Page 37 of Puck'n Bully
I laugh, pretending like everything’s fine while my insides are twisting into painful knots.
“How about we go to our table?” Logan’s date says, digging her manicured nails into his arm. “I’m hungry, babe.”
“Ah, alright,” Logan says, turning his attention to the girl beside him. “I’ll see you around, Bastian.”
“Yeah, see you,” I mutter as they both walk past me to reach their table.
My heart squeezes painfully as I sink into my chair.
Liam is already gone. And I’d done nothing to stop him.
His sapphire eyes were like chips of ice when he realized the truth. HeknewI was scared to be seen with him.
More of the food that we’d ordered arrives, overcrowding the table. Everything smells amazing but I’ve lost my appetite. I’ve lost Liam.
Will he ever forgive me for the way I treated him?
I don’t even want to think of the answer to that question.
Liam never wanted to get into a relationship with me. He kept warning me to stay away from him so that people wouldn’t find out I was gay.
It was me who kept chasing him. It was me who ignored his protests and sank my claws into him.
But the truth is out now.
I’m just a coward who can never acknowledge my relationship with Liam. And Liam values himself far too much to be a part of my toxicity.
Desperation, like I’ve never felt before, spreads through me in cold waves as I realize Liam will never let me touch him again.
12
Liam
With all the determination I can muster, I walk away from Hayden.
A painful sob chokes me, making me clench my jaw so hard it aches. My chest feels too tight and my eyes burn with unshed tears. But no matter how much it hurts, I refuse to turn around and look at him.
Because if I did, if I so much as glance over my shoulder, I’d see Hayden standing byourtable and making excuses to his precious teammate.
Hayden is treating me like a mistake. He wants to hide me from the rest of the world so he can continue feeling guilty and ashamed of himself.
The lump in my throat becomes even more painful.
I walk into the kitchen and walk past shouting cooks, flaming stovetops, and confused servers. Because of the way Hayden reacted, I can’t even walk out of the restaurant through the entryway.
Hayden’s panicked face flashes before my eyes. His sheer, knee-jerk terror at being caught on a date with me feels like a stab to the heart.
I still can’t believe he threw a glass of coke at me, just to get me to leave.
Finding the exit door, I walk out of the chaotic kitchen and into the back alley. Tears stream down my face as I finally allow myself to feel the hurt. Breathless gasps escape me as sobs wrack through me, showing me just how much I’d let Hayden get to me.
I knew it was risky to get involved with someone like Hayden.
Even though I’m a student myself, it’s highly unprofessional behavior to date someone you’re tutoring. If I got caught by the faculty, I’d probably be fired. It might even jeopardize my future in the Physics department as well, costing me my academic career.
Not to mention Hayden is a popular hockey player. He’s practically royalty at Knightswood U’s campus. Both at the university and the diner I worked at, people were always willing to bend backward to let him have his way.
I guess I’m not too different from them.
