Page 58 of What Is Love
He followed me out and grabbed my hand, stopping me. “Wait. What happened?”
I turned toward him. “I told you I’m not a good person. I’m a liar. I’m weak and pathetic. I’m not worth your time. And it doesn’t matter how much time I spend with you or how much I want to be around you. Nothing will ever change. I’m wasting your time and just torturing myself.”
He frowned, looking completely confused. “What?”
I shook my head as I pulled my hand from his. “Just…stay away from me.” It gutted me to say that, but it was for the best. I turned, leaving him standing there in shock, and started walking toward home.
Chapter Fifteen
After an hour,my feet were killing me. Stiletto boots were not meant to be walked in for long distances. From where I was, I still had at least a few more hours of walking left until I reached the Kendry Bridge and another hour from there to my house.
I debated going into the next store I came upon to see if I could use a phone to call the house. Prue was there. I could ask her to come get me.
The loud rumble of a motorcycle driving by made me look at the busy road next to me. I noticed the Haven’s Rebels cut before I saw the rider look back at me. The rider was wearing a helmet and sunglasses, but I could tell right away who it was.
As I continued along the sidewalk, I watched as he switched lanes, slowed, and pulled over just up ahead. It took me a minute to reach him, but as soon as I did, he got off his bike and faced me.
“What are you doing on this side of town walking alone?” Bram demanded, stopping me in my tracks. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Is that what you pulled over for? To scold me? Because if it is, get back on your motorcycle and continue on with your day.”
He pulled off his sunglasses to give me a stern look. “I don’t know if it’s stupidity or sheer balls, talking like that to a man like me.”
“Are you going to hurt me, Bram?” I asked. “Then get it over with.”
At first, he seemed like he thought I was all words, but the longer he stared at me, the more he looked taken aback. When he made no move to come after me, I went to walk around him.
He put up a hand to stop me. “Wait. Why are you here? Why are you walking alone?”
“I don’t have my car and my phone is dead.”
“Can I ask why you don’t have your car?”
I tucked my hair behind my ear. “I got a ride here last night, and by my own choices, I don’t have a ride back.”
“Right,” he said, sounding like he was trying to find patience. “And why did you decide to walk home from the other end of the city?”
“Because I got in a disagreement with…my friends.”
“When you say friends, you’re talking about Roe, Wyatt, and my stepson, Reid?”
I nodded.
“So you got into a disagreement with them and they fucking let you walk home alone?” I could tell he was trying to keep his voice calm, but it was obvious he was not happy.
“I told them to leave me alone. So you can’t really blame them for giving me what I asked for,” I said.
He sighed through his nose. “Maybe not, but it still pisses me off.”
“Why?” I asked. “You don’t even know me.”
“I—” He paused, as if unsure what to say. “I knew your father.”
“Is that how you knew my name?”
He looked away toward his bike. “Yeah.”
I shifted my weight from one aching foot to the other. “Then, acquaintance of my late father, can I go? Or can I please borrow your phone so I can call someone to come get me?”
