Giving It to the Bad Boy (20 page)

possibly last grew inside of her. She would be leaving to OSU in the fall, and it wasn’t like they

talked about any kind of plans concerning their relationship.

“Reese, what are we doing?” They might have gone to the same school for the past four years,

and he might have been the guy she gave her virginity to, but they didn’t really know each other. They had only known each other for a couple of weeks, but it felt like she had known him her entire life.

Did she regret being with Reese sexually? What she really wanted to do was fall into his arms and

forget all of this drama, but she knew that wouldn’t solve anything.

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about, Kiera.” He moved closer, and she didn’t retreat.

“You believe me, so let’s just move past this, baby.”

If things could only be that simple, but she knew it would only be a Band-Aid on the bigger

picture. “Reese, have you thought about what will happen when I leave for school in the fall?”

A look of confusion passed over his face. He probably thought there was something wrong with

her since she had changed topics so quickly. “I swear to you, Kiera. Please, you have to believe me.”

A fresh wave of sorrow filled her. He still thought she was talking about the photos, when in

reality she wasn’t.

“I believe you, Reese, I truly do.” The relief that washed over his face had her heart breaking.

“That’s so good, baby.” His voice was sincere, and a joy-filled expression covered his face.

Her chest clenched tighter. She saw a tear slip out of the corner of his eye. He stopped right in

front of her, but didn’t make a move to touch her. She didn’t think she could have handled it if he

touched her, not with her tremulous emotions.

“I thought I lost you, Kiera. God, I don’t want to even think about that.” He closed his eyes, and

his tears fell harder. “I can’t explain why people do the things they do, but the fact you believe me—”

He covered his face with his hands, and his big chest heaved.

Kiera started crying harder, which had him dropping his hands and staring at her with concern.

“Kiera, baby, I swear that everything will be okay. We are stronger than this, than everyone who

wants to bring us down.”

“Reese, I’m not talking about the pictures, I’m talking about us.” She turned her back to him and

stared at the closed front door. Was Alex right behind it, able to hear everything that was going

down?

“I don’t understand.” His voice was strained, but she couldn’t bring herself to face him.

“I just need some time to think, to figure out what I am doing.” Forcing herself to face him again

was harder than she thought it would be, but it wasn’t until she looked in his eyes that she felt real pain. His stare was void of any kind of emotion, like he was staring right through her. “Maybe all of this was a sign or something? Even though it wasn’t true, how could I ever think a guy like you and a girl like me would last?” She had been no one special for so long, the chubby girl that nobody paid

attention to, until Reese Trenton noticed her. She didn’t want time, didn’t want any space between

them, but all of this drama made her realize that they didn’t really know each other.

You just need to go to him, embrace him and have him tell you everything will be okay.
Yes, that was exactly what she needed to do, because her thoughts were wild from her emotions and she

couldn’t possibly be thinking clearly.
Things will be good, right?
Before she could make a move he was speaking.

“Time apart…” He looked away, and for several long, agonizing minutes he didn’t move. He

turned and looked at her again. “You believe me, but still need time? Basically you’re just giving up on us?”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Everything was unraveling right before her eyes, and it

was like someone had stolen her voice.

“You’re giving up on us?” he asked again, his voice stronger from his clear pain.

“That isn’t true, Reese.” His chest rose and fell harshly. “I care about you, I—” Before she

could tell him she made a mistake doubting them, and before she could confess that she loved him, he held up his hand, stopping her words.

“I don’t want to hurt you or stop you from thinking things through. Just know that I would do

anything for you, Kiera.” He stepped closer. “I would do fucking anything.” She was speechless by

his admission. He cleared his throat several times. “You know, I’ve always felt like a bastard. I’ve used girls for nothing more than a night, gotten drunk to numb my demons, and fought my way through

the pain I felt. You came along, and I felt something more than anger. You brought light into my life, and I don’t want to give that up.”

His words were so open and honest that a sob tore through her chest. If she could just finish

telling him, she knew things would be okay. “Oh, Reese—” Before she could get the words out she

was in his arms and his lips were down on hers. It wasn’t a sexual kiss, but one filled with promise and sorrow. Their tears mixed, and the salty flavor bathed her lips.

Then he was gone. Just. Like. That. Her knees threatened to buckle as she watched him drive

off.

Alex moved up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, giving her the silent support

she needed. Her fingers itched to call Reese, to tell him to come back and that everything would be

okay, but instead she turned into Alex’s chest and cried silently.

One week later

The last week of school for seniors had passed quickly, and during that time she hadn’t seen

much of Reese. The times they did cross paths he never looked at her or spoke, despite her attempts to talk to him. Calling him proved fruitless since he didn’t answer, and texting gave the same outcome.

The one and only time she was able to actually speak to him he was distracted and tried to hide his

hurt. He didn’t give her time to really speak to him before he was gone again. It was her fault he felt the need to give her “space”. She should have been stronger and told him that she loved him back

when all of this first happened. She should have just blurted it out so he knew the truth

Graduation had come and gone, yet she didn’t feel any kind of excitement. Reese hadn’t even

walked, despite his name being called. The pain she felt at the thought of him not being there, of him not accepting such a great accomplishment, had her regretting so many things she had done. She

wanted to go to him, to tell him so many things that seemed bottled up inside of her. True to his word, he stayed away from her, despite her attempts to weave their relationship back together. He was an

extreme person by nature, and thus their situation was in that category.

He consumed her thoughts, night and day, and all she wanted was his big, strong arms wrapped

around her. Over the last few days Molly and Ian tried talking about everything that happened, but

Kiera kept the details to herself. It had been torture even saying they were taking a break from each other, because in reality that wasn’t what she wanted. Maybe at first, but then she realized he was the one person for her. Whatever they saw in her expression had them leaving it at that.

