Secret Diaries (Heartlake Cliche #1)

Chapter Sixteen

September 3, 2009

Don’t make decisions when you’re mad…

     They had to bring two of the guys to the nurse’s office to get proper treatment. After he walked angrily away from Rachelle and the son of a bitch, Nick’s mood had gone from annoyed to murderous. He had always known how to control his temper but this morning had almost made him lose it. First, he found out about the photos then he got into an argument with Liam Milton.

     And that wasn’t even the worst part. 

     Rachelle’s frustrated outburst had hurt a lot but the fact that he walked away from her believing that she said those words to deliberately upset him made him feel ten times worse than a heel. He knew that Rachelle would never have such an intention. But he was angry and he wanted to get back at her. She would surely get depressed about what happened, especially now that someone was trying to resurrect certain dark parts of her past.

     Now he was angrier at himself than he was at Rachelle.

     A growl escaped from his lips.

     This was all that Liam’s fault.

     It had always been easy for Nick to trust Rachelle’s ex-boyfriends but there was something about Liam Milton that raises his suspicions. Maybe it was because the incidents happened coincidentally with his arrival. Granted, Jessica Kirsch got back to Heartlake at the same time but accusing Jessica of the attacks was just too obvious. Liam, on the other hand, was a suspect with a mysterious background. The fact that Rachelle seemed so enamored of him made Rachelle totally vulnerable. If it was up to Nick, he wouldn’t have allowed her to trust anyone as of the moment, considering how they still had no idea who was behind the letter and photos.

     There was also something about the way Milton looked at Rachelle. Nick had been witness to all the looks that men had constantly thrown at his best friend but none was like Liam’s. The guy looked at Rachelle with a mix of triumph, annoyance and tenderness. How he could pull it off without anyone else noticing was beyond Nick’s understanding. How Nick could easily describe Liam’s expression was something Nick was thankful for. With that, he was sure that there was something more going on inside the new guy’s head than a mere infatuation to his best friend. The fact that he didn’t seem to be exerting effort to befriend Rachelle’s best friend and family didn’t help alleviate Nick’s doubts.

     Liam was not someone that could be trusted. That much, he was sure. It wasn’t just jealousy that made Nick wary of him. There was a dark aura that seemed to emanate from the new guy despite his charm. And Rachelle was apparently his victim.

     Nick shook his head then sighed. Now, he was starting to sound like some character from a fantasy-themed anime.

     He looked around and decided that he should apologize to his team mates. It wasn’t right to use judo practice to vent out his anger. Who knew what would have happened had the other members allowed him to do as he wanted? Those two guys would probably be hospitalized.

     As he walked out of the judo club’s locker room and into the school yard, he prayed not to encounter Rachelle or Liam on his way to the nurse’s office.

     His prayer was not answered.

     Worse, the two of them were together. Rachelle looked like she wanted to come over and talk; but before she could move a single foot, Nick looked away without sparing her a pause or another glance. Better not to talk to her while he was still mad.

     He entered the main building then continued towards his destination. He was greeted with wary glances when he arrived. The two guys he had injured occupied two of the three beds while three other club members were either standing or sitting around, talking with them. Nick raised his hand as a silent plea for the guys to drop their defenses.