Page 176 of Collide
Alex exhales hard, dragging a hand through his messy blond hair. “We were never together. She was…someone I fucked around with.”
The words hit like concrete.
My spine stiffens.
He throws it out like it’s nothing. LikeIcould be nothing, too.
“She knew what it was,” he continues, locking eyes with mine. “It was casual. No promises. No exclusivity. And trust me, Madison had plenty of other people keeping her occupied.”
The bitterness in his tone slices through the air. I feel it lodge somewhere beneath my ribs.
“She made it sound like?—”
“I don’t care how she made it sound,” he cuts in, sharp and fast. “She’s toying with you, and you’re letting her win.”
I want to believe him. I do.
But doubt coils at the base of my skull—cold and persistent.
Because it’s not just Madison.
It’s the bruise he left when he lied before.
The one I keep pressing to see if it still hurts.
It does. And I hate myself for not being able to let go, move on. It’s like I’m torturing myself. Maybe there’s something wrong with me.
His gaze scans my face, and whatever he sees—whatever flickers behind my eyes—sets something off in him.
“Fucking hell, Elena.” He backs away, pacing, dragging both hands through his hair now. “Are we really doing this again?”
“Doing what again?” My voice cracks despite myself.
“The trust thing,” he snaps, stopping short. His eyes blaze. “I’ve told you the truth. I don’t owe Madison anything, and I sureas hell don’t owe you an explanation for something that ended before we even met.”
“That’s unfair.”
“What’s unfair isyoucalling me out over Madison while I’ve had to stand by and watch whatever the hell’s going on between you andthat guy.”
My breath gets stuck halfway in. “What?”
“Did you invite me here to make him jealous or something? What is he to you?”
He’s unraveling now. The anger is real, but underneath it—panic.
“Afriend. He’s just a friend.”
Denial tastes sour the second it leaves my mouth.
And I know he hears it too because his expression twists, turning into something bitter.
“You don’t think I see it, Elena?”
“See what?” I breathe.
“The wayhelooks at you.”
“I can’t control that.” I take a step back. My hands are cold. My heart’s thudding against bone.
