So very, very wrong.
The second I met Alexandria at her locker, Lars and Hunter showed up, and I watched stunned as Lars threw her over his shoulder and kidnapped her. When I finally managed to get my bearings, Talon had come around the corner and dragged me into an empty janitor closet.
Struggling didn’t work, but the second I heard the door lock, Talon let go of me and I was able to take a step back and face him.
He. Looked. Incensed.
“Now, would you like to repeat what you told me earlier, White?” he asked darkly; his voice low and lethal.
I did my best to be brave, but it was hard. Talon was intimidating, and I was no longer fuming with outrage. I’d lost my fire somewhere in the nurse’s station. “If you’re going to talk to me like I’m a whore, well…then, I might as well make the most of the reputation you’re giving me,” I replied anyway.
“Well, in my defense, what do you call a girl who lets you fuck her up against a tree, without the benefit of protection, but refuses your calls and texts all weekend long?” he rasped out. “If it walks like a duck, talks like a-”
“You’re such an insecure asshole, you know that?” I threw at him. “You sneer at my earrings not knowing they were a gift from mybrother. You comment on my wardrobe not knowing I have to wear these clothes until they become threadbare. You talk about myboyfriendnot knowing that he dumped me over a year ago because I couldn’t get over the death of my brother fast enough for his liking. You make fun of my polite upbringing not knowing that I was raised by the cooks and housekeepers because my parents are self-absorbed assholes. You laugh at my…atmenot knowing that my parents lost everything and dropped me off on Alexandria’s doorstep because they didn’t want to deal with me.” Tears were falling by this point, but I didn’t care.
Fuck Talon Draven.
“You taunt how I’m trying to hold myself together because I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now that I can’t afford college and I’m a legal adult living off Alexandria’s parents.”
“Kenz-”
“No!” I snapped. “Fuck you, Talon. Fuck you for making me some sick game you feel you need to play when my life has fallen apart and I have no direction, but you’re demanding all my attention.”
“Kenzlee-”
“Well, you got my attention Friday night,” I said, not letting him stop me from saying what I needed to say to him. “You got it. You got me to spread my legs for you when the only other boy I’ve ever been with I could at least say I was in love with. So, congratulations, Talon. You got me to open my legs and let you fuck me up against a tree like a true slut. And because it was all too much, too fast, and I needed some time to…refocus, you remind me of what I really represent to you.”
Talon stepped towards me, but I grabbed the nearest object on the shelves and threw it at him. “Fuck, Kenzlee!”
“Stay away from me, Talon!” I screamed, beyond the point of embarrassment. So what, if someone could hear us outside? We weren’t going to be able to live down that goddamn video from this morning, anyway. “Stay away from me,” I repeated. “This…thing between us? It’s nothing. It’ll go away. It’ll die a nice, quiet death as soon as we start fucking other peo-”
This time Talon didn’t care about flying objects. He was on me before I could finish my sentence. “Stop it,” he hissed as he bore down on me. “Just fucking stop it, White.”
I couldn’t stop the sneer on my face. “The truth hurt?”
“If you’re looking for an apology, you’re not going to get it,” he replied. “I’ve never made it a secret how I feel about you. What did you think ignoring me all weekend was going to do to me?”
“I didn’t think it’d turn you into an insensitive asshole and treat me like a whore!”
“I’m not the one who screamed out what we did Friday night for everyone to hear!” he roared. “No one would have ever known had you not lost your shit!”
“Ilost my shit?!”Was he for real??“I’m not the one who accused you of slumming it!”
Talon took a step back, and pinching the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath. I could empathize with his actions. This shitstorm was a mess.
Wewere a mess.
When he was done praying, or doing whatever the hell he was doing, he looked back at me and said, “I’m very aware of the fact that we’re fucking this thing up something fierce, but I’m not letting you walk away from me Kenzlee. I already had plans of never letting you go, but after Friday night, you’re not fucking going anywhere.”
“What about my boyfriend,” I flung at him snidely because I wasn’t ready to face whatever this argument was. “And I’m sure your bank account hasn’t changed any since this morning.”
Talon’s eyes narrowed as he said, “The only reason I haven’t strangled the life out of you yet, White, is because I know I can’t live without you.” My knees buckled, and I cursed myself for wanting to believe him.
Weak.
“What did Lars and Hunter do with Alexandria?” I asked.
He cocked his head at my change of subject, but answered anyway, “She’s safe. I just…needed her out of the way.”
