Page 67 of Don't Love the Boy Next Door
“Then I’ll talk to her. Tell her it was my fault.”
I roll my eyes again. Of course he’s so confident in his good looks and personality that he thinks he’s got our history teacher wrapped around his finger. That might be true…but so what?
“Please, Phoenix.” His voice cracks.
I go still. Is he…really genuinely bothered by this? His eyes look anguished, like he’s been losing sleep.
I wave my hand. “You have five minutes and then I’m out of here.”
He nods, taking a deep breath. Then his eyebrows furrow. He holds out his hands like he’s begging me to hear him out and not jump down his throat.
I cross my arms over my chest. “Four minutes.”
He shuts his eyes for a second. “I just want to tell you that I didn’t mean to hurt you. I…” He takes in another deep breath before slowly releasing it. “I just…couldn’t do it under my real name.”
I lift a brow. “Do it?”
“Protect you.”
I glare at him. “I don’t need your protection.”
He steps closer. “Of course I know that. You’re one of the strongest people I know. But when those jerks were trolling you...I couldn’t sit there and not do anything. I had to defend you, support you. And I had to make a fake name because you hated me.”
I don’t say anything for a few seconds. Then I look up at him. “What made you think I needed anyone to defend me?”
He bends closer, and I back more into the wall, not that I have much room. Any further and I’ll meld into it. “I saw how much it hurt you,” he says. “You try to put on a brave face, but those comments can bring down even the strongest person.”
I’m thrown off for a second. He actually cared that I was hurt? But hold on…
“What do you mean you saw it hurt me?” I ask. “I thought you didn’t watch my channel.”
“It was when you came to my house to work on the project. We were supposed to do research on an artist, but I noticed you looked really bothered. I checked out your latest video and I saw the hate. I…I couldn’t take it, so I made LiamC to help you.”
I just stare at him. “You couldn’t take it? What do you mean? You hated me.”
He shuts his eyes again for a second. “No. I didn’t.”
I give him a look like I don’t believe him. Then I roll my eyes. “Sure.”
He stretches his hand out to the wall, resting it near the left side of my head. He’s getting really close now, but for some reason, it doesn’t upset me as much as it did that last time, after he confronted me about that video where I roasted him.
“I didn’t hate you, but I always managed to say the wrong thing to you. I’m really sorry for everything. I think we got off on the wrong foot and I’d like for us to be friends.”
I gape at him. “Friends?”
He nods slowly. “If you can forgive me.”
Forgive him? After all the pain and embarrassment he put me through? He had me convinced he was this cool, sweet, super kind guy. But he’s not that.
I slide away from him. “I don’t know if I can. I mean—”
He slips toward me, this time placing both hands on either side of me so I can’t escape. “LiamC was me. I’m that guy you had fun with. Who you stayed up for hours chatting to and gaming with.”
I shake my head. “It was an act.”
“I’m not an actor.”
My lips clamp shut as I look into his eyes. They’re still hard to read, but they seem sincere enough. Still, it can all be an act.He claimed he’s not an actor, but I think he is. And he shares his brother’s genes—Eric is so talented as Beast.
