Page 9 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER THREE

HAZEL

My chest felt hollow the entire drive back to my house.

Like someone had reached inside and jerked my heart from it, leaving it an ugly, gaping mess that incessantly bled.

I was confused more than anything. I knew a couple years had gone by, but for him to change this drastically?

It didn’t make sense. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with me—like the sight of my face alone had insulted him.

Sighing, I put my car in park and stepped out onto the pavement.

My two-story house loomed before me, the same house Dom had come to on numerous occasions for family dinners.

To play video games with my dad, and to steal kisses on my bed.

My shoulders slumped in defeat. His disgusted snarl flashed through my mind, causing my steps to falter as I navigated my way through the yard.

The last time I saw him, he’d taken my virginity. It didn’t mean anything to him. I was just another notch on his belt.

At least…that’s what I kept trying to convince myself of.

But there was no way he could have faked six years of friendship.

Something was seriously wrong with him, and I needed to find out wh at.

He wasn’t scaring me off that easily. I reached into my purse, grabbing my phone.

I hadn’t bothered texting him all this time, knowing he wouldn’t have access to his phone, but he was out now.

So, unless he got a new one, I still had his number.

Me

Is everything okay? You seem … different.

I waited for a few moments, hoping he’d reply. But he didn’t even read the message. My heart dropped even lower in my stomach. He didn’t want to talk to me, he didn’t want to see me, and he probably didn’t want to text me, either. Even if it was in private.

I trudged up the stairs to my room, tightening my grip around my phone and flung my door open.

It hit the wall with a loud thud, making me wince slightly.

My bed was made up, positioned against the nearest wall with my computer desk in the far, right-hand corner of the room.

Across from me was the window, but none of these things caught my attention.

It was the board hanging on the wall with a variety of pictures that had been taken over the years. Photos of me and Dom.

Closing the door behind me, I crept across the room, stopping in front of the wooden billboard.

The first image to catch my eye was a picture from when we were eleven.

We were at a pizza place on the outskirts of town, Dom and I sharing a booth like we were already the best of friends.

My chest tightened at the memory. That was the day we truly became good friends.

We were laughing, throwing pieces of sausage at one another, making fun of the other customers who walked by.

In the picture, his grin was wide, his eyes light like he didn’t have a care in the world.

My smile matched his. I was having the time of my life.

The next picture was when we were fifteen.

We went camping with our families. I was dressed in a one-piece bathing suit, Dom’s arm wound around my waist. He was shirtless, wearing a pair of swim shorts.

His features had started growing more prominent around this age, his eyes still bright, but his grin had turned into a cocky smirk—one that aired his confidence. This was before his father’s passing.

Heat prickled along my waterline, warning me of the storm brewing within my body.

I didn’t have time to dwell on it, though.

My phone vibrated within my pocket, capturing my attention.

It was probably my mom, telling me that her and Dad were taking a detour.

Pulling it out of my pocket, my heart stuttered within my chest, making my lungs seize up.

Dom

No.

Me

Why? Did something happen?

I was surprised he was even texting me back. I figured he would have told me to go to hell, to tell me that whatever we used to have was null and void.

Dom

Yes. But I’m not going to talk about it. You shouldn’t be texting me.

Me

Are you alone?

Dom

Yes. Are you?

I frowned down at the screen. Why did it matter if I was alone? He was the one acting sketchy. He was the one with weird ass friends.

Me

Yes.

The chat bubble popped up and disappeared a few times, anticipation clawing up my throat and burrowing down deep inside of me all at once. My fingers shook around the device, waiting for a response that I wasn’t sure would come.

Dom

Where are your parents?

Me

I’m not sure. They haven’t made it home yet.

Again, the chat bubble popped up and disappeared, like he couldn’t decide whether or not to send whatever message he was typing out.

Dom

I want you to do something for me, but first, I need you to make me a promise.

Me

Anything.

Dom

Promise me that you’ll delete all these messages. Even the deleted ones. There can be zero trace of this conversation. Don’t save anything to your camera roll. You got me?

