Page 87 of Twisted Assist

The look on Hunter’s face told me I was right, but Hunter was just now realizing the lengths Colton had gone to for him.

“You live close to my work. I bet Colton thought that when I realized my tire was flat that I would call you, run to you.”

Tripp was cursing under his breath behind me, hearing this all for the first time as well. He didn’t interject, but he was pissed, and I wasn’t sure we could get past it all.

“He was pissed when I told him I was going to work out with the Inferno. He approached me at the school that day, the day I called and wanted you to come down and watch the workout. He was there, and I knew if you came, he would leave, or have to tell you why he was there.”

“You two were playing the same game,” Tripp snapped at Hunter. “But for opposite teams. And Tatum was caught in the middle.”

Not just of Hunter and Colton but of Hunter and Tripp. Tripp and Colton. Somehow, I ended up being everyone’s fucking puppet while they all fought over who should be with whom. The only person who focused on me and my needs was Tripp. It was the reason I fell in love with him. The reason I could never walk away. The reason it hurt so much. Knowing that of all three of them, he was the only one I was scared to lose.

“I need to get out of here.” Pulling away from Tripp, he started to follow me, but I held up a hand and stopped him. “I need to be alone. I need to think about myself. About what I want, who wants me, and what all of this cost me. Because right now, I feel alone and empty. Broken. You’re a victim in all this, Tripp, but how could we ever get past this if all we were ever destined to be was casual? Not to mention the fact that my brother is involved. I can’t take any more heartbreak, especially from you.”

“I’m not—”

Waving at him, I turned and started running, not wanting to hear anything else for the night. Colton was still at my place, probably wondering where the hell I went, and I knew I needed to talk to him, but I couldn’t. Not yet. So, it felt like I had nowhere to go.

Except I did. One place that I hated going to, but where the one person more fucked up than I was. We may not have seen eye to eye, and I may have thought she was capable of manipulating me to stay with Hunter. But when it came down to it, there was only one safe place for a girl that felt so fucked.

Home.

ChapterForty-Three

Tripp

Ilet Tatum leave because she deserved to handle things however she needed to. She loved her brother, and I would end up saying something I would regret if I didn’t give us both time to think things through.

“Do you love her?” Hunter asked like he had suddenly become her father and deserved an answer. It was none of his business, and I started to tell him that, but the truth felt better.

“Yeah, I think I do.”

“Then can I give you some advice?”

“Fuck no,” I laughed, turning around to walk away.

“Wait!”

Despite wanting to get as far away from him as I could, I turned back around to hear what he had to say. At the very least, it would give me something to laugh about with the guys later.

“I’m sorry.”

He didn’t have to keep saying it. As much as I hated him, I knew he was sorry for his role in everything. But using Tatum to get to me was about as low as it got, and I would never forgive him for treating her that way.

“Next time,” I shrugged. “I’ll make sure your hands are tied to the chair so you can’t stroke your own dick.”

Maybe I was hinting that one day, I’d let him watch me fuck Tatum again. Perhaps I was giving him one more slap to the face as I reminded him that she was mine. Or, I guess more importantly, that I was hers.

“If she wasn’t the one you fell for, would we have stood a chance?”

“Are you asking if I’m gay?’

“I’m…yeah… or bi, since you clearly have feelings for Tatum.”

“You seem to be extra nosy tonight.”

“Well, I’m leaving Miami again tomorrow. The Inferno is not an option anymore. I quit the university today. So yeah, I’m being nosy because just like always, I have nothing to lose, and I’m not gonna be around to see how this all ends.”

“Where are you headed?”

---