Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
He’d been trying to see her every single chance he had. For now, he wasn’t allowed in the club, and when his father returned home, he wouldn’t even talk to him. Ian and Riley were experiencing the same level of abandonment, and they only had themselves to blame. He’d fucked up big time, and he’d ended up taking his friends with him, which he didn’t like.
Lily wouldn’t even look at him.
Chloe hadn’t returned to school.
The bad shit on her locker had, and each day, he cleaned it for her, and if he found whoever did it, he would beat the shit out of them, boy or girl. He’d get one of the club whores to handle the girls, or something. He’d not figured out everything yet, but he would, he had no doubt.
“Come on. I know you’re there.”
Her locker had been cleaned out earlier today. He’d seen the principal taking all of her stuff, and he’d heard through the rumor mill she wasn’t ever coming back to school.
A week without seeing her.
It was killing him.
“I’m not going to leave. You can call the cops and I’ll be back once they remove me. Please, Chloe, shit, this wasn’t supposed to be this way.”
The door opened. “Then what was it supposed to be like?”
She looked a mess. Her eyes were bright red, skin pale. She looked sick.
“Chloe.”
She held her hand up, making him stop. “No. You don’t get to come near me. I want nothing to do with you.”
“Please, let me try and make it up to you. Let me try to explain, it wasn’t how it went down.”
“It wasn’t how it went down? Are you freaking kidding me right now? Okay, hotshot, tell me how it was supposed to go down? Were you and Ian going to take turns while Riley held the camera? What was going to happen? Not only do I sleep with you, it’s exactly what you intended.” She slapped her hand to her forehead. “I even knew you were lying. The moment you started to show any kind of interest, I knew it, and what’s worse, I still went along with it. I started to think I was going crazy, that it was clearly all in my head, but it wasn’t, was it? You wanted to hurt me. To bring me down a peg or maybe drag me to the floor kicking and screaming. That’s what you wanted.”
“It was in the beginning, but it changed. I changed.”
“Really? You’re going to start telling me how you saw the error of your ways.”
“It started to feel real, Chloe. You, me, this, us.”
“There is no us.”
“I didn’t film us. That night and every single night since then with you has been amazing, incredible. I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“But you did,” she said.
He saw the tears, and it broke him apart.
“Chloe, I can fix this.”
“You can’t. I can’t go to school. Everyone saw that tape, and I don’t trust you.”
“I didn’t do it.”
“But someone did. Someone you don’t know got the proof.” She pressed her lips together.
“Don’t cry, Chloe, please don’t cry.”
“I … I didn’t trust you. I didn’t think there was a single nice bone in your body.” She took a deep breath. “But I started to see something amazing in you. Something that thrilled me, and made everything exciting. I truly started to believe you.”
“Don’t give up on me. I’m begging you. I can make this work.”
“You can? You can stop people moaning or pointing. Laughing. I went to the grocery store today, and I got all that. I never ever thought of myself as better than you, or any of you.” She was sobbing. “If you want to know the truth, all I ever wanted was to be able to fit in, to be part of you and your group. You all treated me as if I was an extension of my dad, but you’re not even a friend because someone who cares, who loves you, wouldn’t be looking for ways to bring you down. I’m finishing my schooling, and then I’m out of here.”
“Chloe.”
“If you care at all for me, you will leave me alone. You will go and let me live my life. You won, Alfie. Take the win and leave me the fuck alone.” She slammed the door closed, and he heard the lock click.
“I love you, Chloe. No matter where you go or what happens, I will always love you, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.” He rested his head on the door, wishing he could think of the right words to say, or something that would make her see sense.
“You need to leave,” Lily said.
He turned to see her in the driveway. She looked just as pale and sad. “My dad had nothing to do with this, Lily, I swear. He told me not to bully Chloe, and I stopped. I stopped … doing everything. I promise you, I love her, and I want to do whatever it takes to make it right. You don’t have to call the wedding off or the engagement, or anything.”