Page 84 of Bonding with the Beta

Kayden’s brows knit together as I say nothing. “You’ve been ignoring me, huh?”

“I-I–” I stutter, at a loss for words.

“Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?”

“I thought it was for the best,” I murmur.

Kayden laughs, but it’s void of humour. “For the best? So, I have the best date of my life, even after what happened, and when I try to message you, I’m ignored. Why?”

“Because it’s not going to work out,” I whisper.

“Tell me why, Kayleigh.”

“Because it’s not.”

He scoffs to himself and throws up a hand in defeat. “Well, that’s just great, isn’t it? Maybe I’m an idiot for thinking that we had something special. Everything I felt must have been one-sided. Thanks for letting me know. Real mature of you.”

The pain that slashes across his face is unexpected. Suddenly, it feels like my chest is gaping open, and I’m sharing that agony with him. I resist the urge to rub my hand over my sternum and take a steady breath.

His eyes are cold and hard now, and I shake at the intensity of them. My lips part, but I say nothing more, and the sight of him turning to walk away guts me. I subconsciously take a step forward.

“Wait.” My voice is nothing but a pathetic whimper.

Kayden stops, but he doesn’t turn to look at me. Instead, his shoulders tense, as if preparing for another blow, making me hate myself even more.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur as he finally turns to look at me over his shoulder.

He nods once and walks away again.

“I just–” I call out for him as someone walks past us, and I wish we weren’t doing this in the hall. “I got scared because?—”

Bile rises in my throat. I clamp my eyes shut.

I’ve kept this away from him for a reason.

Kayden’s footsteps echo in my ears as he inches closer to me.

My eyes flick between his, full of confusion and intensity.

“I-I got scared because I realised I like you, okay?”

His jaw ticks, and he storms forward, pushing me back into my dorm room and slamming the door.

Kayden stares straight through my soul, and all I can hear is my erratic breathing as he crowds over me with fire behind his eyes. “And don’t you think I like you, too?”

I shudder at the roughness of his voice and the way he looks at me as if there is no one else in the world he could feel this deeply for. I lose my breath, and I blink back the tears that have gathered in the crevice of my eye.

My gaze drops to the floor because I can’t bear looking at him anymore—not when my heart feels like it’s about to shatter. But Kayden grips my chin, tilting my face up and forcing our eyes to lock.

“What the hell happened?” His tone drops, and I crack.

I pull away from his grip and turn towards my window, squeezing my eyes shut as two tears roll down my cheeks. The last thing I want is for Kayden to see me this weak and beaten up over something that happened a while ago.

Something that still haunts me to this day.

But it’s too late. Kayden walks around me and is now staring at my tear-stained face. “Hey,” he whispers, concern laced in his voice. “Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

“I’m so scared,” I choke out and wrap my arms around myself.

---