Then he was there, raw and angry, storming down the hallway after me. I ran past the bathroom, and he grabbed hold of my waist and pulled me inside. He pushed me roughly against the wall as he kicked the door closed and locked it. His hands slammed the wall on each side of my face and his eyes bore down on me with just enough anger to terrify the living hell out of me. It was like we were nine again, and he lived next door with those alien laser eyes.
He was panting. Leaning forward, his face tilted down so close to mine I could feel its heat. It burned through my clothing, marking itself on my skin. "Are youpositiveyou don't remember me?" He pressed his body against mine and my pulse quickened as heavy, silent seconds stretched out around us. I couldn't move. He was a hot wall of hard muscles, and he was caging me in. It was devastating, tearing me apart inside. He still smelled the same. If I concentrated, just let myself think for one moment, I knew I'd be able to still feel the heat of his lips on mine from so long ago. I squeezed my eyes closed tightly and tried to focus on anything but the person I couldn't face in front of me. But his body shifted and slid against mine, dragging himself flush against me. And my body remembered him. Every nerve ending that had longed for his touch tingled and warmed and cried for him.
"Remember me?" he whispered, leaning in closer, lips hovering just over my skin, breathing fast and hard and hot against my mouth.
Don't do it, Charlie. Don't do it.
"Yes," I whispered.
"Do you belong to him?" he asked, as the pad of his thumb brushed gently across my cheek.
"I haven’t belonged to anyone since I was seventeen," I said, opening my eyes and letting the tears spill.
Tension melted from his face. His eyes softened as one of his hands wiped at my tears. With the slightest movement forward, his lips just brushed mine—so close I could just about taste my childhood. My heart stopped and I closed my eyes. Warm lips teased the corner of my mouth.
But when my body arched forward to react, he turned his head away.
My heart shattered into a million little pieces.
Tears burst with renewed grief as I wrapped my arms around him. I clung to him shamelessly, breathing in the familiar scent of him. It wasn't even a second before he pushed me away.
His eyes slowly slid over my body, drinking me in. The way he did it was so full of hatred and anguish that my stomach twisted. Heat spread across my chest and plunged into my stomach as I struggled to breathe.That's right, Jase, hate me. Hate me for breaking your heart, so you never know the truth.
"You're right. You're not my Charlie anymore. You're used and broken, and I fucking hate you," he whispered. The words hit me hard, as if it were a real physical blow, sending my body reeling in its aftereffects. Sharp pain ripped through my chest, leaving me wide open and bleeding. I heard the whimper escape my mouth before I could even think to pull it back and mask my pain. It came out all the same. The intensity and hurt had me squeezing my eyes shut tightly, so that all I saw was spots.
I heard him step back, and my body melted to the floor. Clearing his throat, he lowered his eyes to mine. "You and your friend are going to leave this party quietly and come with me. I have questions about the criminal activity here."
That's it, Jase. Hate me.
Hate me.
Think I'm filth.
Think I'm bad.
One of your criminals.
Hate me, because standing here in front of you, I know without a doubt that I never stopped loving you. Not for one second.
"Am I being arrested?" I tried to smirk up at him.
"Did I read you your Miranda rights?" he snapped.
"No, but..."
"Just shut the hell up. I don't want you saying anything to me until we are in front of people. Don't make me cuff you," he hissed in my face then instantly backed away. "Carter and I will meet you and your crazy-haired friend outside. We're climbing out the fire escape so I don't cuff the drugged up shithead you've been fucking.Yet."
We stepped out onto the fire escape and he was all business. No more intense glances, just bored, dead eyes doing their job, looking through me as if I weren't there. He brought his phone to ear as he pulled me down the metal steps. "Carter. Yeah. Going down the fire escape." His words were clipped and angry. "He'll be too high to notice if we left. Take Purple Hair out too. Make it look like you two are hooking up. Tell him I got some dirty skank riding me somewhere," his eyes flick to me. "Yeah... Yeah... Drop Purple Hair off. Great. I'll catch you back at base."
∞
It was my first time inside a police station.
"What are you doing, J?" Carter yelled, pulling at Jase's arms, trying desperately to control him. "J, what the hell, man?" But Jase gripped me tighter and pushed me forward.
"Calm down! Dude, no…" Carter barked, as Jase opened the jail cell and yanked me roughly by the elbow into it.
It was my first time behind metal bars. My insides trembled. I knew I did nothing illegal, but I kept quiet. Whatever this was, this was what Jase needed to do. The bars of the cage slammed toward me and locked loudly into place. Staggering back, I sat slumped in the corner on a bench next to three other women. The smell in there was putrid. Leaning my head against the cold cage, I silently watched the turmoil of the room.
