Page 156 of Before I Loved You

“What do I want?”

“Yes!” Paul roars. “Fucking name it, and it’s yours. Just don’t fucking hurt her!”

Greyson’s hauntingly eerie laugh echoes around me. “I want things to go back to how they were before you came to this school. Before Paul fucking Weston graced Linrey University with his presence, everything was perfect. But then you had to fucking come and ruin everything. Because of you, I was demoted to co-captain. Because of you, the scout from Boston who used to be interested in me gravitated toward you. And how can anyone fucking notice me when all eyes are on you?” Greyson’s free hand wraps around the ends of my hair, tugging my head against his leg. “I’m fucking tired of you taking things from me!”

His body trembles beside me, rage engulfing him. “You don’t deserve your position on this team. You’re only here because of your last name. You know it. I know it. The whole fucking team knows it. But now, because of you, I’ve lost any shot with Boston. My chances of getting into the NBA are gone. And it’s because of you. You fucked everything up for me!” Greyson snarls, shoving the gun harder into my skin.

“That’s what this is about?” Paul asks incredulously. “Take my fucking position in the draft. I don’t fucking care about any of it. The only thing that matters to me is her!” Paul’s unrecognizable voice bellows in the room, pure terror laced between every word.

“Don’t you think I know that?” Greyson coolly answers, a frightful calm overtaking him.

Paul’s eyes narrow in on Greyson as he suddenly realizes his mistake.

He just revealed his greatest weakness.

The only thing in the world he cares most about.

The one thing he would jump in front of a bullet for.

Me.

I pinch my eyes closed, feeling the gun slide up the side of my head and then push into my scalp.

“And that’s why I’m taking her away from you just like you took everything away from me.”

Those are the last words I hear before I’m knocked onto the ground, headfirst into the floor, as the loudest bang I’ve ever heard in my life fills the room, quickly followed by a second one.

Just as I try to turn my body over, something heavy lands on my back, keeping me in place.

Peeking to my right, through blurry eyes, I see Greyson’s body lying lifeless on the floor just a few feet away from me, bright crimson blood coating the checker tile floor around him. Realizing it’s Paul who fell on me, I maneuver my body, twisting until I come face to face with him.

“Are you okay, baby girl?” His breaths come out shallow, his face paling.

I nod, unable to say anything with the duct tape on. He reaches up, his unsteady fingers quickly removing it from my face.

Sucking in a deep breath, I stutter, “P-Paul. Are y-you okay? What happened?”

His lips curve up the tiniest bit. “I’m okay because you’re okay, Sarah. You and our baby. That’s all that matters to me.”

Something warm and wet drips on my exposed stomach, and when I glance down between me and Paul, I see blood.

Lots and lots of blood.

But I know it’s not coming from me.

It’s coming from Paul, who rolls off of me, landing on his back beside me with a thump.

“Paul? No. No. No!” His eyes are half closed as he tries to focus on me.

“I love you, Sarah. Promise me…you’ll let Lily know her daddy loves her so much.” His lips start turning blue as he gasps like a fish out of water, searching for any ounce of oxygen in the room.

Shaking my head, I choke out, “You can tell her that yourself!”

He smiles softly. “I don’t…think I can.” His hand quivers as he touches my cheek, ghosting his fingers across my skin.

“You promised me you’d never let me go,” I sob, bringing my face down onto his chest, not caring about any of the blood soaking my skin and hair. “You can’t fucking leave me, Paul. You promised me.”

Using my bound hands, I lift Paul’s shirt, revealing my worst fear. The bullet hole is directly in the center of his chest.

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