Page 3 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER ONE

HAZEL

His room was exactly as I remembered it.

Still messy as hell, only this time, it brought me a comfort I’d never expected.

The large bed he owned sat against the furthest wall with his blankets sloppily strewn over it.

Cardboard boxes and empty bottles littered the floor along with unknown stains that had ruined the brown carpet.

Heat slithered behind my eyes, the emotions welling up inside of me.

I hadn’t been here in over two years, too afraid to face the downpour of my self-loathing.

It was the same reason I avoided the tree house—our spot.

Dominic had been my anchor. The person I always turned to no matter what.

When his dad died, he spiraled. Started drinking, smoking, and hanging out with the assholes at our school.

Seemingly overnight, he went from the preppy athletic kid with the bright smile to one of the bad boys most people chose to stay clear of.

Despite his drastic change, he didn’t abandon me.

Well—not completely. He needed time to grieve of course.

But then…he got into some legal trouble and ended up going to some kind of corrections camp for teenage boys.

Today, he was coming home .

After he left, my life was in shambles. I couldn’t tell you how many times my mom had to pick me up off the floor and cradle me while tears ran down my face, or how many times Alice had to drag me out of the house, so I didn’t wallow in self-pity all day.

Peeling my gaze from the bed, I dragged my attention to his desk where his untouched computer sat. On the back of his chair was one of the many hoodies he owned, his scent wafting from it even now.

The door creaked from behind me, letting me know I wasn’t alone anymore. Inhaling a deep breath, I cast one last glance around the room before turning to face the intruder.

“I knew I’d find you in here,” Alice said softly, plastering on a gentle smile.

She looked so much like her brother, that at times, it was just another punch to the gut.

Her short, black hair barely brushed past her shoulders and her eyes were blue instead of gray.

They had the same light complexion, which was a huge contrast to my tanned tone.

“I just wanted to…” I trailed off, unsure of how to finish that sentence. Why had I come in here and invaded his privacy like this?

Alice nodded. “I know.” Her expression was judgment-free, instead placed with a sadness that I could relate to. She lost him too when he was sent away. “Did he ever write to you?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

When he first left, he wrote to me once a week. Then, once a month. Eventually, the letters stopped altogether. I tried my hardest to keep in contact, begging him to just talk to me, even if it was about nothing. But he never did, so I stopped trying.

“Not in a long time.”

She released a sigh and nodded again. “Same.” Clearing her throat, she wiped at the unshed tears she refused to let fall and forced another smile. “We should probably head downstairs. He’ll be home any minute.”

I followed her out into the hallway, making sure to close the door behind me so that he wouldn’t know someone had been in there. At one point, it wouldn’t have mattered. He’d never been a secretive person, but I hadn’t seen him in so long, I wasn’t sure how he’d react.

When we got to the end of the stairs, the place was bustling with chatter and movement. The smell of baked goods drifted through the atmosphere, along with my dad’s famous brisket. Our families were sure going all out on his welcome home party.

Alice clutched my hand in hers, giving mine a reassuring squeeze as we navigated through the crowd of people standing around and moving about.

A banner was hung above the entrance to the massive kitchen with the words “Welcome home Dominic” in bold lettering.

My heart fluttered within my chest as the reality of this situation started feeling even more real.

The boy I had loved for the last seven years was coming home today.

It felt surreal, like this was some kind of lucid dream I’d be forced to wake up from and he’d still be gone.

If it weren’t for Alice’s hand in mine, I might have stumbled or ran into someone. A weight was settling over me, the room a blur as my thoughts consumed me.

“Hazel!” A feminine voice called out and before I could even comprehend what direction the person had summoned me from, I was being pulled into a pair of two soft arms, the familiar smell of her lilac perfume burning my nostrils. My hand slipped from Alice’s, and I limply hugged the woman back.

Katrina had become a second mother to me over the years, always checking in on me and making sure I was okay while Dominic was gone, even though she was missing him too.

He was her son, and she had still worried about me when it wasn’t her place and when she didn’t have to. I owed this woman so much.

