Page 103 of Obsessed with the Heartbreaker

The Heartbreaker, felled at last by the guy he’d been in love with for the past three years.

Tightening his hands on my shoulders, Maddox said, “Henry, look at me.”

I felt near tears as it was, and I didn’t do well showing this amount of vulnerability toanyone. Even if it was Maddox, it felt horrible to meet his kind, understanding eyes.

“You need to let go of this idea of ‘not being good enough’. Your parents aren’t the universal authority on what’s good or bad, they’re just two stubborn people, like you, who think they know what’s best, but they don’t. No one knows. And to what you said earlier—It’s a fucking lie. Antony, like you, might have used an excuse to see you, but from the first moment I saw you two look at each other, I knew there was something there. Every day he was here, he showed everyone that would look that he cared about you. And as much as you don’t think you do, you deserve it. You deserve good things.”

Good. Now I was actually full-on crying.

Maddox, who always acted cold with most people, showed his true self in times like this, and he pulled me to him without hesitation, hugging me hard enough to make it hard to breathe. “I really fucked up. I’m just—so fuckingterrified.”

“It’s fine, and you’ll be fine.” His hand tightened on my nape.

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m pretty sure that once you’re done crying and getting my favorite T-shirt full of snot, you’re going to realize that the thought of having tonotbe with Antony is a lot more horrible than the alternative.”

I choked on my own tears. “I’ll use your preciousT-shirtto blow my nose, douchebag.”

He completely ignored me. “So you’re going to cry as much as you fucking need to, and then you’re going to wash your face. We’ll go to your room, and you’ll mentally prepare yourself to go talk to Antony and tell him how you feel.”

“Why? It’s all lost now.”

He sighed. “It’snot.”

I didn’t complain any longer and cried as he said. Then I did wash my face, and with that emotional release, clarity came.

I wanted to tell Antony that I loved him, because even if he never forgave me, or even if we didn’t end up working out, I just needed him to know. I didn’t want to hide anymore. I didn’t want to worry about what my parents thought or what anyone else thought I was capable of doing or being. I wanted to be brave for Antony.

And as Maddox watched me, cross-armed in my room, a slow smile grew on his face because he saw the determination appear on my expression.

I finally realized that I hadn’t been alone in a long time. I’d had people by my side all this time.

And I wanted to do good by those I really cared about.

Chapter 34

Antony

It was Friday, two days after the whole ordeal, and I was still feeling like death warmed over. I robotically went through the motions of my day-to-day life, which were eating, going to class, studying, going home, and sleeping.

Or trying to, anyway.

That afternoon, though, when I was alone in the library, sitting in my usual spot and looking sightlessly out the window, three figures appeared, surrounding me.

Oliver, Eliot, and Scott were looking down at me, pained expressions on.

“We’re taking you out of here.”

“What?”

They looked at each other and with a silent nod, they packed all of my things, got a hold of my arms, and physically dragged me out of there.

I didn’t put up much of a fight. I hadn’t been even doing anything, and any distraction from my morose thoughts would be welcome.

They didn’t take me far, though. The three of them guided me to a secluded bench near the outside of the library, where they pushed me to sit down while they remained standing up.

“Since when do you band together?” I asked, since I had only introduced them once, but no more than that.

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