Page 81 of Wicked Savage Cruel
He winks. “So, uh, you maybe wanna—” His eyes flick to someone over my shoulder, and I turn to find Roman standing just outside the door leading to our first-period class.
“He misses you, too,” Emilio says behind me.
I shake my head. “I can’t fix that E. Rome and I,” I brush my hair out of my face and give him a tight-lipped smile. “We were just each other's way to pass some time. We both said as much from the beginning. A happy ever after was never in the cards. It’s time to move on.”
“Do you really believe that?” he asks.
I shrug. “Yes. I don’t know. Maybe. It doesn’t matter now.”
He shakes his head. “I’ve known Roman almost my entire life. I’m closer with him than I am my own brothers. He’s not the best at showing how he feels, but he cares about you, Allie. A lot. I don’t want to push you. You’ve been through enough but just … don’t write him off yet, okay?”
I bit my bottom lip and look away. “I don’t think I can afford to care about him any more than I already do. It hurts—”
“I know, sweetheart. I know. But I think Rome can make you happy. You deserve to be happy.”
FORTY
Roman
Iwatch Allie with Emilio and jealousy hits me like an oncoming train.
She takes his hands and rather than retreating, she steps closer to him. Reaches out and touches him.
Dominique slaps a hand on my shoulder and my gaze jerks toward him. “You need to fix this.”
“I’m trying.”
“Try harder.”
I tug away from him. “She’s letting everyone else inbutme.” Even I hear the bitterness in my voice. The second I see Emilio pull her into a hug, I see red. I want to punch the fucker in the face, to hell if he’s one of my best friends.
“I know this hurts, man—”
“Hurts?!” I turn to him, eyes wide, and a sneer on my lips. “You think this hurts? Fuck you. I wish all it did was hurt. This shit right here”—I wave in their direction—” it fucking guts me. My girl won’t talk to me. Won’t look at me. She was fucking r—”
Dominique grabs me and shoves me inside an empty classroom. “Keep your goddamn voice down,” he whisper-shouts.
I’m shaking my head, hands already forming fists. I need to hit something. Or someone. I need to funnel all of whatever it is that I’m feeling intosomethingor I’m going to lose my goddamn mind.
Dom gets in my face and it takes everything in me not to draw back and hit my best friend.
“This sucks. You’re pissed off because you know you fucked up. You had a good thing going and she got hurt.” I open my mouth but he cuts me off. “But you’re still not getting it Rome.Shegot hurt. Her. Not you. You don’t get to be pissed off at her or anyone else because you’re a jealous asshole used to getting his way. She deserves better than that.”
“Get off me.” I shove him back. He takes a few more steps away, his jaw clenched and his eyes narrowed.
“This isn’t about you. Not what you want or what you think you need. If you want to get her back then stop being a selfish prick and realize this is about her. What she wants and what she needs. That’s all that should matter right now.”
I work my jaw. The asshole is right and I hate it. My eyes fall to the floor and I force myself to take a deep breath before dropping down, my ass hitting the cool linoleum with my back against the wall. My eyes hit his once more. “What do I do?”
He rubs the back of his neck, a weary expression on his face. “I don’t know, man.”
“She won’t talk to me,” I say, my words hollow and empty.
Dom sighs. “You’re making this about you again. It’s not just that she won’t talk to you. She can’t. You saw what happened before. She freaked out and damn near had a panic attack.”
Fuck.
It’s the hands thing.
