Page 29 of Left in the Dark

My fingers make air quotes as I parrot her words back to her. “What do you mean, your rebellious side? Are you saying you fucked me because you were rebelling against your father and every other rich, entitled asshole here?That you played me, and none of this was real?”

And there it is. The second I spit those words out, my heart shattered into pieces, even as the rage continued rising.

She can’t be serious. This was real. It can’t be a joke….

Delaney was the girl who stood up for me when no one else did. She was my first and only friend for the longest time. She was the only one I trusted and relied on.

Right now, she’s the only one with the power to save us.

To admit that what she said was a lie. That she was somehow forced to say it by one of the jackasses still moaning in pain behind me.

All she has to do is deny her words and tell me what she said isn’t true. That she loves me as much as I love her.

Instead, she shrugs. “I was tired of being the good little girl who obeyed everyone. You were fun and exciting.” Tears roll down her cheeks. The sadness in her eyes contradicts her words. “I was going through a rebellious phase.”

None of this makes any goddamn sense.

I’m processing, trying to make sense of the senseless, when Delaney screams and jumps out of the way. Something slams against my back, knocking me down.

The pain is so intense from whatever just hit me, sucking all the air from my lungs and laying me flat on my stomach.

“Come on, Delaney. I’m taking you out of here.” Tim grabs Delaney’s hand, pulling her against him. He stares down at me with a smug expression as oxygen finally fills my lungs. The pain makes my breathing shallow, and my vision blackens at the edges.

Even though it fucking hurts, I reach my hand out for hers, silently asking her to stay with me.

She silently stares at me, and I swear, I see her heartbreak before she turns away.

I’m stunned, but I’m determined not to give her up without a fight.

I try to move, willing my legs to cooperate. As soon as I move, the pain hits like a massive wave. My vision swims like I’m drowning.

Her pretty feet and red toenails come into focus. I stare at them, giving my body a minute before I try to get up again.

Then her black sandals turn, moving in the opposite direction from me.

I lift my head in time to see her walking away from me. “M-Minx. P-Please.”

But she keeps moving, not even sparing me a backward glance.

She walks away from me, abandoning me. Leaving me lying on the sand, broken and beaten.

Left in the dark, utterly alone.

I squeeze my eyes closed, unable to believe she’d leave me. Especially not like this.

Opening my eyes, I see the dock where I danced with her after the prom. My heart beats sluggishly as those memories course through my head.

“Delaney,” I croak, my voice thick from pain and impending tears.

But she doesn’t answer.

I look around me, the realization hitting me like a train.

She’s gone.And she left my broken heart in pieces.

CHAPTER 20

Zayne

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