I loved my friend. I really, truly did. But damn, she loved the sound of her own voice.
By the time we’d pulled up in front of Scott's house, I'd totally pushed aside all the crap on my plate and was focused on having a nice night out with friends.
Emphasis on the friends part.
"Hey gorgeous," Scott greeted me as he slid into Bree's backseat. He'd been waiting outside for us when we pulled up, and I got the feeling he deliberately didn't want us meeting his brother. "And Bree. Hey, Bree, babe."
Bree snorted and rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the curb. "Nice afterthought, Scottie. How's your first week at SGU gone? Bet it's been interesting, seeing as you're fake-dating the most talked-about girl on campus."
Scott sat back in the middle seat and grinned. "Who says we're fake-dating?" he replied, shooting me a wink, and I barely suppressed a frustrated eye roll.
"I do," I replied, keeping my voice hard.
He gave me an easy smile back, unruffled by my rejection. "I know, Maddie. I was just teasing. So, what movie are we seeing, again?"
The rest of the drive to Rainybanks, we chatted about movies and actors. I'd insisted we go to the next town over in an attempt to avoid running into anyone we knew or sparking up any gang drama between the Reapers, Wraiths, and... whatever the fuck Archer and his boys were involved in.
Dallas was already waiting for us at the burger bar we'd chosen for dinner and greeted both Bree and I with huge hugs. Okay, a bit more than a hug for Bree. But generally, they were careful not to flaunt their couple-ness around me, which I secretly appreciated. Not that I had a problem with them being together, but no one liked being a third wheel when their friends got hooked up. Especially while experiencing some serious heartbreak.
Overall, things went pretty well, though. Scott and Dallas got along great, and it really did feel like just four friends hanging out. After burgers, we all headed over to the theater and grabbed tickets to the latest action movie. I hesitated a moment before agreeing to that genre, but when the other options were annoyingly cheese rom-coms or family movies? No brainer.
It wasn't until about halfway through the movie that everything went to shit.
Then it just got steadily worse from there.
So much for a relaxing night out with friends.
7
As I removed Scott's hand from my leg for about the eighth time, I lost my temper. Bree and Dallas were all snuggled up in the dark while we watched the movie, and apparently Scott was taking that as a sign to try and push the fake-dating angle a bit harder.
I wasn't in the fucking mood.
Grabbing my bag from the ground, I stood to leave, and he grabbed my wrist to stop me.
"Where are you going?" he asked me in a whisper, looking confused.
I stared back at him a moment before deciding that he really had no idea why I was leaving. He genuinely didn't understand that I wasn't interested and no amount of flirting and casual touches was going to change that fact.
"Bathroom," I lied, giving him a tight smile. "Back soon." Because the middle of a theater while a movie was on simply wasn't the place for an argument with Scott.
Tugging my wrist free of his grip I hurried out without sparing my friends another glance. Bree and Dallas probably hadn't even noticed me leave, considering they were locked in a heated make-out session. So much for toning down the couple-ness. Maybe that was only when the lights were on.
Stepping onto the sidewalk, I took a deep breath of cool night air and blew it out in a long, exhausted sigh. Being friends with Scott was supposed to be a break from all the overbearing-asshole drama that Archer, Kody, and Steele brought me. He was supposed to be a change of scenery. Instead, he was just making things harder. More complicated.
I didn't need that shit in my life.
"Maddie," Scott called out, making me flinch as I spun around to face him. Of course, he’d followed me, even though I'd said I was going to the bathroom. What the fuck, dude?
"Scott," I replied, feeling the weight of the damn world on my shoulders. "You followed me."
"Of course I did," he snapped with a deep frown creasing his brow. "You were acting all weird, and I got worried. Bree said you shouldn't be alone, too."
I didn't even try to hide my eye roll. Fuck’s sake. Bree and I were going to have some serious words on what was acceptable friend behavior.
"Maddie, what's going on?" Scott pushed. "You seem really tense. I thought we were having a fun night... Weren't we?"
I arched a brow. Yep, evidently we were going to deal with this right here on the sidewalk. Fuck it. Rip the Band-Aid off. "Uh, yeah, we were. Until you forgot the fact that we're not actually dating and kept trying to push things further under the cover of darkness in there. What the fuck is going on, Scott? I have made it so freaking clear. We're not dating. I'm not interested in you like that."
He took a step back like I'd just physically struck him. I instantly felt like an overreacting shithead.
"Wow, Maddie," he said after a moment, blinking like he was in shock. "I don't even know what to say. I wasn't trying anything... I just thought... I don't know. You give me these mixed signals..." He trailed off with an uncomfortable shrug, but it just sparked my anger.
Fuck that gaslighting bullshit. I'd been clear from the get-go.
"What part of me removing your hand from my leg is confusing, Scott? What about that tells you that I want you to try again? I'm not playing some hard-to-get bullshit here, dude. I just don't want to fuck you. Okay?" I felt the stab of my own words and knew they were cutting him deeper. But fucking hell, man. Get a damn clue.
Anger flashed across his face. I geared up for a fight, but it was gone again in a second with a sheepish expression replacing it. "I'm sorry, Maddie. Really. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Can we stay friends? I really like hanging out with you and Bree, and I don't want my stupid crush to have ruined our friendship."
I raked my fingers through my hair, blowing out a breath and letting my irritation subside somewhat. Maybe I was overreacting a bit. Everything going on with my stalker, the guys, my marriage... it had me way on edge, and I was snapping at dumb shit.
"Yeah, all good, Scott," I said with a weak smile. "Just friends, okay? I'm not interested in getting involved with anyone right now."
He nodded quickly. "Totally understand. I'm sorry I kept pushing things; I really value your friendship, Maddie."
It was a bit much, but Scott was an intense kind of guy.
"Get down!" someone shouted just a split second before a hard body barrelled into me and tackled me to the pavement. The crack of a gunshot rang out as my hip hit the hard concrete and a sharp pain shot through it. I tensed in preparation for my head to hit as well, but it didn't happen. Whoever had dived into me rolled, protecting my skull from what would surely have been a nasty bump.
I had no time to react as screams rang out and reality sunk in. Someone had just shot at me.
Strong arms banded around me as the person who'd just saved my ass started to pick me up, and I struggled violently. How the fuck did I know if this wasn't another kidnapping attempt?