Page 64 of Fresh Start
He stood at the bottom of the stairs, and his face and eyes were red.
“I can’t believe I let myself trust you again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...”
“Leo. It’s not like that. Please stop. Let me exp—”
There was no point. He was already gone.
Fuck!What the hell happened?
Eighteen
Leo
Iwas done with listening. It was time to cut Dawson out of my life. Again. How could I have been such a fool? How could I have let myself trust him after everything? I needed to stop letting my dick dictate my life. Here I was, in trouble again because of it.
Never again.
Dawson belonged to the past, not in my future. As much as I’d wanted him to be.
Why did he have to go and fuck it up again? Weren’t we happy? Weren’t we good together? What more did he want?
He already had all the fame and money anyone could want. He was living my dream. Despite what it took to get him there, he was. Why did he have to take the only good thing I had away from me?
Years, so many years, I’d been fighting, craving for an opportunity such as this. And of course, Dawson had to smear all over it with his bullshit. Because Leo didn’t deserve anything good. Because I didn’t.
The tears streamed down my face and heads turned as I stormed out of the house and found myself blocked by all the fucking cars in the driveway.
I looked behind me for anyone willing to move their vehicle so I could get out of this fucking house, but no one was there.
Dawson wasn’t there. He hadn’t come after me. Why hadn’t he run after me? Even just to make excuses.
Of course he hadn’t. He’d gotten what he needed, so now he could get back to his life better than ever. Leaving me behind as usual.
I’d been such a fool. To trust him with my story, with my body, with my kisses, only for him to steal all of them away and use them as he saw fit.
And the worst part of it all was that I still wanted him to come after me and tell me it was all a lie and that I’d been having hallucinations or something equally wild.
But that wasn’t going to happen. Even if it did, there was no way I could take him back. Not after he lied to me. I was done with Dawson Eldred. Never again.
Tonight had been what I needed. A kick in the butt to remind me that no one was getting in the way of my dreams. Dawson had hurt me, and it was nice to put an end to the resentment and the memories, but it was time to move on to greener pastures.
I’d hoped there could be something between us. A future, perhaps. But if tonight proved anything, it was that old habits die hard.
Dawson still looked out for himself and only cared about one person and one person only. Dawson Eldred. Even after all the talks, the explanations, and the apologies, he had still done the same thing to me as he had all those years ago.
Dawson looked out for himself.
The more I repeated those words, like a mantra stuck on a loop in my head, the less shit I felt for allowing myself to trust him. Dawson couldn't help himself.
I needed to let it go. It was going to be my new motto. Whatever happened next in my life, I was going to be a let-it-go man. I’d stop carrying burdens and betrayals like a heavy weight. No matter how much they hurt.
It was the best thing I could do for myself. If Dawson only cared about himself, it was time for Leo to look after Leo too. I wasn't going to allow him to steal from me again.
I jumped over the hood of one car and stepped on the patch of green running beside it to escape this house. Escape him. For good.
“Leo!” someone called behind me as I walked down the road of where the Eldreds lived.
Dawson?
