Page 7 of Captured Love

SELENE

What the hell was that?

I still find myself saying those words as I make my way into the library to start my shift. I’ve replayed the scene in my mind again and again over the last week. However I still can’t make sense of how Knox could be so callous. Yes, we’d agreed to keep things casual, but with how quickly he ran away from me after we had sex, you would have thought I poisoned him or something.

I wish I could stop thinking about it, but the whole thing still feels like something out of a bad movie. For now though, it was time to focus on the reason I was here.

I hang my coat on the rack behind the circulation desk and take a seat at the table. Being here, even this late at night, usually comforts me, but not today. Sure, being here this late at night can suck, however I’m mostly a night owl and I make sure that my work schedule doesn’t interfere with my ability to party on weekends.

I have priorities and all that.

The library is nearly empty, as it usually is during my late-night shifts. A few die-hard studiers are working quietly and I’msure there are several people on the upper and lower levels. My head snaps to look at this guy I might have seen on campus a few times before because he yawns so loud I can hear it from where I sit. With a quick shake of my head, I open my philosophy textbook, determined to do some homework until someone needs to check out or until I need to lock up the library. I end up staring at the first line of the assigned reading for a few moments before closing it again.

“Selene, you look like shit,” a familiar voice says.

I look up to see Isla Johnson, my beautiful blonde best friend standing in front of me.

I roll my eyes and cross my arms across my chest as I stare her down. “Well hello to you too. I had a feeling you would show up today.”

“Well you gave me no choice since you’ve been dodging my texts and calls.”

She has every right to call me out on that because it’s true. I didn’t want to have to deal with explaining exactly what she saw at the hockey house last week.

“I still don’t even know how to tell you what happened.”

Isla's nails tap out a random rhythm on the circulation desk. She cocks her head to the side, her expression softening just a fraction. “Babe, you don't have to tell me. I saw enough.” She pauses for a second before she continues. “Although I would like to know the details.”

With a heavy sigh I rub both hands across my face before tossing my hair to one side. Isla has seen me in every conceivable state—drunk, heartbroken, ecstatic—but this feels different, more raw. But that could be just because of how recent this all is.

“You sure you want to know?” I say, though I know Isla is never one to back down from the gritty details of my life—or anyone else's for that matter.

“Spill it,” she says, as she walks around the desk and drops her bag at the other desk. “Are you working alone tonight?”

“Yeah, Seth called out tonight.”

“Excellent.” Isla pulls up a chair and sits in it backward. She rests her arms on the top of the backrest. “I mean, only tell me about what happened if it's going to make you feel better. If not, we can just talk about something else.”

I appreciate her effort to be understanding, but I know she’s dying to know. Heck, if it hadn’t happened to me, I would want to know too.

“Okay, well,” I say, and it’s followed by a short pause. I lean closer to her in an effort to keep this all quiet. “When you, Asher, and I ran into each other in the hallway, Knox and I had just gotten done having sex.”

Isla raises an eyebrow but stays silent, encouraging me to continue.

I take a deep breath, bracing myself for her reaction to the next part because if anyone will understand how deeply it hurt me, it's Isla.

“It was... I thought it was great. Like, really great. But then he just got up and walked to his closet to get dressed and told me not to get any ideas because this doesn’t change anything. No cuddling, no chatting—nothing.”

Isla's eyes widen. “He what?! What a dick.”

“Right?” I say, feeling a small surge of relief that she's on my side because she easily could have thrown out the fact that she told me so. “I wasn’t expecting things to end that…abruptly.”

“And cold,” Isla adds. “What the hell…I know Jade and Hailey said he was an ass, but I didn’t think he would do that.”

I shrug, not wanting to admit that I thought the same thing. Knox and I had been talking and texting for a little while. It wasn't like we'd hooked up out of nowhere, not to mention my best friend is dating one of his teammates. This meanswe’ll probably run into each other. But what hurts the most is realizing that maybe he never actually cared at all.

“He’s a guy,” I say, attempting to keep my emotions at bay. “Maybe I just misread everything. At least now I know where we stand.”

“Where you stand is that you're done with him,” Isla says firmly. “You deserve someone who actually gives a shit, not some hot-and-cold douchebag who only wants you on his terms.”

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