Page 46 of Face Off
“It was nothing.”
He nods in silence. “Didn’t look like nothing, Hayley. You acted the same way when Vince walked in with Cassidy last night. So, I know something has to be going on.”
I feel my annoyance growing in me as I pull myself away from him to sit up in the bed. “Why, can’t you just let this go? Nothing was going on between Boyce Cameron and me.”
“I don’t get why you can’t tell me what’s going on, Hayley. We’re in this together, so why can’t you be honest with me?”
Says the man who’s hiding just as much of his past life as I am. He practically threw a fit when Sydney mentioned his life back in Chicago.
“Why won’t you tell me about Chicago?”
“Because what happened in Chicago is irrelevant.”
Irrelevant? But my past matters. Gosh, he can be such a condescending prick at times.
I wrap the sheet around my body as I climb off the bed. “Irrelevant? You want me to tell you so much about my past, yet you’re hiding behind your skeletons just as much as I am.”
“This isn’t about me, Hayley.” He raises his voice at me.
My eyes sting as tears prick the back of my eyes. “You need to leave.”
A single tear falls down my cheek as I turn away from Brooks. He’ll never understand why I choose to keep my past from everyone. Why I choose to keep Boyce Cameron in my past where he belongs. Why I choose to hide who my father is. Why when he refuses to tell me anything about his life before Chicago, I pull away. I have no more room in my life for secrets. God knows I have enough of my own to last a lifetime. I have trust issues all around. Trust issues in myself, especially those around me.
“Hayley,” he says, trying to reach for me.
I shake my head, mentally kicking myself for ever thinking this could work between us. “Brooks, please.” My voice croaking. “I just need time.”
Without looking back or giving him a chance to say anything more, I disappear into the bathroom. I shut the door and lean my back against it, trying to calm my breaths, stifling the sobs that are bound to break free.
Brooks
“You fucked it up, didn’t you?” Sydney accuses as I walk into her villa.
‘You fucked it up, didn’t you?’ I say to myself in a mocking tone as I plop down on the couch. She had to go and open her big mouth about Tiffany and the shit in Chicago. I mean I can’t put all the on Syd. I couldn’t let my alpha male possessiveness take a backseat for one night. But seeing that fuck head Boyce talk to Hayley as if he knows her. Has some sort of history with her, that drove me mad. I mean the kiss at the game tonight was a prime example.
“Got any whiskey?” I say, walking to the dry bar in the corner of the room before pouring two fingers full into a glass. “Why am I this way?”
“What way?”
“Fucked up. A possessive asshole who can’t just let things go,” I say, swallowing the amber liquid in one shot before pouring another glass full.
“Asshole? No. Possessive? Well, you hit that part on the head. I mean look what happened when Tiffany pushed your limits,” Sydney says, taking a seat on the love seat across fromme. “What happened tonight? You and Hayley looked so happy. It was something I haven’t seen from you in a long time.”
Yeah. Right. Happy. That was until Boyce fucking Cameron showed up.
Boyce fucking Cameron.
Asshole extraordinaire. Acted like he was some gift from God when he was drafted into the league. He’s one of the reasons I’m the way I am. He was one of the many men Tiffany bedded when they would roll through town. And seeing him interact with Hayley tonight just set me off and reminded me of why I chose to stay away from relationships to begin with. Yet, I want Hayley and all the baggage she comes with no matter how bad it is.
“Boyce Cameron showed up when we were entering the arena. Asked to speak to her privately,” I say, taking a swig of my whiskey. “I asked her what was going on between him and her. She told me nothing, but I continued to push.” Yeah, might as well have pushed myself right out the damn door. “Reminded me a lot of Tiffany.”
Sydney stands and comes to sit next to me, pulling me into a tight hug. Yes, I may be older than her, but she has always been the mature one. Sure, I stepped up to be the man of the house when our dad walked out on us, but Sydney had always been the rock.
“Why am I so fucked up?” I say as the flood gates finally open.
“You’re not fucked up, Brooks. You’re the best person I know,” she says, squeezing me tighter. “Who was the person to step up for me when my douchebag ex decided to cheat on me? Left me without a home and a whole shit ton of emotional damage? You. You did that. So, who cares if you’re a possessivealpha male. I saw the way Hayley looked at you and how she became this jealous person when I hugged you the other night. She loves you. There’s not a single doubt in my mind.”
Drama. This is all this is. Complete, avoidable drama. Drama that I swore I never would get involved in again.
