Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
I press a hand to my throat, trying to catch my breath.
I don’t know what the hell just happened.
All I know is it took my feet out from beneath me.
The air from my lungs.
Mykel just effectively crushed me, without even trying.
He fucking broke me.
15
WAVERLY
I rub at my throat for hours after my little encounter with Mykel. I try to figure out what happened. Over and over, I try to understand how we went from getting along to that. What did I do that made him so damned angry? What did I say? I have missed something; I just don’t know what it is. The pain in my chest is bigger than I could have imagined, feeling like it runs to my very soul.
It hurt.
What he did tonight hurt.
What he said tonight hurt.
He went out of his way to cause me pain—I just don’t understand why.
I get home and it’s late, so late I feel like I’m going to pass out from exhaustion. Yet again, today was horrible and caused me more trauma than I’ve prepared myself for. I think about those girls. I think about the plan. I think about everything that could go wrong. It’s going to blow up, and I’m scared of being in the firing line. I’m scared of the people I love being in the firing line.
I don’t expect Mykel to come home, yet I find myself waiting for him anyway. I want to know what happened. I need to know why he lost it so badly. I also need to get the hell out of this house because I can’t live here anymore. I know it’s the safest place for me, but Alarick doesn’t understand that slowly, it’s eating away at my heart.
I need to be anywhere else.
I’m sitting at the kitchen counter when the front door opens. I turn, surprised to see Mykel coming inside the house. He’s drunk—I can tell the moment his eyes meet mine. I also know this because behind him is a woman, a gorgeous woman. Not the woman he was with tonight. This one looks a little more classy, like he’s picked her up from a bar, not the club. She’s wearing a tight dress, she’s blonde, and she’s so damned pretty my heart plummets into my chest.
Is he purposefully trying to hurt me?
“I’ll be up in a minute,” he murmurs, and the woman takes herself up to his room.
I guess this isn’t her first time here.
When she’s gone, Mykel looks at me, and our eyes stay locked together for long, intense moments.
“Are you going to talk to me?” I ask, my voice low.
“Nothin’ to talk about,” he tells me, walking in and throwing his phone down on the counter.
I can smell the whiskey on him, and it only makes me hurt that little bit more.
“What happened tonight?” I push, because I’m done with him not speaking to me, done with him not sharing things. He’s got a problem with me? Fine. He needs to say why.
“You lost it—that’s what fuckin’ happened.”
“I lost it?” I laugh, bitterly. “You can’t be serious? You had me by the throat.”
His eyes dart towards me, and they’re wild. “I didn’t hurt you, Waverly.”
He’s right.
He didn’t.
But still.
“What changed?” I demand, crossing my arms. “What changed from this morning to tonight?”
His jaw ticks, and I know I’m right—something is annoying him and I want to know what it is. “Nothin’ fuckin’ changed.”
“Oh, for god’s sake!” I snap, slamming my hand on the counter. “If you’re going to be pissed at me, at least man up and tell me what the fuck your problem is.”
Those are the wrong words.
I know it the moment they come out of my mouth.
Mykel slams his hand down onto the counter now too and leans in close, barking, “You wanna know what’s fuckin’ wrong? You. You’re what’s wrong. You’re a goddamned sneaky bitch and you thought I wouldn’t fuckin’ find out.”
What is he talking about?
“You’re going to need to be a little more clear than that . . .” I seethe.
“You broke into my room, went through my things, broke into my locked room and took a fuckin’ photo of my wall. Then you had the fuckin’ nerve to let me show it to you, and act like you gave a fuck. You’re a goddamned liar.”
Oh, shit.
How the hell does he know I went into that room?
“Mykel . . .”
“I don’t trust you,” he barks. “And I don’t fuckin’ want you here.”
That hurts.
Goddammit, that hurts.
“You haven’t wanted me here all along. You’re just looking for a reason to make me go,” I yell. “You’ve never liked me, Mykel, you’re just finding reason now because you had none before!”
“I was lettin’ you in . . .”
“And one slip up is all it took to ruin that,” I scream. “I should have known better than to ever let myself trust you. I’m just a fill-in, a time waster. I’m just the girl you’re using because you’re hung up on someone else! I’m so fucking stupid.”