacy’s loud cackle resounded through the hallway, and soon, others were joining in.

Heat spread through my cheeks, slithering toward my eyes, and I had to bite back the urge to cry. The floor was cold and hard beneath me, my knee having ricocheted off the tile.

Dominic knelt beside me, grabbing my biceps, and tugged me to my feet like I weighed nothing.

His eyes had darkened, and his jaw ticked with restrained fury.

He whirled on Stacy, cutting her off mid-laughter as he shoved her against the lockers, forcing them to rattle.

Her brown eyes widened in surprise—the humor long gone.

“You ever fuck with her like that again, and I’ll make sure it’s the last time you fuck with anyone.

” His voice was hard and cold, combined with a dark edge that sent shivers down my spine.

“You can relay the message to your brainless minions.” He jerked his chin toward the girls at the end of the hall for emphasis.

“Hazel is off-fucking-limits.” He shoved her again before turning to face me.

Before I could get a word out, or even process what had just happened, he was wrapping his hand around my upper arm and tugging me down the hall.

The memory faded out of existence and my breathing came out ragged.

He’d always protected me when he saw someone picking on me, but it had never been to that extent.

I should have known right then that something was wrong with him.

I should have tried being there for him more, just as he’d always done for me.

Maybe things would be different. Maybe he never would have had to leave, and maybe, none of this would be happening.

Did I fail him?