Page 97 of Reckless

“Looks like you already got what you deserved,” she pointed at my face, which was still covered in bruises in all the colors of the rainbow. Her throat bobbed and that gave her away. She wasn’t happy seeing me like this. “What happened?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Yes. I would very much like to hear how someone beat the shit out of you. In detail, please.”

“I had a concussion and three cracked ribs. My whole body is covered in painful bruises, and I pissed blood for a few days.”

She couldn’t hide her worry from her face, no matter how hard she tried to convince me she enjoyed hearing all that.

“That’s the life of the criminal for you,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Can I explain?”

“What would be the point in that? I don’t trust you anymore. I can’t be with someone like you. Chloe knows your secrets and still wants to be with you. Maybe you should send her flowers.”

“You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“I’m also pretty sure you lied about her son. You are the father, aren’t you?”

“No,” I said, suddenly annoyed at her.

“I can’t possibly imagine why she would torture herself with being around you, giving the fact you fuck everything under the sun a few feet away from her, while she works…”

“Stop. Liam is not my son.”

“You have to be the father. Why else would they be so important to you?”

“I am not the father, Hannah. My best friend is.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Tyler

Three years ago

Weweredrunkbeforewe even arrived at the party. Chloe was already there, waiting for us, furious that Liam was almost three hours late. She had called him at least ten times in the last two hours.

“Where the hell have you been?” she started yelling at Liam the moment she saw him.

“Relax,” he put his hand on top of her belly. “That stress it’s not good for the baby.” Chloe was seven months pregnant and shouldn’t have even been there in the first place.

“I didn’t even want to come here, Liam. And you kept me waiting for three hours.”

“Babe, I just wanted us to have some fun. When our little guy gets here, there will be no parties.”

I didn’t care about babies and had no clue how to pacify a furious pregnant woman, so I kept my mouth shut. The look on Chloe’s face suggested Liam should do the same.

Liam and I continued drinking, despite her protests. She had changed so much since the two of them decided to keep the baby. She could barely tolerate us. She was about to become a mom and Liam was still acting like he didn’t have a care in the world. I knew she was worried about the money. About where they would live. He always told her that everything would work on its own. I understood her frustration, but I also felt good I wasn’t losing my best friend, so I pretended he wasn’t acting like a douche.

The other reason I avoided talking to Liam about Chloe was the fact that Chloe and I hooked up once before they got together. It meant nothing to us both, but after the two of them got serious, it became the pile of dog shit the three of us were trying not to step on. Liam really loved her, and I wanted to respect that. And I was well aware he wasn’t thrilled that I knew how she looked without her clothes on.

Chloe’s leg jumped up and down the entire time we were at the party. She wanted to leave but knew it would become an argument and with Liam being drunk, she would have to leave alone. So I decided to lighten the mood with some friendly banter.

“Hey, Liam,” I shouted and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve been hitting the gym without you.”

“No worries, man,” Liam grinned. “We both know you need more training than I do.”

“I used to need more training,” I clarified. “I am better than you now.”

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