Soon as they’re in sight again, I stop walking to watch the fireworks.
Rooke throws Haven a dogged look, shaking his head, mouth moving as he speaks. Her back to is to me, so I can’t see if she replies, but he looks away to laugh, and when he faces her again, she slaps him.
Fucking slaps him.
His head snaps to the side, a hand lifting but never reaching his face. It curls into a fist and drops to his side instead.
Haven’s hands are in fists now, too. I can see her body trembling from here, hear a word or two, but nothing that makes sense.
Rooke laughs again, drops his head a little, shakes it.
Like he’s telling a kid if they behave, they’ll get ice cream.
His lips move, but I don’t know what he says.
I wish I did.
Then I could say it to her.
Because one second she looks ready to claw his eyes out, then she’s grabbing his shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.
I blink and rub my eyes, because this can’t fucking be happening.
But sure as fuck, he’s kissing her, and she’s kissing him. And it’s no fucking peck on the cheek. He snatches her hair. She leans into him like her legs have gone lame.
Heat flushes through me, because I canfeeltheir lust all the way across the fucking parking lot.
My jaw clenches so tight, my teeth squeak against each other.
This can’t be real. We were just tag-teaming Rooke’s pretentious ass in that lecture hall, now this? I didn’t imagine that spark of connection between us when we locked gazes.
…stay the fuck away from me…from us…
Christ, I actually thought there was a future for us. Something beyond the spite and resentment.
“You pathetic piece of shit,” I mutter to myself, hand ripping through my hair as my brain scrambles to make sense of what my eyes just witnessed.
There’s no hope.
…we don’t gotta do fucking nothing…
There’s no us.
And I can’t accept that.
I’veneverbeen able to accept that.
Haven Lee is mine.
Mine.
And if I can’t fucking have her, then no one can.
I turn back to the main campus building, walking on automatic, each breath landing with a sharp jab inside my chest. But with every step, calm resolution flows into me.
Shock is replaced with something darker, more focused.
I’m glad Haven ripped out my heart and stomped on it. Now there’s nothing holding me back.
