Page 28 of The Vengeance You Crave
I blow out a long, frustrated breath and slump down in the chair.
Movement to my side catches my eye and when I glance over, I find Letty studying me, her brows pulled together.
"Everything is going to be okay, Luc." She gives me a soft smile that I wish would make me feel better but all it does is make my chest ache for the way I treated her.
She reaches over and takes my hand. It's not an unusual move but the heat of her fingers against my skin makes my entire body jolt.
Not missing my reaction, she hesitantly pulls her hand back, muttering an apology as she does.
Every muscle in my body locks up tight as I stare at the door, my need to storm out and put all this bullshit behind me is strong.
I have no idea what I'm doing right now. Football, college, Letty, Leon, fucking Peyton.
I relax slightly just at the thought of her name. She's the only one who makes it all go away.
When I look at her, standing before her, everything else that's falling apart in my life goes quiet.
Dad's voice disappears, and all my failings as a friend, a captain, a teammate, a brother, all vanish.
It's just me and her. It's like I'm a kid again without the pressure of real life, only that my best friend is no longer that. She's a girl who lied to me. Betrayed me. And the fun we used to have together has morphed into my need to hurt her, to show her what her words, her accusations, did to me back then.
Aside from Leon who was existing in the same hell as me, she was the only one who got me. The only one who knew what my life was really like. The only one who knew how hard I battled with family issues and how badly I wanted things to be different.
And then she shattered all of it.
The pencil that was in my hand snaps under the pressure of my grip, the splintered wood digging into my skin.
My heart races as I stare down at it, feeling exactly like I did the day she dropped the bomb on me.
The auditorium around me blurs as I fight to get a grip on reality.
"Luc?" A warm hand lands on mine and fingers begin to pry mine open.
Her scent fills my nose and I blink a few times as Letty's image clears before me.
I glance around, finding that the seats are almost empty around me and the professor is nowhere to be seen.
Fuck.
"Come on, I'm buying you a coffee and a cupcake. And don't even think about arguing with me."
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't right now.
The darkness from my past is clawing at me, threatening to consume me.
I once again look around the room, willing her to appear to put it all to rest, but she never does. Instead, students just leave, too many casting curious glances my way.
When I still don't move, Letty wraps her hand around my bicep and does her best attempt at pulling me from the chair.
My lip curls up in a smile as I watch her efforts.
Blowing a lock of hair from her face, she looks up at me, exasperated.
"You're gonna need to help."
Running my eyes down her body, I'm relieved to see that she's finally putting some decent weight on. When I first ran into her at the beginning of the fall semester, she was skin and bones. But even with all the drama of the past few months, she seems to have managed to find the time to look after herself, or more likely—and I hate to even admit this—Kane has.
I might not like him. I might not trust him or think he's good enough for Letty. But since they've become official, he only seems to have treated her exactly as she deserves. And for that, I'm beyond grateful because of anyone I know, Letty deserves the happily ever after.
