“I’ll take your word for it.”
Staying on the bench, I watch as Holden looks at me, and then at Skylar before his focus comes back to me.
That’s right, asshole. She came to talk to me, not you.
“Skylar, I’ve been looking for you all over,” Holden says.
Doesn’t he notice that she tenses up at the anger in his voice? This guy is pissing me off, and I tend to avoid him.
“I went to the library. I’ve still got to study, and you don’t have to worry about me. I’ve told you that. I’m fine.”
“We don’t want you wandering around like this. Anything could happen,” Holden says.
Skylar rolls her eyes. “You’re worrying too much.” Her gaze comes back to me, and I watch her, waiting. She is pretty much shaking with anger. “What do you do for fun?”
“Party,” Holden says.
“I do whatever the hell I want to do. What do you consider fun?” I ask, intrigued.
“She doesn’t need you, asshole.” Holden catches her arm, and she pulls out of his hold.
“Enough. God, will you just stop?” She sighs, and her gaze is once again back to me. Score! “When do you want to pick me up? Are you doing anything tonight?”
“We’re partying tonight,” Holden says.
“I can pick you up by seven.”
I am fighting tonight, obviously, but I can change my plans.
“Excellent. Pick me up at seven. I’ll be waiting.”
I watch as she storms off, and I know I can give her what she needs. She’s trapped, and needs someone to pull her out of the hell that she has gotten herself into.
“What the fuck are you smiling about?” Holden asks.
I shrug. “Nothing.”
“You’re not going to pick her up.”
“Are you and Alex going to stop me?”
“Skylar is a good girl. She doesn’t need the likes of you.”
“What? A guy who is honest about who he is, or a guy like you?” I get off the table, hiking my bag onto my shoulder. Alex and Holden have reputations around campus, and a lot of people are afraid of them. I’m not one of them. Neither of them can take me. I have a lot of practice, and if they even thought to take me down, I’d hurt them, changing their futures forever.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You don’t fool me, Holden. You’re not a good guy. You can pretend to be all you want but the truth is, you use girls like Skylar.”
Holden takes a step toward me. “You better take that fucking back.”
Staring into his eyes, I make him see that I’m not afraid. “Brandy, Charlotte, Mandy, Kate, Rose, do you want me to keep on going?”
“What the hell do they have to do with anything?”
“They are all girls you’ve strung along. You break hearts, Holden. So long as you get what you want, you’re happy. Skylar’s on your radar.”
I’m not going to tell him where he’s fucking up. She is going to be mine, not his.