Time gets away from us, and before I know it, it’s close to one in the morning. We’re still heavily studying, but in between chapters, we find ourselves laughing at each other’s lame jokes and making small talk about our lives. I share minimal details, trying to stay away from the still bleeding wounds of Gabriel. Evan tries to pry about Violet and our psychology professor, but I keep to the basics of what was printed in the local paper. He lets it go but tries to be sly and asks me about a boyfriend. I keep my breathing steady when I tell him I don’t have time for one, hoping this time he gets my hint.
“Fine, fine… Hey, you look like you’re on empty. I’ll be right back.” Evan excuses himself to fill our drinks for the third time. I should probably decline. I’m a bit drunk, and this is not the best environment for me to be in while intoxicated. It takes him a bit longer to return, so I grab my phone to jump on social media and keep myself busy. That’s when I notice the three missed calls, all from Gabriel.
My heart races. My nerves are like a tight rubber band snapping as I contemplate calling him back. Why is he calling me? Why now? He hasn’t left a voicemail, and it kills me needing to know why he’s calling. Don’t do it, Hazel. He’s just going to suck you into his web of sweet lies.
Evan returns, and I toss my phone in my backpack. Forgetting my own warning signs about overdrinking, I accept his hefty pour of booze, tip my head back, and down the entire cup.
“Whoa there, cowboy.”
I wipe the excess alcohol off my lips. “Sorry, I was just…” What am I doing? I need to get out of here. “You know what, it’s been a long night, and my head is at its limit with physics equations. Maybe we should call it a night—”
“No way! We just got started. Plus, everyone in the living room is deep into a study session. It doesn’t look like Violet is anywhere near ready to go.” His comment throws me off. I know Violet takes school seriously, but considering the time, she’s probably just as concerned about getting home and not pissing off my dad for being out too late.
“Yeah, well…maybe I should just go check on her and touch base. It’s late, and we have a full day of classes tomorrow.” Standing up, I sway on my feet. My hand immediately clutches the bed so I don’t fall into the nightstand.
“Hey, be careful. You okay there?”
My eyesight starts to blur. “Yeah, shit. That last drink must have put me over the edge.” My vision goes in and out. “Man, sorry. I think I just need to…” What the hell?
“Hey, why don’t you just sit down for a second. Let me get you some water.” I allow him to guide me back onto his bed, as if I have a choice, and rest my heavy head, needing the room to stop spinning. I close my eyes, and everything goes black.
Gabriel
I’m on the verge of exploding. Destroying everything and everyone in my path. Why does she have to be so goddamn childish? So naive? So fucking gullible to think this would end up anyway but bad?
I need to fucking see her. I need her to realize she’s mine. If we came out, she no longer would be.
I demand control in all aspects of my life. It’s how I stay on top of my career and my sex life. The second she stepped into my world, she ruined that. She broke down my steel walls and invaded a part of me I didn’t know existed.
She loves me. She doesn’t know what she’s saying. She should never love a man like me.
I pace my house having turned down a night at Exquisite, consuming more scotch than needed. She’s destroying my grip on control, and that angers the fuck out of me. She chose to walk out. This is her decision. But here I am, blowing up her phone, needing to hear her voice, demanding she understands my side of this tragic ending.
Heath and I met on the first day of college. Two arrogant fucks who didn’t give a shit about anything but becoming the best while getting laid as much as possible. We drank like fish and went through women like kids go through candy. We were the same from the start—even when we both decided to get our acts together. We may have been playboys, but we were smart, driven, go-fucking-getters.
Together, we each created a plan knowing the second we got out of college, we would start building our empire. I was quicker off the starting line, making my first million off a land deal, but he was right behind me. Deal after deal, company after company, we each climbed the corporate ladder until we found ourselves at the top. Business became second nature to us, and we stopped counting the dollar signs. There were just too many to count. We had so much damn money, it was sick. But through it all, we remained trustworthy to one another. And in this business, you only need one person you trust.
I hated his wife, Rebecca, right off the bat. She was a lying, cheating cunt, and I saw through all her bullshit. I was more than glad Heath threw her ass to the curb. She was a horrible wife and an even worse mother to Hazel. I always wondered what would’ve come of Hazel if she’d had two present parents. Probably wouldn’t have fallen for a bastard like myself.
Heath did the best he could, but no matter his attempt to put Hazel first, work always took precedence.
There was no hiding her sadness. She tried hard to pretend she was this perky little kid, unfazed by the abuse from her mother and absence of her father. But damn, as she got older, the more resilient she actually became. She grew up to be the most beautiful, talented, strong-willed woman.
“Fuck,” I growl, taking my crystal glass and whipping it at the fireplace. What the hell have I done? I know I can’t let her go, but my friendship with Heath means too much.
I’ve never failed at anything. But right now, I feel trapped with no win in sight. And her avoiding me has created this monster that’s ready to slay anyone who gets in the way of putting her back in her cage. Because she’s fucking mine. I can’t stop myself as I dial her number a fourth time. It rings three times, and I clench my fists, expecting it to go to voicemail again. Then the line connects.
“Hello?” A male voice has me pulling away to stare at my phone. I must’ve dialed the wrong number. When I see Hazel’s name across my screen, I freeze, my blood chilling at the mere thought of her being…
“S’up? Hello? You there?”
I don’t say anything. I can’t trust myself to. I listen for Hazel’s voice but hear nothing but this motherfucker’s deep breathing.
“Dude, bro, why do you keep calling? She obviously doesn’t want to talk to you. Kind of fucked up. You should really get the hint. Don’t worry, I got her. I’ll take real good care of her.”
Before I can threaten him, he hangs up on me.
Hazel
I stir in bed while it feels like boulders smash inside my head. Opening my eyes, I move to rub my temples and freeze. The view around me is wrong. “What the—?” I shoot up to a sitting position, dizziness almost knocking me back down.
“Hey, morning. Thought you were going to sleep the day away.” My eyes lock on Evan dressed in a pair of sweats and a school football shirt. I scan the room. Why? How?
“What do you mean? Did I sleep here?” Oh god, why am I in his room? I fight back a wave of nausea, my hands grazing down my body. Thank God. I’m still in my own clothes.