Page 75 of Repairing the Wreckage

As she reaches for the door, I slap my palm against it, keeping it shut. “Everything about you is my business.”

“Not anymore.”

“Molly, I know you’re mad?—”

“I’m not mad.” She crosses her arms over her chest.

No. She’s not. She’s putting up a brave front. I know her. How she protects herself from all the people who’ve hurt and left her. When she’s upset, she either freezes or explodes. I’m usually the one who talks her through it.

Except, now I’m the one who hurt her. “We have to talk this out,” I try again.

“No, we really don’t. Seeing you fuck some random bimbo you’d known for five minutes told me all I needed to know.”

“It wasn’t me!” I roar, hating myself for yelling at her. “For fuck’s sake. Are you kidding me? You know me better than that.”

Her mouth twitches with uncertainty for a second. Brief, but I catch it.

“I thought I did,” she finally says.

This isn’t getting us anywhere. I step away from the door and open it.

“Let me walk you back,” I say even though inside I’m screaming, back to where—Torch’s arms?

“Okay.”

At least she’ll let me do that much.

She steps out first. And what do you know, Torch is waiting in the shadows. Leaning against the building next to us. He pushes away from the wall and goes to Molly, murmuring something against her ear.

Eraser’s gonna have to kiss his cousin’s ass goodbye. This motherfucker’s dead.

Satisfied she’s okay, Torch turns his glare on me. Remy’s dead wrong. Torch’s feelings for Molly are way more than friendly.

I pull my shoulders back and glare down at him.

“You fucked up, Royal.” He stops in front of me and meets my death glare with a smug chin lift. “Nothing you say to her can fix what the whole world watched you do.”

“You better watch yourself, speaking on stuff you know nothing about,” I warn. My voice and hard stare don’t waver. But his words saw open a hopeless void in my chest.

The truth doesn’t matter.

He grunts at me and turns away, draping an arm over Molly’s shoulders and steering her away from me.

He’s right.

No matter what, people will always think I cheated on my girlfriend. They “saw” it with their own eyes. They’ll call Molly pathetic for taking my “cheating” ass back. Strangers will judge us and our relationship. Even people we know will gossip about us.

It doesn’t matter.

Molly’s all I care about.

Us against the world. She said that once.

How can I make her believe in us again?

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Molly

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