Total pages in book: 157
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 755(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
“No,” I deadpan. “I’m not going anywhere with Colton.”
Colton rakes his fingers through his hair. “I’m only taking you back home. You’re not going anywhere else with me. Lila has been by your side all this time; she needs to go back and get some rest.”
My jaw clenches, hating that his words make sense. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”
Colton swears under his breath and squeezes his eyes shut. He inhales deeply, and then opens his eyes again. “Look, I know I’m the last person you want to see right now—”
“You are,” I agree sharply. “Since you’ve already acknowledged that, then maybe you can leave now.”
Lila’s eyes bounce back and forth between Colton and me. “Am I missing something?” she asks cautiously.
“No!” we both exclaim in unison.
Colton sighs, tiredly rubbing a hand over his face. He looks weary, but I can’t bring myself to care. “Can you give Riley and me a moment in private, please?”
“Uhm…yeah, sure.”
I grasp onto her hand, pulling her back when she tries to leave. “Nope, I don’t want a moment in private with him. You can stay, he will leave.”
“Riley,” Colton mutters, my name sounding more like a warning on his lips. “I just need five minutes of your time. That’s all I’m asking.”
“I’ll be right outside.” Lila pulls her hand out of my grip, pats me on the shoulder and then walks away. I gape at her retreating back. Traitor. She slides the door closed behind her, leaving Colton and me alone in the hospital room.
I try to cross my arms over my chest, but I can’t, because the movement tugs on the IV tubes. I feel a pinch in the back of my hand and wince. I’m so glad I was passed out when they did this to me. I hate needles.
Colton shifts closer. His thumb rubs across his jaw, and he looks like he’s contemplating what to say, mulling over his words before speaking them out loud.
Well, that’s new. Since he always just speaks whatever is on his mind, regardless of the fact if it wounds other people or not.
He takes a deep breath. “Look, I want to apologize—”
Tossing my head back, I laugh. A dry, cold laugh.
His eyes darken, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “Would you just let me speak?” He’s already irritated. Well, his patience didn’t last too long. I’m not even surprised at this point.
“You know,” I start, my voice sounding hollow even to my own ears. “Yesterday, I was thinking that maybe we could have been friends.”
He blinks, shock evident on his face.
“Hate can get so exhausting sometimes. So, I was thinking of putting everything behind us and starting anew. A friendship of some sort. I was even willing to forgive you for calling me Jasper’s sloppy seconds—”
“That was a mistake,” Colton cuts me off. His regret is palpable; I can hear it in his words, but it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care about his apologies or his regret.
They mean nothing after last night.
“Oh, so now it’s a mistake?” I give him a brittle smile. “You know, in the last few weeks, I started to think that maybe you had a personality makeover. But I was wrong. Your words last night proved me wrong. And nothing you say now will fix it.”
“You won’t give me a chance to apologize?” He slowly advances toward me, until he’s standing by my side. He’s so close to me, the spicy scent of his cologne filling my nose. “You won’t let me fix this?”
“What changed your mind overnight?” I ask, but then shake my head. “Wait, no. It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know. Because even if you come up with the best excuse, I won’t believe you.”
He scowls.
Trust is a fragile thing. It might take years to build and only a second to break. And Colton lost my trust before he even had a chance to gain it.
I won’t give him the power to break me.
Colton Bennett will never be a safe option for my heart.
I should have never thought otherwise. Maybe I had a brief lapse of judgment, where I mistook his deception for kindness and even something more. But I won’t be making that mistake again.
Colton makes a growly sound in the back of his throat. Am I getting on his nerves? Good. “Is this how it’s going to be then?” he asks, a dark gleam in his gray eyes.
I nudge my chin up, staring at him through my lashes. I keep my expression cool, giving nothing away. He scoffs, shaking his head. His gaze sweeps across my face, lingering longer over my lips. Colton is quiet for a moment, and then I see it.
A twitch on his lips, almost like he’s trying to hide a smile.
“I wasn’t going to go at it like this. But you leave me no choice,” he tells me. His arm comes up, his knuckles softly brushing along my jaw before he wraps a loose strand of my blonde hair around his index finger. I try to move my head away, but he holds on tight. “I saved your life and you’re grateful, but that’s not enough. You owe me, Riley. You’re indebted to me. And I will be collecting. Not today, not tomorrow, and maybe not even next week or next month.”