Page 32 of Before I Loved You

“Fuck you,” I lash out.

Fear grips me in place as he approaches, leaving no room between us. He leans down, ghosting his lips over my ear, my whole body shivering. “Is that what you want? For me to fuck you again?” His fingers dance across the top of my jeans, plaguing me with terror. “You took me so well that night. Like the good little slut you are. Sometimes, I just watch it on repeat, listening to your sweet moans.”

My stomach churns. “G-get away from me.” I place my hands on his chest, trying to shove him away, but it’s futile.

He steps back, glaring at me with anger in his eyes. “I saw the way you were looking at Paul all night. Disgusting.”

“You mean while you sat on the bench, and he played better than you ever will?” I counter, signing my own death certificate.

His nostrils flare as his eyes narrow down on me. Silence fills the space between us until a sinister grin spreads over his face, and he says the words I’ve feared for so long.

“I know how I plan on using it now.”

Terror suffocates me.

No. No. No.

He nods. “You’re going to stay the fuck away from Paul.”

“Excuse me?” I blurt out, taken aback by his request.

“You’re done with him. And if I find out that you two have anything to do with each other, your little five minutes of fame will be released for the entire world to see.”

I open my mouth to speak, but he stops me.

“Oh, and with a simple hack, I’ll make it appear like Paul released it in a jealous rage. Ruining any chance of a career in the NBA. Heck, it’ll probably even ruin his life.” His eyes turn cold, fury dancing across his irises. “You wouldn’t want to be responsible for doing that to him, right?”

My equilibrium vanishes as everything around me spins. He’s backed me into an ominous dark corner, one I will never be able to crawl out of, no matter how hard I claw and bite my way to the surface.

I shake my head, trembling. “You…you can’t do that.”

“I think you’ll find that I can.” He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

But I need to talk to Paul.

I need to tell him I’m pregnant.

“But you don’t understand—”

“Listen, I don’t care what’s going on between the two of you. I really don’t. But Paul took something from me, so now I’m taking something from him. Just teaching him a little lesson.” He pats me on the top of the head like an obedient puppy. “It’s not personal. You just got caught in the crosshairs.”

He turns and exits the building, leaving me on shaking legs with tears streaming down both cheeks.

I don’t think. I just run. I run as fast as I can from the building to my car, and as I unlock the door, I feel my phone vibrate.

Paul

Hey, where are you?

I hit delete and throw my phone onto the passenger seat. My fingers tremble as I turn the key in the ignition and press my foot on the gas. I need to get the fuck out of here. Tears blur my vision as I finally reach my parking spot near my apartment and shut off my car, resting my head against the side window.

What the hell am I going to do?

eight

PAUL

My feet dangle off the end of the couch as I lie back, tossing a basketball in the air. We won tonight’s scrimmage against a nearby school, and you’d think that would make me happy. Even if just a little bit. But I’m not. In fact, I’m far from it.

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