Page 21 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER NINE

HAZEL

The next few days dragged on in the most agonizing and painful of ways. He was everywhere I looked, in everything I smelled, everything I heard. How pathetic was it that he infiltrated my mind twenty-four seven, when I didn’t even seem to exist to him?

I’d kept my internal promise, regardless of how much it pained me to do so.

But I was on the brink of caving, even if it made me look pathetic in his eyes.

Something was wrong. Surely, he couldn’t hate me that much after simply going away to that boot camp.

Had they done something to him? I’d read a few articles online about boot camps abusing their residents.

The thought had my stomach dropping. Dominic was troubled, but he never deserved to be mistreated. His father had passed shortly before he was forced to leave—anyone would act out at that age. I knew I would.

When I slipped into my first class of the day, Tory immediately turned around to face me. Her eyes were wide and frantic as she leaned in, not even giving me the chance to adjust to the hard chair pressing against the back of my thighs .

“Have you heard?” she whispered. Her voice was so low that the chatter filling the room nearly drowned it out.

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Heard what?” I glanced around the room, noticing for the first time that the students surrounding me didn’t exude the same excited energy they normally did. Instead, they spoke in serious tones—some of them even crying.

Tory wrapped her fingers around my wrist, causing me to snap my gaze back to hers. “Stacy McIntyre is missing.”

Shock punched through my chest with a ferocity I’d never encountered before.

“M-missing?” I stammered, attempting to get my brain to work properly.

Stacy had been my friend in middle school before the popularity went to her head.

I’d be lying if I said I’d never wished something bad would happen to her, but those words had been spoken out of anger and hurt—they were never real .

“Yeah. Her parents haven’t heard from her in like seven days.”

“That’s awful,” I muttered. “Hopefully she’s okay…”

Mrs. Felps strode to the front of the room, that strong aura she exuded, permeating the air around her. “Quiet down, now,” she instructed, her voice carrying throughout the classroom.

Tory turned toward the front, her blonde hair swooshing behind her shoulders.

Despite my dislike of Stacy, I couldn’t help but worry. She wasn’t the type of person to run away. She was too materialistic for that, not to mention, it was her last year of school.

“I understand that we’ve just received some tragic news within the community,” she explained. “Unfortunately, life doesn’t stop for anyone, and as such, we also have to continue to live our lives.”

Murmurs erupted throughout the room, followed by louder sobbing from a few girls near the far-side of the class.

They weren’t in Stacy’s inner circle, and I’d never seen them hangout with her.

Maybe they were just upset because … I didn’t know why they we re so upset—maybe the same reason my stomach was twisted into a series of knots.

Dragging my gaze to my left, my eyes fell on Mason.

His chin rested in the palm of his hand as he stared off into space.

He looked bored . He’d always been somewhat of a wildcard—the pariah.

His reputation preceded him. It was in the callous smirk he gave, and in the way he could change expressions at the drop of a hat. There was something … off about him.

“Silence!” Mrs. Felps demanded louder this time. It took longer for the class to quiet than before, but once everyone obeyed, she blew out an exasperated breath. “There will be no more talk of Stacy in my class—not until the police find out what happened to her. Is that understood?”

A guy near the wall, someone I recognized instantly, rose.

His amber eyes were glossed over with unshed tears as he glared our English teacher down.

He was Stacy’s on-again, off-again boyfriend.

They started dating freshman year, but they never lasted more than three months at a time before they broke up, only to start dating again.

He was also a dick, but at least he genuinely seemed to care about his missing … situationship?

“Fuck. You,” he ground out. “You heartless bitch.”

Shocked gasps rippled throughout the class, filling the room with even more tension than before. Tory turned to glance at me over her shoulder with raised brows.

“Oh, shut up, Russel,” someone else retorted. “Didn’t you just cheat on her a few weeks ago?”

How had our class turned into a soap opera?

Mrs. Felps was practically vibrating with anger. Her jaw thrummed violently where she clenched her teeth, and her gaze remained locked on the boy who had disrespected her. “Go to the office,” she ordered slowly, her voice straining while she attempted to maintain her composure.

