Page 18 of Left in the Dark

I’m staring at Tim, but it’s no longer his face I see.

My head is full of Images of my mother cowering, pleading, and crying as my father beat her, showing no mercy. When I wasnine, my father dragged me out of bed on Christmas Eve to wrap my brother’s gifts because he’d beaten my mother unconscious.

No. I’m not living my mother’s life. I refuse.

Tim’s twisted, angry face comes into focus, and something passes through me.

Before he can raise his unsteady fist, I draw mine, punching him as hard as I can square in the nose. The unexpected hit knocks him back a few steps before he falls on his ass. Blood spurts from his nose, trailing over his lips and dripping from his chin onto the white dress shirt beneath the tuxedo jacket he wears.

Rage fills me as I step toward him, staring at his pathetic form on the floor. “Whatever you think we have is over, Tim. I don’t care what you or my father want. Stay the hell away from me.”

A crowd is gathering around us, and when I look up, I see one of the chaperones heading in our direction. I spin on my heel, rushing out the door in a cloud of rage, driven by the fear that I was heading down a familiar path.

I’m breaking the cycle before I end up like my mother.

Fuck Tim. And most of all, fuck my controlling, arrogant father.

CHAPTER 14

Zayne

My fingers clench the steering wheel as I drive past the country club to my dad’s bar. I don’t know why the fuck I’m torturing myself like this. I went out of my way for what? Pain and misery.

Stopping at the red light, my jaw clenches as I watch Delaney climb from the limo.That fucking asshole didn’t even hold the door for her.

She looks gorgeous in that sexier-than-hell red dress that clings to her curves. I still have the picture of her wearing it in the dressing room. I’ve beaten off to it more times than I can count.

Her thick, brown hair hangs in long ringlets down her back. My dick stirs in my pants as I think about the number of times I’ve run my fingers through those silky locks, my lips against hers. Or fisted the strands while she sucked my cock, or while I pounded into her from behind.

Fuck. I want her so goddamn bad.

And I know she wants me, too. It’s her fucking father that stands between us.

Agony and rage rip through me like a knife, filleting my heart. I drink her in, envy filling me. I should be her date, not Tim.

The unhappiness on her face hurts almost as much as Tim slinging his arm over her shoulders. Even from here, I see her tense, her lips pursing together. He doesn’t notice since he is joking with his friends who flank them.

When Delaney is around, she’s all I see.

When the light turns green, I look in my rearview mirror. No one is behind me, so I let my truck idle, silently pleading for her to look at me. That’s all it would take for me to blow off work, rescuing her from his clutches.

I don’t give a fuck about him or his friends. Without a bat, the three of them are useless.

But she continues staring at the sidewalk, lost in her misery.

It takes every bit of strength I possess to press the gas and drive away from her.

It’s for the best.Graduation is a few weeks away.Maybe you can convince her to leave town and live with you.

The thought makes my heart squeeze inside my chest.Imagine waking up to Delaney’s beautiful face every morning before burying my cock deep inside her.I’d treat her like the fucking princess she is, doing everything in my power to make her life easier.

But would it be enough? How would I support her, let alone give her the kind of life she’s used to?

I push the thoughts away, knowing I’m getting ahead of myself. Delaney and I have never discussed a future together. Maybe she doesn’t want anything long-term with me.

When has that ever stopped you?

My thoughts swirl as I drive to my dad’s bar on autopilot. I regret agreeing to work a few hours tonight in the hopes that itwould distract me from thinking about Delaney and Tim at the prom tonight.

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