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CHAPTER SEVEN

Parker Neely.

His name can’t even cross my mind without my fists clenching in fury. I always blamed him the most. Even though Kent Lopez was my boyfriend at the time and it could be argued his betrayal was worse. Kent was a thick-headed follower and I knew it. Parker was the architect of the plan that set my humiliation in motion, destroying not only my senior year of high school but the confident, happy teenage girl I’d been. I’d struggled with the aftershocks of that time ever since then. Sometimes I wondered what kind of path I would have taken if Parker Neely hadn’t casually decided to ruin my life one late summer night. I didn’t spend much time on social media and I never cared enough to know what happened to him after high school.

Now here he was.

Sitting right beside me in statistics class.

If I’d brought a sharpened pencil instead of a ballpoint pen I might have been tempted to reach out and stab him with it.

Instead I just kept my eyes trained anywhere but at the seat a mere eighteen inches to my left.

The second the instructor stopped speaking I nearly vaulted out of my seat and dashed out of the room. I was glad I’d worn sensible ballet flats today instead of heels because I didn’t need anything to slow me down.

“Cassie!”

I quickened my stride.

“Cassie!”

I bumped into some guy who materialized from a doorway while studying his phone.

“Cassie!”

Fingers fastened around my elbow and I wrenched away, busting through the doors of the math building.

And then I ran right into a metal bicycle rack.

There was a flash of pain when my right knee made contact with the rack. For a few seconds I was forced to stop moving and I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood while I doubled over from the pain. There would be a bruise the size of Kentucky on my leg tomorrow.

“You okay?” The voice was full of concern but it was the last voice I wanted to hear. A hand touched my back while I grimaced and tried to straighten up to a standing position.

“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth as I limped away from the hand and the voice while silently pleading to the starry skies above to do me a favor, like perhaps cement Parker Neely to the sidewalk in front of the math building so I wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore tonight.

“Cassie.”

Nope, there was no one up there in the heavens willing to give a girl a break.

“Cassie.”

“Stop following me!” I shouted, finally turning around to confront Parker Neely’s handsome, disgusting face. The last evening classes had just let out and there were people milling around everywhere. Some of them paused to see what all the racket was about but when they saw I wasn’t being dragged away by my hair they simply went on their way.

Except one man in a suit that was several sizes too small. He was probably in his thirties and his face was full of concern as he asked in a heavily accented voice, “Do you need help, Miss?”

My knee was still throbbing. Parker Neely still existed. And I still just wanted to get the hell out of here for tonight.

“I’m fine, thank you,” I said. I pointed at Parker. “This guy just thought he knew me but he was wrong. He doesn’t know me.”

There were plenty of lights on campus so I had a good view of Parker’s repulsively good looks. Same square jaw with a dimple in the center, same chiseled features that had matured into manhood.

“If I did know you,” Parker said. “I’d tell you that you look like a really great girl who I screwed over once upon a time. And I’ve wanted to apologize ever since then.”

It was a bullshit line. Four years had passed since high school graduation and Parker could have picked up a phone or found my parents’ house on any day since then. Parker was pretending to be a good guy now. He was good at pretending. I hadn’t forgotten that.

“That girl would probably inform you you’re not worth the trouble,” I said coldly and limped away. I was thankful that Parker didn’t follow and I managed to reach my car without any further drama.

My heart was thumping in my chest and I took several deep breaths before starting the engine. After a furtive look around to make sure Parker Neely wasn’t hovering nearby I calmed down enough to start the drive home. I thought about calling Cami but she was probably snuggled up with Dalton. Plus I knew my overprotective twin would worry. A long time had passed since either of us had said the name Parker Neely out loud.

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