She tries to nod, but her shoulders shudder from the sobs wracking through her.
We’re destroying each other. This has to stop.
Slowly lifting my hand, I brush the tips of my fingers over the redness on her neck. “Do you need some time, or can we talk?”
She pulls back from my touch and not looking up at me, she shakes her head. “Not tonight.”
With a sinking feeling, I watch her walk away from me. I still can’t believe that just happened. I wish Jase was here to beat the shit out of me.
JADE
My world’s been tilted on its head. I don’t know if I’m coming or going.
I’ve showered and crawled under my covers, but I’m still so shaken up from what happened. Never in a million years did I think Hunter would hurt me.
Not physically.
His handprints have already started to fade away, but the shock is still rippling through me. There was so much anger in the kiss. For a moment, I was terrified of him.
My bedroom door opens, and I freeze, scared that it might be Hunter.
“I’m going to kill Jase one of these days,” Mila complains. Leaving the light off, she crawls under the covers and lets out a huff. “All his flirting is driving me insane. By the way, you forgot your purse at the club. I brought it home for you.”
She drops the bag on top of me.
Needing to take my mind of the incident between Hunter and me, I ask, “Yeah? What did he do?” Opening the purse, I take my phone out and feeling for my charger in the dark, I plug the device in.
“He practically dry-humped my ass on the dance floor.”
A small smile tugs at my lips as I get comfortable again. “Shame, Mila. You should give him a chance.”
She lets out a disgruntled huff. “Not in a million years.”
“Why?” I ask, snuggling closer to her. Having her here is a soothing balm for me.
“He’s a player, and the second I give in, he’ll head for the door, and it will be the end of our friendship.”
Even though I disagree, I keep it to myself because it’s Mila’s choice to make. No matter how much I love Jase, I’ll never force my friend to do something she doesn’t want to.
“Will you sleep here tonight?” I ask, not wanting her to leave.
She turns onto her side. “What happened after you left the club with Hunter? I can’t believe he punched that guy. It was insane.”
I swallow hard and shake my head. “I don’t want to talk about it tonight.” I snuggle closer to her and wrap my arm around her waist. “Can you just hug me?”
She wraps me up in a tight hug and presses my face into the crook of her neck. “You can talk to me when you’re ready.”
We lie in silence, both our minds filled with our problems until sleep finally catches up to us.
When I wake up, I reach out to the bedside table and taking hold of my phone, I squint at it to see what the time is. Seeing I have a message from Hunter, I dart upright and quickly unlock my phone.
Hunter: I’m disgusted with myself. I never wanted to hurt you. I hope you can forgive me. Please listen to the song because it says everything I want to tell you. Always here. Hunter.
There’s a link to Spotify, and I click on it.
Don’t Give Up On Me by Andy Grammar begins to play, and it makes my emotions burst in my chest. My eyes start to burn, but I blink the tears away, not wanting to miss a second of the song’s video.
As much as last night hurt, there’s nothing to forgive. Hunter was bound to explode after everything I’ve put him through.
“I love that song,” Mila mumbles from next to me. “We need to watch Five Feet Apart again.” She peeks up at me then grins sleepily. “We can take a sick day and stay in bed, watching movies and eating junk food.”
“That sounds perfect,” I say, smiling at her.
She darts out of bed and rushes to the door. “I’m going to get snacks before you change your mind. Sign in to Netflix.”
I let out a chuckle, then turn my attention back to my phone.
I scroll through all my playlists, looking for the perfect song to send back to Hunter. Finding one that can speak for how I feel, I share Surrender, the J Breeze cover with Hunter.
I understand, and there’s nothing to forgive. Take all the time you need, and then we can talk things out between us. Never giving up. Jade.
I set my phone down and go to brush my teeth. When my eyes fall on my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I check for any marks. When there are none, I let out a sigh of relief.
I’m going to spend today with Mila and just work through my own emotions before having to face Hunter.
Chapter 15
JADE
I was sure that I could handle seeing Hunter, but the moment I opened my bedroom door and heard his voice from the living room, I slammed the thing shut again.
Yeah, I’m far from ready. I feel anxious, and truth be told, even a little shy, which is an odd emotion. I’ve never felt self-conscious around any of my friends before.
Yeah, you’ve also never stripped to your underwear in front of the guys before.
I pull an awkward face and glance around my room, hoping another way out would magically appear.
Damn, I can’t miss another day of lectures.
Sucking it up, I press my lips together and open the door again. I keep my eyes on the floor and quickly walk down the hallway, doing my best to not just make a run for the front door.
“She’s alive,” Jase hollers. “Mila says you watched movies yesterday.”
“Yeah, we had an impromptu Netflix day. See ya later,” I ramble and rush out of the suite. I quickly jog to the elevator. When I hear the front door open behind me, I make a mad dash for the stairs, not wanting to be caught while waiting for the elevator doors to open.
When I burst through the doors of the dorm, I let out a breath of relief.
I stop by the restaurant and get a cup of coffee from the barista before I head over to my first class.
As the lecture starts, I force myself to pay attention. I take down notes, and when the professor ends the session, I check my schedule to make sure I have ethics next.
I pack up my stuff and file out of the auditorium with the other students, bumping shoulders with the next class already arriving. Making my way down the hallway, I hear Jase’s laughter, and my head snaps up, only for my eyes to connect with Hunter’s.
“Shit.” I begin to back paddle and swinging around, I say, “I… forgot something.” I hightail it back to the economics class and fall into the first open seat I can find.
The professor’s eyes scan over the students, and I slide down, using my hand to cover my face just in case he recognizes me from the previous lecture.
The group must be third years because I have no freaking clue what the professor is talking about, but my butt remains glued to the seat.
Good one, Jade. Now you’re behind in ethics as well.
HUNTER
Jade’s avoiding me.
It fucking sucks that she runs away at the sight of me, but I can’t blame her.
It’s been a long day, and I can’t say that I remember anything from my classes.
“This day sucks ass,” I grumble to Jase as we walk into the suite.