Page 103 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

She sighs, her eyes turning glassy. I hate the way my heart pinches at the sight.

“I won’t leave,” she whispers. “I’ll tell you whatever you wanna know.” Her hands push against my chest, branding my skin through the fabric. “Please, I can’t breathe with you so close. It’s—”

“You think I can?” I snap, gripping her wrists and hauling her against me. “You think it’s been easy for me to be around you all this time?”

I tighten my grip and step into her, pushing her body against the door with my torso. “You think it hasn’t killed me to stand in your presence and remember the feel of having you in my arms? To realize that even after all these years…” My voice cracks and I grit my teeth, fighting the burn behind my eyes. “After all the pain you’ve inflicted, you still light my goddamn body on fire?”

A tear trails down her cheek, dripping off her chin. I watch as it falls, reveling in the show of emotion. My soul craves to dig deeper and draw out more. To prove that she actually gives a damn.

“I can’t do this,” she chokes.

My grip slackens, and she rips her wrists from my grasp, spinning around and flying through the door before I can stop her.

My heart pummels my chest.

I don’t fucking think so.

I stalk after her, following her into the closest room off the hallway.

Grabbing the door before it closes, I step into the space and glance around. Other than a desk at the front and a few chairs pushed against the wall, it’s empty.

Becca’s standing in front of the desk, gripping the edge, her shoulders hunched and her breathing heavy.

“Still running, I see.” My voice cuts through the air.

She shakes her head, her fingers flexing against the wood, making her knuckles turn white.

“Why did you leave, Rebecca?”

Silence.

Years of repressed anger rupture inside my chest and I twist, slamming the door closed. “God dammit! Stop bein’ a selfish bitch and just tell me.”

She spins to face me. “Because I loved you!”

My lungs collapse as her words slam into my chest, cracking it open and throttling my heart.

“What?” I gasp.

Her posture softens, her jade eyes glistening as they meet mine. “I loved you, alright? I still love you.”

She moves forward and I step back.

I don’t want her close.

I don’t believe a word she says.

Bitterness rolls through me and I huff out a laugh. “You don’t love me. You don’t love anyone but yourself.”

She tilts her face to the ceiling. “God, you have no idea how much I wish that were true. Do you think I like knowin’ I lost you before I ever had the chance to really have you?”

“You didn’t lose me.” The audacity of her words pumps rage through my veins and propels me toward her. “You threw me away. I was yours.” My fist beats my chest. “Every inch of me was yours.”

“Yeah. Well… now it’s Sarah’s,” she hisses.

My brows shoot to my hairline, a spike of satisfaction worming its way in, mixing with my anger. Her jealousy makes me feel like she actually gives a damn. Like I’m not the only one who feels this goddamn crazy.

I shrug. “Yeah, well… one woman’s trash is another woman’s treasure, I guess.”

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