Page 45 of The Scars of Us

“What?” I exclaimed angrily as I stood. “Why did you tell him that?”

“He’s not good for you, Ky. He—” He relaxed his stance as he moved towards me again, but I held my hand up to stop him.

“That’s not your decision, Kamden!” My voice rose as I narrowed my eyes at him. “It’s my choice whether I want to see him or not!”

Kamden paused, giving me a perplexed look as a grin attempted to curve his lips. “You really like him, don’t you?”

Did I?“I don’t know… he makes me feel different.” I sighed as I locked eyes with him. “Alive… like I’m not just a hollow shell anymore.”

“Well, he didn’t sound like he was going to listen to me, anyway. He wants you to call him.” He smiled knowingly at me.

My lips tipped up, but almost immediately fell. “I can’t believe he wants to talk to me after last night. I was all over that guy right in front of him, and I yelled at him in front of all the people in the club.” I blew out a breath of frustration as I buried my face in my hands and groaned.

“I don’t like the guy, but he obviously has feelings for you. He wouldn’t have wasted his time otherwise. Ryker has no problem getting women.”

That was an understatement. Ryker had told me that he had lost count of how many women he’d been with, and never slept with the same one twice.I wonder if he’ll be the same with me.After Thursday night, I would’ve said yes, but given the events of last night, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

“I know. I’m going to get some ice for my cheek and call him.”

After grabbing a bag of frozen vegetables, I went back to my room and dug my phone from my purse.Fuck, it’s dead.Plugging it in to the charger, I powered it up before dialing Ryker’s number.

“Hey, Warrior.”

A warm tingle spread through me at his words, causing a smile to spread over my face—I loved when he called me that. “Hey.” I lay back on my bed, keeping the phone to the opposite side of where I was holding my makeshift icepack to my cheek.

“How you feeling?” His tone sounded genuine, like he actually wanted to know.

“Fine. My cheek and head hurt, but I’m okay. How are your knuckles?”

Ryker’s laughter sounded into the phone. “You’re the one who got attacked last night, and you’re worried about me. They’re fine, baby.”

“Good.” I paused for a few seconds, nibbling my bottom lip. “I’m really sorry about last night.”

“Me too, for everything.” He sighed into the phone. “Let’s just forget about it and move on. Can I see you today?”

Some tension eased in my chest—he still wanted to talk to me after how I acted. “What did you have in mind?”

“Lunch? I don’t have to go into the gym until two today. I can pick you up or meet you somewhere.”

“You can pick me up. In an hour?” A goofy smile spread across my face as I stifled a girly squeal.

“I’ll see you then. Bye, Warrior.”

“Bye.”

After I hung up, I rushed to shower and get ready in time before Ryker got there. We had a lot to discuss, especially the things he’d said to me after we had sex Thursday night—I hadn’t forgotten them. Their harshness still stung me, and they were such a contrast to his actions last night that I was left totally confused.

I dressed in a deep purple sundress, then applied some foundation to the bruise on my cheek, but it didn’t help much. The purple of the welt almost matched the color of my dress and looked terrible against my pale skin.

Ryker texted me when he was downstairs, and I peeked my head into Kamden’s room to tell him about my plans.

“I’m going to lunch with Ryker. I’ll be back later.”

Kamden gave me a disapproving look as he cautioned, “Be careful.”

I rolled my eyes. “I will.”

Ryker was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. He looked amazing, as always, in a tight blue V-neck shirt that emphasized his muscles. He gave me his sexy grin until I got closer, then his eyes focused on my cheek. His eyebrows creased in anger as his smile morphed to a scowl. “That fucking bastard,” he mumbled below his breath.

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