*** NEW AND IMPROVED ***
With her father missing, Shay will do anything to get him back, even if that means teaming up with a cruel gang leader and his band of psychotic men.
CHARACTER VIEWS DO NOT REPRESENT MY OWN.
***WARNING*** OFFENSIVE CON...
"You don't need to explain anything to me, Cole. This is your life. We've broken up. What you do isn't my problem anymore."
"Shay, please," he tried.
"I've told you once and I won't tell you again, don't touch me!" I snarled, batting his hand away. "You don't get to that anymore, not after what you put me through. You left me when I needed you the most and you cut contact completely. Now all of a sudden you come back and want to be friends? Fuck your friendship. You don't even apologise for disappearing. All you've ever given me is headache, heartache and misery. Can't you give me an actual reason for leaving? Something solid to close the doors on everything. Anything to make sense of everything." Why did I sound so desperate all the time? It was sad.
"I didn't want you anymore," he said, moved away to put some distance between us, tone cool. "It's that simple. I realised I didn't love you and I don't believe I ever did. All I wanted from you was sex. And then I got bored of being in between the same pair of legs every day. You had too much baggage, you were unreliable and too much of a risk to keep around. Your daddy issues and piggy pals in blue gave me a goddamn migraine. And whiskey didn't help. I then realised it was you that was the problem. I had to cut ties with you. And now I want you to listen to me very carefully, sweetheart: get out of town. Don't return. Your life isn't here."
"This is my goddamn home,"
He glared coldly at me. "No, it's not. Pack your shit up and go. I'm tired of seeing your face around my men. You need to leave. Get an education. Go be with your family. With your brother. Find another man to love and shove all of this behind you. I want you out of Irvin's home by the end of the week. You have six days. If I find you here next week, you're going to regret ever meeting me."
"You don't frighten me, Cole."
He grabbed my jaw. "Look at me, sweetheart. Do I look like the sort of man to break his promises? I don't want to hurt you but I will if it means getting rid of you. And I'm not doing this because I love you and want to protect you, I'm doing this because you're a liability. I can't have you running in the same circles as my men. And I swear to fucking God, if you're lying to me and I find out you're still working I'll kill both you and Irvin. You got that, Shay?"
"No, not all of it. Wait. Let me write that down. Ah, shit. I've forgotten half of it already. Could you repeat that?"
"Six days."
"This feels like déjà vu. Except the last time you were begging me to come back. Alright. OK. I've got the message, you don't want me. I repulse you. I'm a whiny, bratty adult in diapers and it's not something you can handle. Got it. I've read the memo and memorised it. There's no point in me waiting for you to get back to me since it's never going to happen, right? So I guess I should call up an old friend. He lives next door to my uncle. My grandma actually set us up. I dated him very briefly during the summer. He's cute, kind of awkward but cute." I locked gazes with Cole and simulated concern. "What's the matter, Cole? You look angry."
"I'm not angry," he said, jaw tense. He flashed a quick smile, tight lipped. "I'm happy for you, I am."
"Who are you trying to convince, yourself or me?" I leaned away as he took a step closer.
He growled. "Don't play games with me. You won't win."
"But I'm very good at Monopoly."
"Shay, I'm serious."
"About what? I've had like, a brain lapse. My mind's been wiped clean. What were we talking about?"
"We're not getting back together."
"I beg to differ, Taylor Swift."
Infuriated, he called for Sylvia, harsh tone. She scurried out, hopeful and he grabbed her forearm, marching her to the front door. "We're going to go 'round to each of my men and we're going to find out which dumb sonafabitch cummed in you because it sure as hell wasn't me. And then you're going to avoid ever crossing paths with me again. If I see you so much as glance my way, I'll shoot you in the goddamn head."
The door slammed shut after them.
Irvin stood beside me. A moment of silence passed and then he asked. "Are we still on for tomorrow night?"
"Yes," I smiled grimly. "Christmas is around the corner. I want to spend the day with my father. The sooner we find him, the better."
**
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