Page 162 of Promise Me Not

“Don’t run, Allana! Face it! Make him face it. This is bullshit, and you two deserve what comes of this! He already has a kid, you know that?”

She cries harder.

“Fuck’s this all about?” Brady frowns.

Sighing, I shake my head, and the two of us follow them to the front.

“I don’t know what happened here, but you need to break it up or take it somewhere else.”

“You wanna know what happened?” Alister growls, tearing at his hair as he spins, glare pointed my way. “You fucked my girlfriend and got her pregnant!”

Alarm slams into me, and as if the universe hasn’t tortured me enough lately, my eyes lift, locking on to a pair of watery blues.

Payton.

Her face falls right before me, and automatically, I take a step toward her, but then Alister isright there.

He cocks his fist back, and all I have time to do is prepare for the blow. My head whips back with force, but I keep my feet, head snapping right back and frown heavy. There’s warm liquid at the corner of my lip, but I don’t brush it away.

I look to Allana, and Alister screams.

“You two are fucking sick!” His eyes come to mine. “Does your girl know you have another kid? That she and the kid you have together don’t mean shit to you because?—”

My fist is cocked back, but before I can throw my punch, Chase’s fist whooshes past my face, slamming right into the side of Alister’s jaw.

He stumbles, and Chase takes advantage of that, shoving him to the ground. “Shut the fuck up! You don’t know shit about shit.” Chase looks to Allana with a frown. “I’m sorry, but you need to start talking.”

Instantly, the girl crumples, burying her face in her hands.

My shoulders fall, and for a moment, fear sparks low in my gut.

Is this real?

Is it even possible?

My eyes find Payton’s, her hands pressed firmly against her chest.

“Allana…” Brady encourages, though there’s an unmistakable demand to his tone.

“I lied,” Allana cries, and relief flows through me.

I look at Payton, and she offers a tight smile, but her eyes fall to the ground. I frown, but my attention moves back to the shit show in front of me.

“I lied,” Allana repeats, regret heavy in her features as she faces Alister. “You said you accepted your offer to Berkeley, so I had to say something to keep you away so you wouldn’t find out. And then you showed up here.”

“To surprise you!” he screams. “I picked this fucking school, where I’m second fucking string, gave up my chance to start,for you!”

My brows shoot up, and I meet Brady’s eyes. Damn. That’s…rough.

“I didn’t ask you to!” she wails.

“No, you just pretended we were good and started fucking your way through your freshman year!”

“Okay.” Chase lifts his hands, looking between the two. “Allana, you should go.”

“And you can’t come back here,” I add. “At least not unless he asks you to.”

I meet Alister’s gaze a moment, and he winces, looking away, but when his eyes move for the door, widening, mine follow.

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