Confusion slammed into me full force. Whatever shit he was buried in sounded intense, especially if he had to go to these lengths to delete evidence of our conversations.

But I was desperate. Desperate for even a scrap of his attention.

My fingers started flying across the screen again, my heart hammering against my ribcage.

Me

I promise.

Dom

Good. I want you to get naked and get on your bed. Once you’ve done that, I want you to send me a photo of your tits .

My lips parted in disbelief. He…wanted nudes? I was under the impression he wasn’t interested in me anymore. My head swam with confusion. I’d seen him grinding against Stacy earlier. Why didn’t he just fuck her?

The thought was a bitter one to swallow.

Reluctantly, I drifted over to my bed, setting my phone down on the mattress.

With shaky hands, I tugged my dress over my head, discarding it on the floor before unclasping my bra and wiggling out of that, too.

Next went my shoes and panties. The cool air had my nipples pebbling, but there was also a rush of excitement.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been so compliant after the way he treated me, but a part of me was grateful he was even talking to me at all.

After situating myself on the bed, I snapped the photo and sent it to him.

Dom

Fuck. They’ve gotten bigger. Can I see your pussy?

My breath caught in my throat. Hesitantly, I angled my phone between my legs, attempting to snap a decent photo for him. The first few came out all weird, but after the third try, I managed to get it.

The next time my phone went off, I was greeted with an image.

His hand was wrapped around his hard dick, a bead of precum coating the tip.

The lights were dim, but I could tell by the comforter lying off to the side that he was in his old room—the one at his mom’s house.

My thighs tightened, and my breathing grew deeper.

Dom

Have you fucked anyone else?

Me

No .

I paused, my fingers hovering over the keyboard.

Me

Have you?

Dom

It’s complicated.

My heart tightened painfully again, knowing that was the key word for yes.

I thought that with him going to this correctional camp, he would be surrounded by a bunch of guys.

But if he had the freedom to get all those tattoos, then what else was he allowed to do?

My phone pinged with another text, and I glanced down at it immediately.

Dom

I’m going to Facetime you.

My throat constricted, confusion twisting all my thoughts into a jumbled mess.

His conflicting personality was giving me whiplash.

When my phone vibrated with an incoming call, I accepted, inverting my camera so he could see me.

He had his showing his dick, his hand pumping up and down while his heavy breathing filled the screen.

Heat spread through my stomach; my skin growing way too hot from the sight of him like this.

“Touch yourself for me,” he rasped, his voice coming out low and strained, almost like he was in pain.

Turning my camera back the other way, I let my legs fall open, dropping my hand between my thighs.

If anyone else had asked me to do this, I’d tell them to get bent.

But Dominic was different. Everything about him was different.

My fingers skated over my pussy, dipping between my lips as I pushed them inside.

I was already wet from our messages, so they slipped in with ease.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “I wish I was there right now.”

I licked my lips, swallowing the whimper threatening to escape. There were so many things I wanted to ask him, but didn’t want to shatter this moment. If this was all I could get from him, so be it. The alternative was worse.

“Why aren’t you, then?” I shot back, my voice coming out breathier than intended.

He blew out a ragged breath, his hand tightening around his angry, red cock. “It’s too risky.”

Too risky? What the hell was going on?

“No more questions, H. I just … I just need this. For tonight. Can you do that for me?”

My teeth sank into my lower lip, a current of dread wrapping me in a familiar caress. For tonight. Meaning that this probably wouldn’t happen again. He didn’t need to say the words. He was always careful with the way he spoke—direct. He always told it like it was.

“Okay.” I breathed out, allowing myself to get lost in the pleasure for a moment. His thumb brushed against the head, the muscles in his arm flexing with the movement.

“Spread your legs wider, baby. Let me see.”

Reluctantly, I obeyed. Positioning my phone further down, I opened up for him so he could see my fingers disappearing inside of me.

Juices trickled down them, coating my wrist in the process.

I’d gotten pretty good at touching myself over the last several months, not wanting to have sex with anyone else. I knew no one would ever compare.