Page 44 of Forbidden Hearts

“What is it?” I ask.

I was thrown off when I woke up here—honestly, I’m still a little confused. But I can’t sit around and wonder what happened last night. I need to buy groceries and prep Mom’s food.

“That blond guy. I think his name is Liam. He drugged you,” Alonzo says. His words are heavy, and I can tell he’s fighting to put them out into the world. “He almost…” he trails off. “But I stopped him.”

An icy chill travels down my spine. Images of Liam flash before my eyes. Alonzo is in some of them. It looks like he’s punching Liam, but I don’t know why. The images are blurry and dark.

It’s hard to remember what happened after I blacked out, but maybe it’s for the best.

“I need to get going,” I say.

“Are you sure? I don’t know how these things work, but you’re playing it a little too cool. Maybe you’re still in shock?”

“Cool? I woke up in a strange place against my will,” I spit out. “Did I ask to come here? No. You just assumed I would be okay with it. And what were you doing at the party, anyway? Were you following me?”

“Damn right I was following you,” he admits. “And I’m glad I was because I stopped that asshole from… I stopped him from…”

Alonzo is too angry to articulate how he feels. Unlike him, I am more confused than upset.

Blacking out and waking up in a strange place is a total mindfuck. I just want to get home and process what happened on my own right now.

Alonzo is probably right that I’m in shock. Later, when my memories return—if they return—I’ll probably feel terrible. But I need to leave and process this on my own.

“You’re right, you saved me,” I say. I can’t exactly remember how, but I know he stopped something terrible from happening to me. “This is just very confusing. Blacking out, waking up here, not remembering what happened. I just need some time alone. Is that okay?”

Alonzo studies my face. In the end, he agrees to drop me off at my car, which is still parked outside the party house.

I wonder what the girls are thinking now, especially Isabella. Did they witness Alonzo beating the living hell out of Liam?

Chapter 21

Alex

I get in my car and drive to the grocery store to buy what I need to prep Mom’s food. The entire time I’m at the grocery store, I feel like everybody is staring at me. I tell myself it’s just my imagination, but I can’t help but notice the glances I get.

Do they know something? Do they know what happened?

No, of course not. These many random strangers couldn’t have been at the party last night, they can’t possibly know that Liam tried to…

I shake my head and try to think of something else. I’m not sure how, but I know what Liam was trying to do. It’s like a feeling, like my body knows something my mind doesn’t want to remember.

If I put the feeling into concrete words or thoughts, it’ll become real. I need to think of something else.

I concentrate on the meals that I’m going to cook for Mom and the ingredients I need to buy.

When I get home, I narrate the cooking process to keep my mind from wandering to last night.

I’m cutting the onions. Next, I set them aside and place the garlic on the cutting board. Chop, chop, chop. Watch out for the fingers. Next…

But it’s no use. Spontaneous memories from last night flash before my eyes.

I see Liam hovering over me. He’s telling me to shut up, that nobody will hear me. Alonzo appears behind him. He pulls Liam off me and punches his face bloody red.

Shit.I don’t know what would have happened if Alonzo hadn’t shown up. I shudder at the thought.

Narrating my actions isn’t helping. Maybe the TV will. I turn it on and raise the volume so I can hear it all the way to the kitchen until it becomes hard to hear my own thoughts.

But the images from last night are still there, refusing to leave. Liam’s face appears in my head every time I close my eyes.

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