Russel didn’t need to be told twice. He gathered his things, storming through the room, and shoved through the exit. The door slammed shut behind him, which I was positive was intentional.

After his departure, the class seemed to settle down some, but the tension was still heavy and thick in the air. I’d never been more eager to escape class than I was right now.

As soon as the bell rang, I was one of the first out of my seat.

My head was consumed by an assortment of thoughts, none of which offered any mercy.

Just as I rounded the corner, my mind set on the bathroom at the end of the hall, I ran into something hard. The breath escaped my lungs as I stumbled back, but two strong hands latched onto my biceps to help steady me.

Steel gray eyes seared through my very soul, knocking the breath from my lungs for entirely different reasons.

“Dominic,” I whispered.

He said nothing, but also didn’t release me. The world faded out of existence all around me, my heart thumping to a deadly tune as we just stood there.

Voices echoed throughout the halls, blurring in the background—my gaze never wavering from his.

He still looked like the same Dominic … up close, anyway.

He still smelled the same as he always had.

He was more grown now and had more tattoos.

There was a dangerous edge to him that hadn’t been there before.

But underneath it all, he was still there.

Turmoil swam within his gray eyes, revealing all of the pain and agony lurking beneath the surface.

If this wasn’t a cry for help, then I didn’t know what one was.

He needed me. This proved that, even if he didn’t explicitly say anything. It was the look in his eyes, the hard set of his jaw, and the knit between his onyx brows.

As if coming to his senses, his eyes hardened. He released me so quickly that it caused me to stumble from the sudden lack of support. My heart crumpled into my stomach from the loss of contact. Why was he fighting this? Why was he fighting me ?

“Watch where you’re going.” He snarled, moving to step around me.

Confusion tore through my limbs as I watched him go, turning as he did. His shoulders were drawn tight, and his steps were purposeful.

He owed me an explanation. He didn’t just get to come back to Greenbriar and treat me like shit—like I never fucking mattered. Screw that. A surge of anger ignited through my body, heating me up from the inside out.

“What the hell is your problem?” I demanded, not bothering to hide the edge of rage lacing throughout my tone.

He froze, his hands curling into fists at his sides. For a few moments, he didn’t so much as turn around—just stood there. He was giving me whiplash. He didn’t get to demand things from me one minute and then treat me like shit the next.

Slowly, he turned. “You didn’t strike me as the desperate type, Hazel.” He tsked mockingly.

The words were another stab to my chest. Was that truly how he perceived me? Desperate . My only consolation was that the hallway was empty. I wasn’t sure I could handle any more humiliation.

There was a part of me that wanted to help him.

Despite all the cruel things he said and did, he was still my best friend—my first and only love.

But there was also a part of me that knew I deserved better than this.

Whatever he was going through, he was intentionally pushing me away and hurting me in the process.

“And you didn’t strike me as a piece of shit. Guess we’re both surprised.”

I didn’t bother to look for any kind reaction from him. He made himself loud and clear. Instead, I turned on my heels and hurried into the bathroom located at the end of the hall. The bell rang moments later, echoing throughout the building, but I couldn’t find it in me to care.

My stomach twisted painfully as the nausea worsened. Originally, I’d needed a breather after English class went to shit, but now … there were two things weighing heavily on me.

I braced my hands on the bathroom sink, allowing my chestnut-colored hair to trickle over my shoulders and brush along the fine polish of the counter. I focused on that, refusing to meet my reflection in the mirror. I knew I wouldn’t like what I saw.

Desperate.

I love you, but don’t contact me again.

Gray eyes.

Jet-black hair.

Beautiful pale skin.

First kiss.

First everything.

I’d given Dominic every part of me, and in return … it had never meant a thing, not to him. I was just another desperate girl, pining for his attention.

He used to call Stacy desperate—said he hated it when girls made themselves too obvious.

Had I been looking at the situation wrong this entire time? What if he didn’t need protecting? What if he truly meant the words he spewed?

That can’t be it.

There was too much history there for it to have never meant anything. My shoulders dropped in defeat. That didn’t mean he hadn’t changed his mind about me, though. Maybe he really did want nothing to do with me.