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LEXI

The second I’m out of his condo, I release a sob. Tears fall in torrents down my face as my back shakes. This is not how I thought today was going to go. I did not see that coming.

This week has been nothing short of perfection, and now it’s going to end like this?.

Fuck you very much, universe.

Even when I try, I lose. I just can’t…

More than anything, I’m hurt. How could someone who supposedly loves me think so poorly of me?

Reality dawns, and despite my hurt feelings, I know that Boss’s accusations were coming from a place of fear and, let’s face it—past realities. I can’t forget that he found me in a puddle of my own vomit the last time I stayed with him. Sure, I’ve told him that I’ve changed, but it will take time to prove it. I get all that.

However, it still hurts.

I want the happily ever after, and I want it now, but that’s not reality. If I want that life, I’m going to have to work for it. That means proving that I’m someone he can trust, showing up every day, and loving him unconditionally. That also means not storming out of his place with a fuck you when things get hard.

I sigh.

Nothing worth having comes easy. And… Boss is worth it. He is. I love him. If I can’t stick around to work through our first—well, second fight, then how pathetic am I?

“Hey, baby. You look like you could use a pick-me-up?” The nasally voice I remember from the past invades my present.

Red-hot anger courses through my veins at the sight of this acne-scarred asshole. He ruined the end to an otherwise perfect week, and I hate him so much for it.

Without thought, I bend, picking up a rock in the stone landscaping and chuck it as hard as I can toward him. “How dare you come around here asking for me!” I scream. Picking up another rock, I throw it, hitting his leg. “Who do you think you are?”

“Ouch. What the hell, bitch? I just thought that…”

I don’t allow him to finish his thought before I pick up two more rocks and whip them in this direction. He covers his face. “Well, you thought wrong! You are the worst kind of person. All you do is ruin people’s lives! If you come around here again, I will fucking kill you! Do you understand?” I’m out of control, throwing rocks and screaming at the top of my lungs. I’ve officially lost it. “I will kill you!”

“I’m out! Psycho,” he says as he jogs away from the crazy woman I’ve become.

I glare, nostrils flaring as he gets farther away. I’ve never thought of myself as someone capable of murder, but I really think I could kill him. Maybe?

He turns the corner out of sight.

I cover my face with my hands as sobs wrack my body. All of my emotions have come to the surface, and I’m a mess, crying into my hands.

Familiar arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me into him. “I’m sorry.”

I twist around, pressing my face against him as I cry. He holds me tight, kissing the top of my head. “I’m so sorry, Lexi. I should’ve asked you before I accused you. I’m such a dick. Please forgive me.”

I simply nod.

Taking a step back, I swipe my shirt-clad arm across my face to wipe my tears. “How long have you been out here?” I sniffle.

“For all of it. That was amazing.” He grins, suppressing a laugh.

I shake my head. “I was crazy.”

“Crazy awesome, and that asshole deserves it. I was hoping one of those rocks would hit him square between the eyes.” He rubs his hands up and down my arms.

“He could turn me in for assault,” I say, now just realizing the possible consequences of my actions.

Boss shakes his head. “Those lava rocks in the plant bed aren’t that dense. I doubt any of them even really hurt him. He’s just a whiny bitch. Plus, he’d never say anything, or we’d turn the tables on him. Last I checked, dealing illegal drugs is still illegal.”

“True. Maybe we could set up a sting operation. You could talk to some of your cop friends. I could go undercover and pretend to buy from him, and then he’d go to jail.”

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