Page 28 of Unforgivable

Silence greeted me from the other end and if I hadn't heard his soft breathing, I would have thought he'd hung up. “Contrary to what you think, I do love you Callum. I promise I'll take care of it. Maybe…I could see you before I leave on my next trip? I'd love to talk with you and catch up.”

The request had my eyes stinging, tears threatening to emerge from the hope in his voice. There was a time I would have given anything for him to want to spend time with me, save me from the horror that kept me company while he was always gone. Now it was an agonizing reminder that I wasn't enough. That I wasn't believed. That I wasn't truly loved.

“I'm busy,” I gritted out from my painfully clenched jaw. He let out a defeated sigh.

“I understand. If you change your mind, I don't leave again until next Monday. I'm only a phone call away,” he relayed.

I hung up on him before the emotion I was feeling choked me. His call was supposedly a good thing since it would get Aunt Blair off my back, but it only dredged up shit I locked up and encased in cement a long time ago. I couldn't think about any of that without going off the deep end, so I shoved it back down before making my way back to Griffin.

Once he caught sight of my face, his eyes grew comically wide. “Woah. Who pissed in your Fruit Loops, Hawk?”

“No one. I've gotta head out, get some homework done before my next class. Catch you at home later,” I said, not giving him a chance to reply before I got the hell out of there. I headed across Speedwaytoward the library, planning to go find a secluded table where I could stew in silence and get some work done. However, fate had always been a thirsty bitch for me and she kindly granted me the sight of Rhys ambling up the steps of the library mere feet ahead of me.

Oh looky here, my favorite chew toy. It's the fix I didn't know I needed.

I jogged a bit to catch up with him, sidling up to his left. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were stalking me, Evans. You know it's illegal in all fifty states.”

Rhys jumped at the sound of my voice, letting out a startled yelp that made my inner asshole clap his hands in glee. His wide, violet eyes looked nervous as I moved a bit closer and invaded his space.

“I'd point out the flaw in your logic about who is actually stalking whom, but that'd be the tripwire for a conversation that would make me want to gouge my eyeballs out,” Rhys grouched, speeding up like it would help him evade me.

I easily kept pace with him and slung my arm around his shoulder, his body stiffening under my hold. “Fine, don't play with me,” I pouted. “We can talk about other things, like what brings you to our fine library today besides your obsession with me?”

Rhys let out a barely perceptible growl that I found slightly adorable until I set that thought on fire and burned it. I needed to remind myself of the goal here. Taunt, torment, and shake up.

When he didn't respond to me any further, I pulled away from him and tried a different tactic. “So how are you doing in your classes so far? What's your favorite?”

Rhys rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated breath as we walked up the stairs to the upper levels. “Seriously? Talking to you is giving me whiplash. One second you're a crass, barbaric imbecile and the next you're trying to have an actual conversation with me. I don't know why I entertain this crap from you,” he muttered petulantly.

“It was an honest question, Sweetness. I'm genuinely curious how school's been with you so far. You strike me as the kind of person who actually likes school and papers and all that jazz. Am I wrong?” I asked, inclining my head toward him innocently.

He flashed me some suspicious side-eye before heading over to a table on the fourth floor far away from the couple groups of students studying.

“Fine. To answer your question, yes. I love school. I enjoy learning and gaining more knowledge, even about random things. I like beingable to demonstrate my intelligence and actually use what I've learned, which is why I don't mind tests or papers. It makes me feel like I'm accomplishing something. I like to think the smarter I am, the better life will go for me,” he said, not bothering to look me in the eye.

“Hmm, interesting. And all this time I thought that ignorance was bliss,” I mused.

“I guess that explains why you're always smiling like an idiot,” he deadpans, finally catching my gaze.

I chuckled quietly at the claws I always seemed to provoke out of him. He dropped into the chair across from me and I followed him down. “I like to think I found a balance between brains, brawn and beauty. In my experience, the smartest people have had some of the toughest times. They're usually taken advantage of and don't always function the best. Brains only get you so far, Sweetness.”

“Yes, well we can't all have pretty boy looks to get us through life. Some of us uglier folk have to rely on other strengths,” he said sardonically.

“I guess it's a good thing you're pretty then,” I replied, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I realized what I had said. Rhys' head jerked up and he looked at me with a mix of confusion and suspicion. For a few moments, we just stared at each other, the air around us thickening with tension.

I didn't know what was happening, and it made my skin itch just below the surface. His eyes were penetrating, searching for something in my gaze that I wasn't sure I wanted him to find. My original intention for following him up here was forgotten as we continued in this charged stare-off.

Rhys was the first to break the awkward silence and buzzing energy between us. “I seem to recall you telling me in the showers I wasn't really anything great to look at. I don't know what you hope to gain by lying to me now,” he murmured, his eyes never moving from mine but holding an accusatory glint in them.

“What makes you think I'm lying now? Maybe I was just being an asshole then and said that to screw with you,” I asked.

“Gee, maybe because I've never been told that in my life outside of my family? I'm not as naive as you think. I know what my strengths are and my looks aren't one of them.” A soft pink bled onto his cheeks, coloring them with embarrassment.

“Have you ever given someone a chance to tell you how beautifulyou are, or did you just not believe it when you've been told?” I asked curiously. A voice was screaming in the back of my head to stop this line of questioning because it sounded like I was trying to convince him he was desirable. I mean, I guess he was to someone who liked his type.

If I was being honest, Rhys wasn't ugly despite my jab to him that night. He had wavy, brunette hair and subtly sharp cheekbones, and his teeth were perfectly white and straight, if not a bit on the small side. He had a slight frame with just enough muscle definition that contrasted his soft, youthful appearance. But his unique violet eyes were the most entrancing thing about him. They seemed innocent and sweet, yet also penetrating and hypnotic.

And I couldn't look away from them.

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