Pulling away, she rested her hands on either one of my arms as she stepped back to assess me with her light blue eyes. Crinkles formed around the corners of her mouth when she smiled. “You slipped past me, dear. I didn’t even know you were here yet.”

My chest tightened with guilt. I avoided her a lot over the last two years, because every time I saw her, I was reminded of him . It wasn’t her fault that I’d been trapped in my own personal hell. But like her daughter, she made sure to see me even when I made no effort.

“I haven’t been here long,” I explained, plastering on a small smile of my own.

She dropped her arms from around me, her smile never faltering. “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. Clay is almost here.”

Clay was Dom’s uncle. They were getting pretty close before he went to that stupid camp—which was good. He needed someone to have his back, and he acted as a stand-in for Dom’s father, which I believe provided a good distraction for him—something to help him through his grief.

“Clay?” I repeated, furrowing my eyebrows.

Katrina nodded. “He went to pick up Dom. I’m sure he’ll be so excited to see you after so long.

” She beamed. I knew she was referring to her son because I’d only met Clay once, despite him living in town all these years, and being my best friend’s uncle.

From what Dominic had told me about him, Jason, his father, and Clay weren’t very close anymore before his passing, but he didn’t understand why.

I hoped Katrina was right. I’d imagined this moment probably a thousand different times, hoping that when we were finally reunited, we could actually be together like we’d talked about. Kat gave my arm a motherly squeeze before nodding at her daughter in acknowledgment.

“I’m going to finish making my rounds. Dominic’s friends are here if you want to say hi.” She didn’t wait for me to process that before sauntering off toward the kitchen .

Dominic’s friends .

The assholes who roped him into doing bad shit and got him in trouble. Resentment pooled in my stomach, the foreign feeling leaving a bitter taste in my mouth.

I glanced around the room until my gaze landed on those so-called friends of his.

They were all huddled against the furthest wall.

Mason, Nicholas, and Vincent. They stuck out, clearly not belonging here.

Their dark leather attire was a stark contrast to the way everyone else dressed, and it just made me dislike them even more.

Because that’s the way Dom started dressing shortly before he’d gotten in trouble with the law.

Shoplifting and paraphernalia.

The boy who never had to want for anything was caught stealing. What sense did that make?

Mason caught my eye, his lips curling into a malicious smirk that sent chills careening down my spine. It wasn’t the kind of smirk that had my heart rate increasing and my palms growing clammy. No. It was pure, fucking evil.

Tearing my attention from him out of fear of doing something stupid, I directed it toward the door, as soon as it creaked open. A startled gasp slipped past my lips as I watched the doorknob turn and the door open wider.

Clay was the first to walk in, his dark, graying hair kept short and slicked back.

He was attractive for an older man. Hell, all the people in this family were gorgeous.

Clay was dressed in a leather jacket of his own, an emblem of a rose with a snake wrapped around it on his chest, and a bigger image of it on his back.

The same one that Dom’s friends had on theirs.

The same one he had started wearing himself.

What did it mean?

The breath rushed from my lungs when he walked in wearing a tight, white shirt that hugged the curves of his muscular frame and a pair of black jeans.

His gray eyes drifted around the room, but he was quickly cut off from my sight when people started crowding around him.

The noise in the room grew, everyone quick to welcome him home while I was rooted to the spot.

He looked so different.

“Are you going to go see him?” Alice asked from beside me, her head tilted in curiosity.

Even my own parents were amongst the people surrounding him. Through a gap between people as they moved, I saw my dad pull him into a bear hug and pat his back affectionately while my mom kissed him on the cheek.

“Maybe later.” I decided. It didn’t feel right to approach him when his family hadn’t seen him either and needed time with him. I’d catch him after everyone else had their chance.

A look of confusion settled over Alice’s face, but she nodded in acceptance rather than questioning my reasons. Alice made her way across the room, shoving between people until she reached her brother.

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched the interaction. He seemed to ignore everyone else around them upon seeing her, his arms extending and tugging her tightly against his chest. As he hugged her, his shirt tightened around his biceps, revealing part of a red and black tattoo.