Page 112 of Forever Yours

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I don’t want any more trouble,” he said again.

“Too fucking bad.”

I stepped closer. He tried to rush me, but I grabbed his shirt and pushed him against the refrigerator.

He looked panicked. Afraid. The same look I probably wore when I begged him for mercy as he was kicking me.

Justin held a hand up. “Look. Fallon already made it very clear what would happen to me if I ever came near you again. I was expelled from school, for Christ’s sake! I lost my tennis scholarship. I didn’t know you would be here. I don’t even know you!”

No, he didn’t. He didn’t know me at all, yet he attacked me. Hit me. Hurt me.

There was a metaphorical fork in the road every person came to. A choice to be made on which path to follow. The choice you made would forever alter your destiny. Alter the person you would become. For most of my life, I had walked the path of least resistance. The path where I never fought back. Never spoke up. Never made waves.

I wasn’t that man anymore. Justin destroyed that last innocent part of me that looked at the world through rose-colored glasses. There was no fork in the road for me this time. Because sometimes, you just had to carve your own path.

And this was mine.

I shoved Justin back with one hand. Then I punched that son of a bitch in the face.

I punched him again and again like Fallon had taught me until Justin crumpled to the floor on his ass, blood and snot pouring out of his nose.

My voice was steady and strong when I said, “Come near me or anyone else I care about, and I will file assault charges against you. I have medical records and pictures from the hospital documenting what you did. My father is also a sheriff and has an entire brotherhood of blue behind him. And I have Fallon.”

I let that hang. He knew what Fallon would do.

Justin shakily nodded his head as he cupped his nose.

Violence was never the answer to any problem. Violence was what started this whole thing. I knew that. I understood it. But I walked away with my head held high, not regretting what I did for one fucking second.

CHAPTER 32

“Jesus Christ, Elijah,” Dad said with so much heartbreak, I could feel it over the phone.

“It’s done.”

I fisted my right hand, the sting from my knuckles not too bad.

I’d told him everything that had happened. I wasn’t looking forward to repeating the same story to Julien when I called him later.

“Come home. It’s fall break. You don’t have class. Just come home.”

I sat back against the headboard and peeked over at April, who was happily lying on her stomach on the other bed, feet up in the air, watching some weird-ass foreign film with subtitles.

I was able to reserve a cheap room at one of the hotels that was near the airport. We’d ordered room service. Talked. Funny how I was going to miss her even though we’d only known each other for a few hours.

“Julien is arriving in the morning. I’ll see what he wants to do. I’m not old enough to rent a car, so other than Uber or Lyft, I’m kind of stuck here.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll take care of it. But I want to see you before classes start back up. Come home before then, okay?”

“Okay.”

He breathed a sigh full of relief. “Okay.”

It was easy to agree to because I wanted to see him, too. After today, I needed to hug my father. I needed to tell him how damn grateful I was for him and his unconditional love. The way he always built me up and encouraged me to go for my dreams, no matter what they were.

“I love you. So much. Call me tomorrow.”

“I will. Love you, too,” I told him.

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