Because Of You ✔️

Chapter Fifty: Tell Me You Love Me

"Well, I'm over it! And you should be too. It meant nothing! Why can't you just give me another chance," she whines and pouts her cherry red-stained lips at me, making my eyes shift unwillingly to them, "I love you, A."

I love you, Torres.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before my mind starts to repeat everything that happened between Mari and me a month ago. I have to take another deep breath when I remember our conversation outside Sammy's.

I was just so fucking mad at her.

I was so mad that she had the ability to walk in with the hideous 'I'm with stupid' hoodie and stained drawstrings and still make my heart race like crazy. The ability to make me want to reach out and run my fingers through her hair when she pulled the beautiful brown mess back into a high pony-tail.

She made me weak within seconds when I was supposed to burn with rage seeing her. All I really wanted to do was beg her to love me back.

When I watched her laughing, her shoulders shaking slightly from it, I couldn't bear it anymore. I couldn't watch her be happy without me, no matter how fucking selfish that sounds. I'm selfish and I don't give two shits.

And she just had to be wearing the damn necklace.

I place my hand over Summer's, that's still on my arm, and softly pry it off me, "Summer, I don't love you anymore. I did and you ruined that," I stress so she understands that whatever relationship we have now is purely platonic.

Her face falls and for a second I feel bad, but I know I can't retract my statement since it is the truth, "Well," she visibly gulps before forcing a smile on her face, "Fine. If that's how you feel, it's cool."

Oh, I was not expecting her to actually get it this time. I can't help but be proud of her for growing up and moving on.

"I'm sure you just need to be reminded of our... chemistry to remember you love me too," she bats her eyelashes at me and runs her hand up my chest.

Spoke too soon.

"Okay," I breathe out before standing from the couch, deciding that it's best to just leave at this point.

"Wait, A," she grabs onto my wrist, forcing me to stop and hesitantly look at her, "Why can't things just stay the way they were? Just sex, like it used to be," she asks quietly.

I should say yes and just take her up to my room and fuck her, but I can't. Well, it's not that I can't, I just... I don't want to. Fuck, that girl broke me.

"I don't think so, Summer," I whisper back to her, surprising both her and me when the words leave my mouth.

I'm scared that she'll yell or say something crazy, so I take the opportunity to walk away. I run into Luke once I reach the kitchen. We were finally getting back on track since he kissed Torres, something that still makes me want to puke when I think about it.

"Hey," I greet him before reaching for the stack of plastic cups in the corner, immediately sending me back to the first time she rejected me.

It's really fucking annoying that everything reminds me of her. I haven't even gone back to my, our, LA overview spot since she... since she decided to not even give me a chance to be with her, to really be with her.

"Hey," Luke smiles and sprays some of the beer from the keg into my cup without me even having to ask. He looks a bit nervous, which severely puts me off.

"Why does it look like you have to take a shit?" I raise a brow in his direction as his eyes widen. What the hell is wrong with him tonight?

"Oh, um," he lets out some nervous chuckles and I almost force him to shut the hell up when it reminds me of her once again, "Nothing!! I'm– I'm good," he takes a nervous sip of his own beer and avoids my eyes.