Page 89 of The Wrong Heart

It’s a tiny token of solace.

A gift in exchange for mine.

And then he’s tugging my shorts up my legs until they’re secured around my hips, the soaked cotton sticking to my skin like adhesive. I pull my forehead up from the shed, pivoting slowly, facing him. His pants are pulled up, but the belt hangs loose, and there’s an angry nail mark etched into his neck from where I must have scratched him.

Parker stares at me with a faint wrinkle furrowed between his brows, and I swear there is concern etched into that crease—maybe even a semblance of empathy.

But it’s all he gives me before pacing backwards, gaze dipping down, jaw hard and tight like his fists that ball up at his sides.

And just like that, he’s gone.

Parker leaves me there against the shed, tainted and torn, reeking of guilt and self-loathing andhim.

And when I awake the following morning to chirping birds and ribbons of sunlight, I’m curled up inside the little wooden shed, body aching, skin filthy, dignity shattered.

Heart broken.

—TWENTY-ONE—

When I wake up the next morning, I have no idea what the fuck is going on. I shoot up in bed, momentarily caught between some sort of dreamland, fantasy, and preposterous reality.

What time is it?

Do I work today?

Did I fuck Melody against a shed last night?

My dick twitches in my boxers, as if to reply,hell fucking yeah, you did.

Jesus. Christ.

I went there with every intention of unveiling my Zephyr alter ego, but I couldn’t do it. I choked, and I couldn’t spit the goddamn words out.Why?

Don’t know.

Maybe because I’m a coward.

Maybe because everything would change.

Maybe because Melody wantsmeright now, and the moment she finds out who I really am… it won’t be about me anymore.

It will be abouthim.

Him and his goddamn heart.

I have no clue why that even matters—why something so drippy and sentimental would actuallymatterto me—but I can’t help but feel smothered by the realization that I don’t want to lose her.

And I would… I’d lose her.

So, apparently, the logical next step was to fuck her silly in her backyard to ensure that I’ll never dig my way out of this giant, endless hole of mind-numbing madness and fuckery.

Solid plan.

Utterly masterful.

Scrubbing a palm down my face, I heave out a sigh of frustration, blindly reaching for my phone to check the time and gauge damage control.

Shit.

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