FORREST

3

She's a total mess. She wasn't like this. I wondered what happened to her for the past few days. The Megan I knew was funny and flirty who didn't filter and never cared how people would judge her. But this woman in front of me was a complete different person. She's lost.

"Is that a handprint of that motherfucker?" The urge to lifting my hand to wipe the blood from her nose had me shaking.

Her chest huffed out, ready to throw me a pit. She was still crying though. Tears were streaming down her smeared face.

"If you didn't stick your nose into and humiliate him in the first place, he wouldn't have come to do this to me!"

I had to look away and gulped down an inhale of air. "He's a jackass, Megan, but I shouldn't have done that. I apologize for my abominable behavior earlier."

"Just leave me alone. I'll live, and it's not the first time like this happen anyway."

"What do you mean? Do you know him?"

"You mean if I fucked him?" Her brow arched.

I winced at her bluntness. There was something inside me triggered, and I didn't even want to think about it right now. It just hardened and twisted my gut even though I knew her who never care to filter her words.

"I don't care about who you sleep with, Megan—"

"Then why are you here and why did you have to poke your nose in?"

"I don't know. Can I get you something for your nose?" Jesus! I was a complete idiot. "Ice maybe."

She rolled her eyes and grabbed the door handle of her car. "I don't need your help. Not now. You should've talked to me long time ago if you wanted to."

"What do you—?"

She faced me, fury filled her eyes. "It means I don't need you, okay? Just fuck off!"

A person I ever cared about came flashing back in my mind, making me shuddered. It felt like she was telling me that I was a terrible person. After all, she was right, and I felt guilty about it.

"Okay." I clenched my jaw as I tried controlling my mouth not to say any words anymore. It was my fault she was harassed, but I had the feeling that that jackass would just hurt her even more if they ended up in his bed.

Why did I even care? Of course, I knew the answer.

"Bro." Kyland tapped my shoulder after placing an order to the bearded guy.

"Yup?" I grabbed a glass and poured ice cubes for the order Whiskey on the rocks.

"See those girls?" He gestured his head to the dark corner booth.

I could barely see them, but one thing that caught my attention was the bare back of the woman in a red dress with a chin-length haircut. I forced a swallow as I strolled my gaze from her shoulder down to her spine. I felt the rush of blood surging through my veins in an instant. My skin vibrated with primal desires and insatiable hunger the longer I checked her out.

"W-who's she?" I cleared my throat. My mouth dried. "I-I mean who are they?"

Kyland eyed me intently before he answered. "I don't have any idea they'd be here tonight. Damn it! Why here? Don't let those two manwhores get near my girls. I may need to look for a new job if Hughes and Williams touch a hair of any of them. And I swear to god I will break their faces, friends or not."

***

Mama! No, Mama!

I jolted up, sweating, still catching my breath. Thankfully, it was just abrupt than the previous nights. I walked toward my kitchen with sweat dripping from my forehead. I grabbed a glass, filling water from the faucet and let the water run on my parched throat.