Liam takes my hand and tries to tug me away, but I jerk from him, feeling all the emotions that I buried. All the anger, the love, the hurt boil to the top, and I grip the bracelet around Laura’s wrist, tearing at it viciously, hearing her scream and seeing red bloom on her skin as I rip it off her.
“This isn’t yours!” My eyes lock to Grey’s. “This isn’t hers!”
She stumbles back, scared, but I’m still staring into his eyes. She can have every piece but this one. Not this. Grey beelines for me, but I hold my ground. Liam steps in front of him, laying a forceful hand on Grey’s chest to stop him, but Grey hurls Liam off, shoving him a few feet away and coming to tower over me.
All his hate mixes with mine as I hold up the bracelet to him. I don’t have to say anything. Neither does he. His hands find the sides of my face, lips crashing down onto mine, kissing me viciously, mixing with my tears that have fallen. He pulls back but only enough to whisper his words into my body.
“I wish I could hate you. I want to hate you… Donovan…. don’t leave with him.”
I push his hands from me, looking into his deep chocolate eyes. “I would rather have my heart broken by him than ever be loved by you.”
Grey
MY SHOULDER’S SNATCHED AWAY, AS I’m ripped from her tearstained face, to meet Liam’s fierce scowl. His hands are dug into my blazer, tugging my chest up as he holds it in fistfuls, making us sway and jerk. He snarls and breathes so hard that it comes out like growls, gritting his teeth, threats spoken through them.
“You’re pathetic. You don’t deserve to be the one.”
“Neither do you,” I laugh, stumbling around my drunk feet, taunting him.
Fuck you. You aren’t a brother.
The first crack on my jaw is deserved but not enough. So as the second one lands, I close my eyes and take it. I want it. I want him to beat the hell right out of me because I deserve it after what I’ve done. A drop of blood for every tear. That’s fair. The taste of blood fills my mouth, and I know he’s split my lip, but before he gets in another shot, school security swarms us and drags his protesting body back. I’m pulled into the melee before we’re broken apart, and I’m pushed back toward the tables.
“Fuck you, Grey,” he yells, pointing his finger at me. “Why would you do this to all of us?”
I laugh, loudly, wiping the back of hand over my mouth, feeling the wetness drag over my hand. He has no right to be angry—he stole the only thing I’ve ever cared about. So he can go fuck himself. My hands lift like I’m conducting a symphony as he hurls put-downs and curses. It’s all music to my ears. His pain, knowing he didn’t protect her, seeing how much of her belongs to me. I want him to remember that. Liam wraps his arm across her stomach, with his back to me, but she stays facing forward, giving me those stormy eyes that see all the way to my soul as he whispers down to her.
I drop my arms, spitting the blood in my mouth to the floor as her eyes glisten with sadness. She’s pulled, taking slow steps backward, further away from me. Don’t leave with him, Donovan. Liam urges her to turn around, and with one last look at me, she does.
“Grey. We need to go.”
I look down at Caroline, who’s pulling on my jacket, but push her away.
“Why? I’m hungry. I’m staying.”
She grips my lapel with her small hand and glares at me. “You drunk fool. People got that on camera. Are you trying to load Evan’s gun for him? One misstep and he gets them to rescind the declarations in your mother’s will. What the fuck were you thinking, Grey?”
I jerk away from her, turning and walking through the room to the main doors, finally noticing all the phones. Shit. I wasn’t thinking. I was drunk on hatred. My palms push the heavy cafeteria door, heaving it open and leaving it to close on Caroline as I breeze through the doorway, heading to the front of the school so I can get the hell out of here.
“Grey!” Caroline snaps, following me into the hall breathily from running to keep up. “Will you stop for a minute.”
I spin around after the demand, making her eyes pop open and halting her in place.
“I was thinking about her,” I growl, taking a step closer but stopping. “That’s what I was fucking thinking about. Fuck the company. Evan can have it. Fuck everything.”
Her brows furrow as she approaches me slowly. I can see her thoughts as she tries piecing me back together like a broken puzzle. “Grey. You just need to sleep this off. You aren’t thinking clearly.”
Her hand reaches for my bicep, but I take a step back, looking down with disgust at her gesture. Reaching into my inside breast pocket of my blazer, I pull out my flask. “No. I don’t need to sleep this off.” Shaking it next to my ear, the slosh tells me there’s more, so I flip the top and take a swig, hissing a breath between my teeth. “There isn’t enough sleep. Unless I’m not waking up.” I hold it out, offering some to Caroline’s cold expression. She doesn’t like that answer. “You should be happy—this is what you wanted, Caroline.”
“No, Grey. You were supposed to make her jealous, but this—” She waves her hand at me. “—this is you going off the deep end.”
My shoulders jump as I laugh. “I told you not to speak about shit you don’t know. This is what love looks like when it isn’t returned, sister. That should feel familiar.”
Her eyes narrow as I turn back around and head for the doors again. She’s on my heels as I walk outside and stalk toward my car.
“You aren’t driving, Grey.” Like you could stop me.
She yells words at my back, but I’ve tuned her out. She won’t stop me. She should stop trying. I reach for the handle of my Porsche, but Kai’s hand smacks down on the window, holding the door in place.
“Whoa, Grey. What’s up?”
All the muscles in my jaw work over before I shift my face to his. “Get the fuck out of my way, Kai. I have shit to do.”
“Do not let him leave. He’s acting like a maniac,” Caroline bitches behind me.
Kai blinks, his face dropping, before something that looks like guilt takes over.
“Oh shit, Grey. Donovan told you.” His hand leaves the door as he steps back, but I don’t move. He knows about her and Liam?
Kai rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. “Damn. Listen, I took care of it though. Seriously, I thought I was going to kill Paul—” What the fuck is he talking about?
“Paul…last night?” The words fall out less like a question and more like I’m agreeing.
“Yeah, when he pushed himself on Donovan, I saw red. But she was a badass. Such a brawler. Scratched his face and all. I’m just sorry I let him get to her in the first place.”
Paul touched her. He pushed himself on her.
My neck feels like it’s on fire as my pulse thrums through my veins. All my senses zoom into focus, adrenaline hurtling through me as intense and violent rage take over. My fist comes down hard on the top of my car, buckling the removable metal hardtop.
Kai holds up a hand to try and calm me, but I’ve found a channel. Carved out a path for everything that has my body burning with hate and anger. I grit my teeth, stepping into Kai’s space, face-to-face.