Page 35 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

God. Now I feel bad. He looks as if he’s lost faith in me, like everyone else. Maybe I need to be focusing on someone else? Isn’t that the opposite of selfishness? Perhaps I sh—

Suddenly, my phone rings in my pocket which is weird since it’s well after midnight. Nobody calls me, especially not at this hour.

I pull it out and see my dad’s face is on the screen. Something’s wrong. I flash my phone at Dax, who stands, taking a step towards me.

‘Dad?’ I put the phone on speaker so Dax can hear in case it’s something terrible.

‘Hollyn,’ Dad says. ‘Tristan is here.’

What? Why?

‘He’s refusing to leave until he sees you. This man has never even so much as called us on the phone. You need to take care of this before he ends up in the hospital. Or worse.’

‘What does he want?’

‘I don’t know. But get here before I end up in jail.’

‘Come on,’ Dax says. ‘We’ll be there in fifteen, John.’

‘Thanks, Dax. See ya soon, kid,’ Dad speaks directly to Dax as if I’m no longer a part of the conversation. I didn’t realize they were still close.

‘You can just drop me off,’ I say as the two of us jog down the stairs towards his car.

‘No way am I dropping you off to deal with that dumb fuck in the middle of the night alone. I’ll be right there with you.’

I’ve invaded his world, taken over his TV, cock blocked his booty call, and said no to his request to help with the show. Why would he help me after all that? The man is a mystery.

The times I’ve ridden with Dax over the years, he’s been the perfect driver. Not this time. If I ever wanted to experience the death ride of a lifetime, that was it. We made it to my parents’ place in less than fifteen minutes and, sure enough, a rental car is parked in front of their house.

‘Listen.’ Dax reaches over, touching my arm. ‘I’ll be right behind you. Tell me if you feel you’ve lost control or are scared and I’ll take care of this loser.’

I nod, taking a deep breath before opening the car door. Tristan is sitting on the step of my parents’ porch, leaning against one of the posts. I glance back at Dax, who’s now walking around his car and leaning against the door I just exited.

‘What are you doing here?’ I ask Tristan as I walk his way, my arms crossed over my chest.

He jumps from the porch, stumbling down the step but regaining his footing quickly. I stop a dozen feet from him. His tie hangs loosely around his neck, and his hair is ruffled. What has gotten into him?

‘I came for you, sweet pea.’ His voice is gentle, but I’m not buying it.

‘Please don’t call me that,’ I say. ‘I take it she said no?’

‘Why would she say no?’ He laughs as though I’m some kind of idiot. ‘I gave her a two-carat rock. The only answer was yes.’

A two-carat rock? Jesus.

‘Who is she?’ I don’t want to know, but I do.

He shakes his head. ‘Doesn’t matter.’

‘How long, Tristan? How long’s it been going on?’

‘Two years.’

Two years?My heart feels like it falls apart, if there’s anything left to break. How did I not know this? Am Ithatclueless?

‘So, the longtime girlfriend you were seeing behind my back saidyes, is currentlywearingyour ring, but you’rehere.Why?’

‘Ask your brother.’

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