Page 23 of Devoured

I was going to kill him.

Penny didn’t belong to Tyler. She belonged to me.

He said something else to her and she kissed him on the cheek. He unwound himself from her arms and walked through the crowd.

I watched him walk up the basement steps. I was tempted to follow him, but I was more curious about why she hadn’t. Was she just finishing her cake before joining him for round two?

Tyler fucking Stevens was going to die before I gave him a chance to take what was mine again.

I didn’t even realize I’d moved until I was leaning against the wall where Tyler had once stood. Penny was finishing a bite of cake. She smiled over at Melissa on the dance floor, not a care in the world.

While I was busy drowning. Did she know she was torturing me? Had she really forgotten about me so easily?

I took a deep breath, her cherry scented perfume invading my senses. The scent usually made it easier for me to breath. But it felt like I was choking.

"Have a great life?" I said.

She turned and just stared at me.

Her pupils were dilated. And by the way she was staring, it seemed like she wasn’t even registering that I was standing right in front of her.

And suddenly it all made sense.

She was drunk out of her mind.

And that shithead had taken advantage of her.Again.What the hell was wrong with that kid?

She blinked and finally it seemed like she realized I was really there. But she wasn’t staring at me like she used to. There was no adoration in her eyes. She looked…pissed. "Yeah. Have a great life." She turned her attention back to the dance floor.

"Are you done?" I needed to get us out of here before Tyler reappeared. Because I was going to kill him. I wouldn’t even be able to stop myself.

She looked back up at me. "Done what?"

"Done here? Let's go." I reached out and brushed my fingers along her wrist. The feeling of her skin against mine made me feel warm for the first time in weeks. I was honestly surprised I’d lasted this long away from her.

She didn’t seem to feel the same way though. Because she took a step back from me. "No, I'm not done. This is my birthday party. I'm not leaving. And I'm definitely not leaving withyou."

Yes you are, Penny.I wasn’t really asking her. This wasn’t up for negotiation. And if we didn’t leave right this second, I was going to kill her new fuck boy.

Chapter 7

Friday

She was staring at me like I’d lost my mind. But for the first time in weeks I was finally seeing everything clearly. And I was pretty sure she’d be seeing things a lot more clearly if Tyler hadn’t gotten her wasted.

"You're drunk,” I said.

"I'm not drunk!" she yelled. Pretty much confessing to me that she was indeed drunk out of her mind.

"Penny, we need to talk. And I don't want to do it here." I tried to lower my voice. A few people were already staring over at us.

"You've had weeks to talk to me. You don't just get to show up tonight and ruin my birthday party. Why tonight of all nights?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me." Honestly, it was the truth. I thought she would be. I never even considered the fact that she’d actually move on. I’d hoped she would have, but it was all a lie in my head. I couldn’t bear the thought. I was selfish and I’d always be selfish when it came to wanting her.

And I’d seen her face in class. I’d seen her pain. But she’d just done a complete 180. I came here tonight thinking I’d be making her smile again. That she’d be leaning on me. Kissing me. Not someone else. She was supposed to be jumping back in my arms, not glaring at me like I was a monster. Which was fitting. Because she was finally seeing me for exactly what I was. I swallowed hard.

"I'm not,” she said. “Please just go."

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