“I repeatedly told you this wasn’t a date,” I say. “Thank you for dinner and drinks and for walking me home.”
He just stares. Why can’t he just leave? Does he not understand I’m trying to help him? Wade is like three inches shorter and at least twenty pounds of muscles less than Lach. Even if he wasn’t, even if their builds were reversed, Lach’s anger counts for two men. There’s no way Wade walks out of here intact.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks, frowning.
“She’ll be more than okay. Do you need another demonstration?” Lachlan charges forward but stops beside me when I throw an arm out. “Should I fuck her against the wall? Is that what it’ll take for you to understand?”
“Lachlan!” I shoot him a glare, heat rising to my cheeks.
He smirks. It’s not nice, but it still makes my heart skip.
Wade laughs in disbelief. “Thisis the guy you’ve been moping over?”
He’s probably wondering if, once again, I’ve proven that the bad boys always get the girl, but that’s not what this is. How the hell do I explain that Lach isn’t always like this? How do I explain that yes, he’s possessive when it comes to me, but he’s also fun and caring? There’s no way he’s going to believe it when Lachlan’s acting like a fucking lunatic.
“It’s really complicated,” I say. “I’ll call you tomorrow and explain. We can meet for breakfast if you want and I’ll explain there.”
Lach scoffs. I ignore him.
“Breakfast,” Wade says, looking at Lachlan when he says, “Atourspot.”
Jesus Christ in a manger.Why are men like this?Lach’s deep, unamused chuckle makes me shiver, even though I know it’s another indication that this can go downhill quickly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I confirm.
“Okay, that’s it. Let’s go.” Lach grabs my arm and starts walking. “Now, Lyla.”
I whisper another apology to Wade and turn around to keep up with Lachlan’s pace, which is impossible since his legs are so much longer than mine. His hold on me is tight. Not tight enough to leave marks, just tight enough to make me feel like he’s manhandling me like I’m a rag doll.
“Delilah,” Wade calls out as we’re almost at the door. “If you don’t call or show, I’m calling the cops.”
“I. . .” I start, but Lachlan pulls me inside before I can respond. I yank my arm out of his grasp. “What the fuck, Lachlan?”
“Go.” He nods at the elevator, his jaw clenched.
The initial shock of seeing him has worn off. I’ve gone from disbelief and elation to straight-up anger. I punch the button with my fist three times as if it’s at fault for what’s happening. Inside, I stand with my arms crossed and stare ahead as he stands behind me. Maybe by the time we reach the fourteenth floor, we’ll have had enough time to cool off. Highly unlikely. We'll probably need another three years for that to happen. It’s a scary thought. A sad one. I’ve lived without him for three years, and sure, I’ve been able to live my life a lot better than I ever did in Fairview, but the gaping hole in my heart remains empty. I’m positive that without med school consuming me, I wouldn’t have made it another three without caving and dialing his number. I step out of the elevator and practically stomp to my door, unlocking it and yanking it open. I let it go and let fate decide whether or not it’ll slam in his face. Lachlan catches it.
I pivot around and face him. “What the fuck?”
“What the fuck what, De-li-luh?” he seethes, stepping closer.
“You can’t just barge into my life out of nowhere, make out with me in front of my friend, and manhandle me.” I cross my arms and grind my teeth. “How’d you find me?”
“Friend?” he asks loudly, then says it again louder, “Friend?Do you kiss all your friends, De-li-luh?” He looks down, raking my body with heated eyes. “Do you dress like that for yourfriends?”
“Are you trying to slut shame me? Is that what this is? Because if you think for a second that I’m going to believe that you haven’t fucked. . .”
“I wasn’t the one who left!” He roars.
When I feel my eyes burning, I turn around and face the half-window in the living room. I swallow hard. This is not how I envisioned things going when we saw each other again. I definitely didn’t think he’d take my heart and purposely stomp on it. He's right about me being the one who left. He’s right to be angry and scream at me. He’s right to demand answers to questions that have remained floating around, but it does not make it any easier to hear him practically confirm that he’s slept with other women. I know that it makes me a hypocrite since I hooked up with Wade that one time, but I can’t help it. In my mind — in my heart — Lachlan belongs to me. He told Wade that I belonged to him. For now, I’m going to hold onto that tiny glimmer of hope. I spin around and walk back to the center of the room.
“How did you find me?”
“Why did you leave?” He retorts. “Why’d you change your fucking identity?”
His anger is so palpable that I feel it in my core. I was going to tell him everything that night, and look at how that turned out. For three years, I’ve been telling myself that when we saw each other again, I would tell him everything in detail. I wasn’t strong enough to delve into the details back then. I am now, but I have no doubt that the man in front of me would leave me here and go to Fairview right now to kill the person responsible for all of this. I would let him if that didn’t mean he’d go to jail for the rest of his life.
“I left because I was a danger to you.” I swallow. Fuck. I don’t want to cry, but tears cloud my vision anyway. I look away. “I should’ve left sooner. I shouldn’t have let you in at all.”
