Page 126 of Bitter When He Begs

But he doesn’t budge. “No.”

I grit my teeth. “I said move, West.”

“You think we’re fucking stupid?” Eli snaps, stepping closer, his blue eyes flashing with something dangerously close to concern. “You think we don’t know exactly where you’re off to?”

I scoff, throwing my head back. “I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.” Julian snaps.

I shake my head, taking a step forward, trying to push past them again, but Eli plants a hand in the center of my chest and shoves me back again.

“I’m leaving.”

“No, you’re fucking not,” Eli snaps.

My stomach twists, and the itch under my skin turning into a full-blown ache. I take a breath, forcing a smirk, trying to play it cool, trying to lie. “My dad wants to meet me, that’s it. No fucking clue why you two are acting like—”

“Luca.” Julian’s voice cuts through my excuse. “You’re full of shit.”

My breath stutters for half a second, and I force a laugh. “No, seriously. He called, he—”

“Your dad is a piece of shit, man,” Eli snaps, cutting me off completely. “And we both know he wouldn’t waste his time meeting you unless it was to tell you how much you fucking suck.”

The words hit harder than they should, and I swallow thickly, my fingers curling into fists. “Fuck you.”

Eli doesn’t even flinch.

Julian exhales slowly, rubbing a hand down his face before stepping into my space. “We saw it the second we got back here. We saw it the second we saw you.”

I grind my teeth, my breathing uneven. “Saw what?”

“The look. The desperate one you used to have before you got clean.” Eli tilts his head. “And guess what? We got a heads up.”

My stomach drops and rage spikes up my spine, twisting through my ribs like barbed wire.

“Damon told us to keep an eye on you in case of a loss as it might be a trigger,” Eli continues and lets out a humorless laugh. “Hate to say it, but he was fucking right.”

My hand slams into the nearest wall, hard, the thud echoing through the room, and my vision blurring with the sheer force of my frustration. “So what, I’m your charity case now?”

“You’re our friend, asshole,” Julian growls. “You’re our fucking family. And I’m not watching you go down this road again.”

I glare at both of them. “You think I can’t handle a loss?”

“You’re not fucking handling it right now, Luca,” Eli says, shaking his head. “You’re drowning, and instead of grabbing a life jacket, you’re meeting up with one of the guys who damn near buried you.”

“You don’t know shit,” I bite out. “Neither of you do. So get the fuck out of my way.”

But they don’t move.

They don’t fucking move.

Eli just stares at me, unflinching. “We’re not letting you do this.”

I exhale through my nose, my whole body trembling, my teeth grinding together so hard my jaw aches. The frustration insideme is a wildfire, rage licking up my spine, spreading through my chest, making my hands itch to hit something again.

I need to get out of here.

I need tobreathe.

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