“It’s not about him. It’s the fact that he’s going to tell my parents what we were doing. It wasn’t vanilla crap either! We were covered in blood, and you were fucking me like an animal,” I say, folding my arms across my chest and rubbing up and down frantically as my panic starts to set in. “Oh my God, they are going to think we were doing something satanic.”
Ledger grabs my arms and pulls me in for a gentle hug. No words are spoken for several minutes while he holds me close to him, allowing my tears to fall onto his bare chest. I revel in the comfort of his skin against my cheek until his embrace grounds me enough to stop my tears. “So what, sweet girl? We weren’t doing anything wrong. You have no reason to be afraid of them,” he says, breaking the silence.
I snap at his inability to understand my concerns and pull back in his arms to look up at him. “So what? So they are myparents!”
“And who gives a fuck?” he says, raising his voice to match mine.
“How can you not possibly understand why this would bother me? They are going to befurious!”
“Because you don’t like confrontation? Guess what, baby, sometimes we have to grow up and deal with uncomfortable things.”
I try to pull away at that comment, but he won’t let me go. “No, you asshole, because they will take everything away from me.They’ll make me go back home.”
Ledger’s grip on my arms tightens. “Sloane Olivia Johnson. How many times will I have to tell you thatnobodywillevertake you away? I will give you the entire world on a silver platter, Angel. Nobody will take anything away from you, and nobody will take you away from me.”
I look into Ledger's eyes as tears are welling up again in my own. “They’re myparents. They’ve been there my entire life. And…and I’ve onlyknownyou for what, four months?”
At that, he finally lets go of me and steps back, fisting his hands at his sides. I reach for him, but he takes another step back. The tears are rolling down my face now, and I see one fall from his eye as well.
“Ledger…”
“Best thing to ever happen to you? Isn’t that what you said earlier?” He interrupts.
Before I can say anything else, he storms away, slipping on his shoes at the entrance before grabbing his keys and walking out. I stand frozen as the door slams behind him, and his car revs up.
It’s not until Allie rushes out of her room that I break, falling to the floor in a puddle of tears. “Oh God, Sloane, honey? Come here.” She sits behind me and scoops me into her arms as she rocks us both back and forth on the floor.
“I…I…told him. And he…he left…and…I ruined everything,” I say between sobs.
Allie continues to rock me back and forth. “Shhh, I know. I heard everything from my room. It’s going to be okay, sweetheart. He loves you. You haven’t lost him. He’s just hurt right now. Shhh. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
We both skip our classes for the day, and she continues to try to soothe me, but it doesn't work. Eventually, the tears stop, but what’s left in their place is a numbness I’ve never feltbefore. I go from the couch to Allie’s room to my room, just trying to find some semblance of peace, but none ever comes.
I just want to go home.
Chapter twenty-nine
I’m sitting in my office, staring at my favorite picture of Sloane, when I hear a knock on the door.
I’ve been living in this office the past week, only leaving to train for the championship fight tomorrow night. The first night I left Sloane’s apartment,the night after she broke my heart,I didn’t get any sleep. I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown.
“Come in.”
“Hey, Boss,” Jack says, closing the door as he walks in.
Flashbacks of all the debauchery the two of us have gotten into over the years start running through my mind. “Jack, how many times am I going to have to tell you to stop calling me that? I’ve known you my entire life.”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t make you any less my boss.”
“Touché, asshole.”
“Are you ready for your big fight tomorrow?” he asks as he sits on the couch.
Am Iready for the fight tomorrow? This guy is legit. Like all my opponents, I use my skills to find out everything about them, and whatever unhinged tendencies I thought I had pale in comparison to this guy. Not that he doesn't have his weaknesses.
“He won’t be a shoo-in like they usually are, but I’ve been training like a madman. If I play my cards right, I should be able to take him. He’s solid, but he doesn’t have discipline. The problem with that is he’s even crazier than me. Reminds me a lot of myself ten years ago. Which is how I know that if I can get in his head, I’ll have the advantage.”
“Well, you know I’m going to be there if there’s a chance someone will finally beat your ass.” Jack shifts his body to lie sideways, propping on the arm of the couch with his legs sprawled out along the length of it.
