Total pages in book: 52
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49388 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 247(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Get the fuck out,” he grits through clenched teeth.
His body is vibrating with barely contained rage. I know he won’t strike me, but there’s every chance he’ll punch the wall we’re standing beside. As much as this man has hurt me, I can’t bear to see him in pain. That’s how fucking pathetic I am when it comes to Tarian Calvert.
Shaking my head, I turn and make my way to the front door. I hear his soft footsteps following behind me, and I’m sure he’s going to stop me, but the moment I’m over the threshold, he slams the door shut behind me without another word.
I can’t stop the tears falling. There have been so many times over the years when I’ve thought about what it would be like to be with Tarian. I’ve seen the other girls come and go, so I know he can be heartless, but even though we’ve only just started being intimate, I thought he would have treasured our connection more than this.
I’ve been wary of starting a relationship with Tarian. A part of me, deep inside, knew he’d hurt me, but the moment his lips touched mine, I no longer cared. He is broken, lost, and angry, but when we were together last night, something inside him shifted. The ever-present rage turned to unadulterated lust, pure and feral, and then for a brief moment, it calmed, and a gentler more affectionate Tarian was revealed.
But now the rage is back, full force.
As I step outside, I see the car we arrived in waiting for me. I slip into the rear bench seat, and as the vehicle heads down the driveway, I say a silent, final goodbye to the man who’s been the subject of all my secret fantasies for so many years.
Since I was fifteen, I knew he was the one boy who could crush me. Not because he knew how I felt, and not even because I thought he felt the same, but because Tarian Calvert stole my teenage heart, and he’s never given it back. And even though he’s left it in tatters, he still holds the pieces.
I know I can never go back to Tarian. I won’t allow him to hurt me ever again. It will take time for me to get over him, but I can do it. I’m far stronger than he thinks.
Tynewood doesn’t seem to have changed since I left.
I can’t help but feel nostalgia for the last few months I’ve spent in the sun with Tarian. It was a welcome escape, and one that was needed after all that had happened at home.
Maybe I should book a flight to some exotic destination and run away again, but this time I won’t come back. I know there’s no chance for me and Tarian. Not after what he’s done. He didn’t cheat, but he still managed to break my heart by believing Thane’s lies. He never once considered I might be telling the truth.
We’ve been friends for years, yet he chose to take the word of a man who’s hurt him repeatedly. A cold shiver races down my spine when I think of Thane.
The vibration of my cell phone startles me, and when I see Tarian’s name on the screen, I ignore the call.
The taxi pulls up to the front entrance of the mansion I grew up in. Being home feels both strange and welcome.
Once inside, I find the house empty as usual. I make my way up to my bedroom and shut the door behind me. The silence hangs heavily over me, reminding me I’m totally alone. The months spent in sunshine will soon be a distant memory, and now I’m done with Tarian, or rather, he’s done with me, I’m not sure what to do with myself.
Flopping onto the bed, I lie back against the pillow and try to rest. But each time I close my eyes, a pair of blue ones haunt me. It’s a cruel reminder of what I’ve lost. I should never have allowed us to take the next step and have sex, because it’s fucked up a friendship that has been holding me together for years.
Tears burn my eyes, and I swipe at them in frustration. I’ve always known there would come a time when my friendship with Tarian would be too painful to bear and I’d have to leave. Over the years, I’ve prepared myself for the possibility that one day he could fall for one of his random hookups. The thought of him loving someone else has always tormented me, but this is worse. The fact we were intimate makes the heartbreak so much harder to bear than I ever imagined.
I’m not sure why Tarian would ever think that I’d be interested in Thane. But the fact he believed his uncle over me breaks my heart.