Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
How life could change with a few words.
A few seconds.
A few moments in time that would forever change the course of your life...
Breakin’ my heart into a million pieces.
Exactly. Like. Hers.
When she bit, “It was all Jackson’s idea.”
<>Jackson<>
I woke up in the middle of the night to Harley slamming my bedroom door open.
A metal bat in her hand.
Shooting straight up, I instantly questioned, “Baby girl, what’s wrong?”
“Did you know?!” she raged with fury I’d never seen before. “Is it true?!”
I shook my head, not understanding. “What are you talking about?”
“Was it your idea?”
I stood up, walking toward her. Unable to take one step, when she put the bat out in front of her, abruptly stopping me dead my tracks.
Surrendering my hands in the air, I ordered, “Gremlin, put the bat down and talk to me.”
“Fuck you!” She slammed the bat against the wall, sending drywall crashing everywhere.
“Jesus Christ, the fuck is happening?!”
“You know! Just tell me the truth! We can have secrets, Jackson, but not lies! And you’re nothin’ but a fuckin’ liar!”
“You’re not making any sense! Calm the fuck down!”
Aiming the bat toward my trophies, she sneered, “You have ten seconds to tell me the truth, or I will destroy what means the most to you.”
“You mean the most to me.”
“Bullshit!”
“Harley, I don’t understand.”
One word.
Two syllables.
Made my world come to an end, when she simply stated, “Shiloh.”
I jerked back, the wind knocked out of me. “How do you know about that?”
Her eyes watered, shaking her head. “’Cuz you just fuckin’ told me.”
“Harley, it’s not what you think.”
“Did you come up with the bet? Was it your idea that has completely destroyed her?”
“Baby girl—”
“Don’t fuckin’ call me that! You can never call me that again!” she shouted, doing what she just threatened. Sending all my trophies to the ground. It didn’t hurt nearly as much as watching my girl break down in front of me.
“We were kids, Harley.”
“That’s your excuse? Do you have any idea what this has done to her? She slept with him tonight, Jackson! Only to be humiliated seconds after they were done, by your fuckin’ friends! Your fuckin’ teammates! Men that you call your family just ruined mine!”
“I didn’t know. I had nothing to do with that.”
“You’re the reason it started!”
“For fuck’s sake, we were kids,” I repeated. “I never thought they’d even happen, but even so, he loves her. He’s fuckin’ devoted to her. You know that as much as I do. Shiloh knows that. She was never a bet to him.”
“How can she ever believe that?! I sat with my best friend while she bawled her eyes out for hours in my arms, until she passed out from exhaustion. She’s never going to be the same after this. You did this to her! Nobody but you!”
“I did it for you!”
It was her turn to jerk back, baffled. “For me?”
“Yes. For you. I wanted to be closer to you. And I knew if Shiloh gave Trigger a chance, we’d have to be near each other ’cuz of them.”
“Oh my God. You ruined my cousin, ’cuz of me.”
“No.”
“Yes! This is all my fault.”
“Harley, please don’t say that.”
“How could you do this to her? She’s your family too. Who are you? I don’t know you at all, do I?”
“That’s fuckin’ bullshit. You’re the only one who knows me.”
“You lied to me. You fuckin’ lied to me, Jackson.”
“Gremlin, I would never lie to you. I fucked up when we were kids. I’m sorry.”
“Shiloh is payin’ the price. My cousin’s dyin’ inside.”
“Trigger loves her more than anything in this world. He’ll make it up to her.”
“How?! She’s humiliated. They walked in on them, Jackson! How would you feel if they did that to us?”
“I’d fuckin’ kill them.”
“Exactly!”
“Harley, we’re not Trigger and Shiloh. Let them work it out for themselves.”
“She’s my cousin. My best friend. I’d do anything for my family, you of all people know that. I can’t let this go. She’d never forgive me. I’d never forgive myself.”
“Please ... don’t do this ... don’t fuckin’ do this to us...”
“I don’t trust you. I can’t trust you again. You fuck it up every time!”
“Gremlin ... please...”
“I hate you, Jackson Pierce. Do you hear me? I fuckin’ hate you.”
“You don’t mean that. You’re just mad at me.”
“I hate you for destroying us! You did this. Not me.” With that, she turned around.
In two long, determined strides, I grabbed her arm and didn’t see it coming. She hadn’t done it in years.
Kneeing me right in the balls.
My body fell to the floor, groaning in pain. Instantly seeing spots.
“Don’t fuckin’ follow me,” she rumbled, throwing the bat down next to me.
“Harley, don’t do this.”
She didn’t look back, leaving me there.
Helpless.
Hurting.
Feeling like a fuckin’ failure.
For the first time, I watched her walk away from me in what felt like forever.
Except, this time...
She took my heart with her.