Page 60 of Out of the Shadows
“Dump the Michaels kid. I don’t want to hear any moreabout this nonsense. I’ll be in touch with you as soon as I straighten out this mess, and this time, youwillshow up.”
The line went dead, and I remained frozen in place. A paralyzing coldness of terror seared through my very being, consuming every shred of warmth I possessed and leaving nothing behind.
Twenty Two
Hailey
When I finally managed to pull myself out of shock, I got behind the wheel and drove home. The boiling anger and defiance toward my father burned away the cold second by second.
Who the hell did he think he was?
Dump Colt? Over my dead fucking body.
I trudged up the stairs to my dorm room instead of taking the elevator, needing to burn off some energy after the whole debacle. If my dear old dad had thought I was rebellious before, then he was in for a real treat now. I would play his fucked-up game for now, but only to lull him into a false sense of security.
He would not decide the course of my life, and he was certainly not going to fuck things up with Colt now that I finally had a chance.
The drive had helped me clear my head and work throughthe indignation and anger, but that didn’t mean it had disappeared. Huffing, I entered our room and tossed my stuff onto the unmade bed.
Just as I was kicking off my shoes, Ella bustled through the door.
“There she is!” she exclaimed with a shit-eating grin. “Didn’t think I’d see you here so soon.”
Apparently, Colt had texted Ella from my phone last night so she wouldn’t worry.Swoon.But also, a little embarrassing, considering my passcode is his birthday, and he seemed to have figured that out somehow. I apologized for leaving Ella alone at that party, but she had waved me off, telling me she was a big girl.
***
“I can’t fucking believe it. Bro, this is wild. Like something out of a movie.” Ella’s eyes were twice the normal size.
I just sipped my white Monster, a slight smile on my lips, still a little baffled all this had actually happened. We were on our way to the gym, strolling across campus with the sun warming our faces.
Even though we were pursuing different sports, we had started working out together over the last few weeks. It was fun to mix things up a bit, to incorporate other points of view. I always thought it made me a better athlete.
“Please tell me you cashed in that v-card last night.”
“Not just me,” I mumbled before realizing what I was saying.
Ella’s hand landed on my arm with a slap. “Shut the fuck up. Are you serious?”
“Oh my God, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Okay, Hagrid.”
I furrowed my brows. “What?”
“You know, Hagrid, the big dude in Harry Potter, he always saysI shouldn’t have— whatever, never mind. Big daddy gave you his virginity?”
“Jesus Christ, don’t shout like that.” I cringed. “And please, for the love of God, stop calling him that.”
“Sorry, sorry, my bad. But he totally saved it for you. O-M-G, that’s the sweetest thing ever.”
“Bullshit … He didn’t.” Right?
“He totally did.” She snorted. “Girl, this guy’s been drooling over you for years, and he just happens to be a virgin? Nah, he was definitely hoping for that.”
Huh. She might be right, and the thought caused a whole swarm of butterflies to explode in my stomach.
“Maybe.”
