Page 106 of Moonstruck at Midnight
Caleb said something to Aaron in Hebrew, and they both stepped forward to seize Thomas by his arms. “Don’t fucking touch me!” he shouted, trying uselessly to release himself from their grasp.
“Billie!” he cried. I hadn’t enough energy to sob as my soul required, so my face went blank, yet tears inevitably kept streaming down my face. “Billie!” he yelled again over his shoulder.
As he was being dragged away, Thomas looked at me not with an exasperated look, nor a discouraged look, but with more of a don’t-you-fucking-dare-think-I’m-done-with-this kind of look. And I didn’t even know what to expect, but I was already exhausted.
The door snicked shut behind them—the sight of him being hauled out made me shudder.
“William, please let me explain,” I said, trying to get up from the bed. I had to focus all the available energy inside me—which was flimsy and scarce—to gather the five words I’d just said to him out of my brain and actually say them.
I took a shaky step in his direction, and he looked away and held his hand up as instop,don’t bother. “I thought you were different—that I could trust you. But I was wrong. You’re all the same.”
He pulled my golden star hair tie off his wrist and tossed it on the floor. It felt like a dagger to the heart—in,up,twist,out.
His words, the tone, his hand ripping my tie off of his wrist.Fuck…
Everything that happened with Thomas hurt too, but he was my past now. And William was the promise of a future that had shattered into pieces—it vaporized in front of me in the blink of an eye. It was hope that was lost, and the look in his eyes told me I shouldn’t hold on to that hope any longer—that it was useless.
His face was a mixture of anger, sadness, disappointment, and guilt. Or perhaps I was seeing my own feelings reflected on his face.
I felt terrible.
I had managed to knock down that heavy brick wall of his, he had opened up himself to me, and I disappointed him. I let him down. And now I felt a new twenty-inch steel wall building between us.
I sat down on the bed, unable to keep myself on my feet any longer, and stared at the floor for a few seconds as I allowed my brain to settle. When I looked up … William was gone.
I threw myself back on my pillows, feeling completely numb. A dull heaviness buried me deeper into my bed. But I couldn’t give up.
I picked up my phone on an impulse and texted William. I didn’t care anymore about what was the right thing or the smart thing to do.
Fuck the rules.
He saw me kissing Thomas, and I wanted him to know what had happened. Ineededto tell him. He must’ve thought I wanted to get back together with Thomas. I couldn’t allow that! Even if William didn’t want anything to do with me, I wanted him to know I was done with that toxic relationship—that I messed up. And being freakingdruggedwasn’t helpful either!
I had to try to talk to him, and my body was telling me I didn’t have much time before I collapsed into sleep.
Me:You won the bet.
He texted quickly back.
W.S.:No, I didn’t. Your boyfriend ruined it.
Me:I told you I broke up with him on Saturday.
W.S.:Didn’t seem like it to me.
Me:Well, it’s true.
W.S.:I suppose you won’t have to keep guessing your way out of a date with me. You must be relieved. Besides, it’s not safe for you to be around me. You saw what happened when you hung out with Lily. Those were only three paps, and you ended up with a bruise. You don’t know how crazy it can get.
Me:I don’t care about any of that.
W.S.:You say that now. You have no idea.
I couldn’t fathom the idea of William being a celebrity. And I didn’t care. To me, he was just William. My William.Please be my William.
Me:Enlighten me.
W.S.:Why don’t you go ahead and Google me. You’ll see that Thomas is right about everything. You don’t know me.
