Page 71 of All Your Pucking Secrets

My gut plummets. Seriously. How is she so brave?

Lee steps up beside me. “Listen, charity case. Ty would never go to prom with a poor little nobody like you.”

My fists clench subconsciously. I want to smash one into Lee’s face and break his nose for daring to speak to her that way, but I don’t have the right to. Not after the shit I’ve pulled. Besides, in a way, he’s helping me.

I laugh. It’s strained and false, but no one seems to notice. At least, no one other than Echo.

“He’s right,” I say. “You’re nothing to me. I don’t know where you’ve got this crazy idea from, but maybe you need to get your head checked.”

Someone whistles, and murmurs, “Ouch.”

Echo flinches but still doesn’t leave. My insides wrench, desperate to throw up the coffee I managed to drink at breakfast, but I swallow it back down. The bitterness burns my throat, and I draw comfort from the pain. It’s what I deserve.

Echo holds my gaze. “I don’t know why you’re doing this, but there must be a reason.”

I fight the urge to glance away. There is a reason, but I can’t admit as much to her or she’ll try to fix it, and there’s no fixing this. I’m doing what I can to protect her. But in order for it to work, I can’t give her any reason to doubt what an asshole I am.

I steel myself against the pleading in the depths of her hazel eyes. Now is not the time to be weak.

“I fucked you,” I tell her loudly. “That’s it. We were never together. We fucked, and now it’s over. No prom, no great love story, and no cutesy happily ever after. I got what I wanted from you. Get that through your head.”

Her expression shatters.

My heart does, too.

She sobs, then claps her hand to her mouth in an attempt to hide it. She turns away and runs down the corridor, but not before the absolute desolation in her eyes makes me wish I’d jumped off a goddamn bridge.

People jeer as she goes, and self-loathing settles deep into my soul. This is all on me. She trusted me, and I hurt her. I knew her insecurities, and I used them against her. Then I humiliated her in front of the people who’ve always treated her like trash.

She’ll never forgive me for this.

It’s exactly what I was aiming for, and yet, I want to get on my knees, crawl after her, and beg for another chance.

I open my locker again and roughly yank out the books, then slam it shut.

“Can you believe—”

“Fuck off,” I snap at Lee, unable to listen to a second more of his bullshit.

“Whoa. What the fuck?” He backs away, his hands raised.

Ignoring him, I click the combination lock into place and stride toward the men’s bathroom. I need a moment of privacy to get a hold of myself. But before I reach them, a slim hand lands on my upper arm.

I spin around, ready to unleash the full force of my temper on whoever has dared to interrupt my getaway, but I bite my tongue as Soraya’s disappointed eyes meet mine.

“What did you just do?” she asks, disgust curling her lip.

I stiffen. “What I had to.”

She tilts her head to the side. “You shouldn’t have. Without even seeing you together, I can tell there’s something special between you. The way you talk about her…it’s like you can’t really bring yourself to believe she’s yours.”

“Well, she’s not anymore,” I grit out, desperate for her to stop speaking because I just want to scream, and Soraya gets enough abuse from Dad without me piling it on too. Besides, she’s right to call me out on my shitty behavior.

“Uh-huh.” She crosses her arms. “Whose fault is that?”

I shift from one foot to the other, uncomfortable beneath her scrutiny. How much of that conversation did she hear? Does she know I kissed another girl?

The memory makes me gag, and I cough to hide it.

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