It hadn’t taken her long after everything had happened for her to go through Reese’s texts and

voicemail messages that he had left for her that day the world seemed to crumble away from her.

They were heartbreakingly honest, and listening to his deep voice caused so much anguish inside of

her that she hadn’t been able to finish listening to the rest of them.

“Kiera, why don’t you just go and talk to him?” Molly sat beside her on the bed and pushed her

hair away from her face.

“You don’t understand, Molly. I’ve tried talking to him, countless times, but he thinks I need this

time.” Kiera covered her face and breathed out. “I’m the one that pushed him away. I can’t even

apologize or tell him I love him because he won’t return my texts or calls.”

Alex had been there for her, but the one whom she needed thought he was doing the best thing

for them right now. She hadn’t told her parents, but she knew her mother had seen the change in her.

Fortunately, she hadn’t dug for answers.

“Kiera, it’s actually very easy.” Molly leaned into her, and they rested their heads together. “He

is a tortured soul.” She looked over at Molly. “He has no one that cares for him, and what he is doing, although it hurts you both, is something he thinks is right. I’m all about giving him time, but I can see the misery in both of you.” Molly pushed a lock of hair away from her face and smiled. “He loves

you, I can tell.” Hearing Molly say Reese loved her had Kiera’s heart pounding rapidly. Could he

really love her? “I’m not saying that Reese is an angel, but he also isn’t this horrible, frightening asshole everyone plays him out to be. You should follow you heart because before you know it

everything is gone.”

Kiera shook her head and looked at Molly. “When did you become so damn smart?” Molly

grinned. “When you look at us, what do you see?”

Molly looked confused. “What do you mean?”

“Just that. When you see Reese and me together, what do you see?”

Molly’s face softened, and she smiled. “You and those damn deep questions. I’m going to tell

you exactly what I think, but I want you to really listen to me, okay?”

Kiera nodded, not really knowing where this was going, because it seemed like Molly was

about to sat something pretty important … again.

“I’ve seen Reese before you and him ever talked or started hanging out. He kept to himself,

always kept his head low, and didn’t engage unless confronted. Then you came around, and the

change in him was evident. The whole freaking school was talking about it.” Kiera didn’t remember

any of that, and as if Molly read her mind, she said, “You were too engrossed in each other to realize what was going on. Hell, I don’t even think Reese knew he was being talked about. I’m sure if he did he would have put a stop to it.” Molly shrugged but kept her eyes on Kiera. “I think that the way things turned out sucks in a big way, but ask yourself if you can go off to OSU without a backward glance.

Can you put what you and Reese had behind you just because he did what you asked, and is giving

you time to think things through?” Molly pushed herself up and sat cross-legged on her bed, facing

Kiera. “I saw how happy you were. For as long as I’ve known you there has never been a time when

you were like that. You always use your head, Kiera, but this time you went with your heart.”

With that Molly stood and grabbed her purse. “Just remember what you could have, and not

what
might
happen if you gave yourself a chance with Reese. You’re stubborn, and it is clear so is he. Clearly he thinks he is doing the right thing, but this is where you need to take charge and show him what it is that you really want.” She kissed Kiera on the top of the head and left her alone with those simple, yet very powerful words.

“Damn you, Molly,” Kiera said to herself and smiled. Moving over to the window she looked

outside. His life was hard, with a traumatic past. He didn’t think he was good enough for anything,

especially her, and she knew that a part of his distance was because of that. Letting him have all this time to think about things surely wasn’t good for anyone, because all she could think about was the

vile thoughts running through his head. She needed to tell him that he was worthy, that their

relationship was worthy, and that she loved him more than anything else. Thinking over those thoughts only solidified her belief on what she needed to do. A knock on her bedroom door had her turning

away from the window. Her bedroom door swung open, and Alex asked to come in.

“Is it okay if we talk?”

She nodded and sat on the edge of her bed. Alex moved closer and sat beside her. The room

grew quiet as they sat side-by-side.

“You’ve been so sad, Goober.” Alex looked over at her, the pain in her big brother’s face

clear.

Kiera whispered, “I know.” She hadn’t gone into detail with anyone, aside from Molly, how

she felt concerning Reese.

Alex nodded and dropped his head again. He stared at his hands, and she found herself doing

the same. They were big and tanned, like their father’s.

“It’s because of Reese, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded again. After a moment he exhaled and lifted his head to look at her.

“That day he came over, he said some things to me.” She knew they had spoken, or more like

yelled at each other, but she hadn’t been able to hear what was being said. Kiera kept quiet and

waited for him to continue. “I told him that if he ever came by you again I’d kill him, that he would never hurt you again.” Alex took her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I was so pissed that he made you

cry, Kiera. All I wanted was him to hurt. He told me he loved you, that you were the only thing in his life worth something.” Alex lifted his eyes to hers. “I wanted to believe that he just said those things because I was going to kick his ass, but I’d be lying if I said he didn’t mean every damn word. I saw it in his eyes, Kiera. That guy loves you so deeply that he just stood there and let me kick the shit out of him despite the fact he could have held his own.” Alex smiled. “While my fist kept slamming into

his face, he kept repeating that he loved you.”

He brother’s words had everything around her disappearing until she couldn’t focus on anything

but his words. “He said that? He told you he loved me?”

Alex shook his head. “Yeah, the stupid bastard.” He chuckled then, an honest one filled with

amusement. “Here I was, letting him have it, and the asshole was telling me he was in love with my