Misguided Truths: Part Two (Misjudged #4) (7 page)

“Why can’t you have me?” Why can’t she let this drop? Does she want me? Does she really
fucking want me that bad? Why? Why me?

“Fine!” I spit out, scoop her up by t
he waist, not setting her back on her feet until I’ve carried her underneath the shelter of the small building. But, then it’s too hard to step back away from her. I take a hold of both of her hands in one of mine, and lift them above her head while resting my other against the wall behind her. “Do you want me, Alexis?” She needs to answer me. She has to tell me to walk away because I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to fight against this anymore.

Her whole body is shaking, and she’s starting to look scared. I just did that to her. Me. I snapped, and I
’ve pushed this way too far. I only wanted to make her realize that she doesn’t even know me. How can she want me so badly when she doesn’t know anything about me or my life before I moved here? “Brandon …you’re scaring me.”

I instantly let go of her hands and step away. Her words. She’s even thinking the same thing
s as I am, and she’s looking at me now in a completely different way than she was a few minutes ago. It’s time to go. It’s time to leave this well alone, “Then now you know how I feel.” I say, and back away some more before turning around, and walking back up toward campus.

It was a mistak
e asking her to meet with me. A huge fucking mistake.

***

“What else did she tell you?” I lean forward in my seat, but keep my fists clenched underneath the table. I really don’t wanna let it be known how pissed I am at the fact she said something.

“That was it,” he answers with a shrug of his shoulders. “Why? Is there something else I should know about?” He
rests his arms on the table while narrowing his gaze on me.

“Yo! Neil! Come give us a hand over here, will ya?”
Perfect timing, Rye. Perfectly timed.

As it turns out,
Alexis saw me way before I met with her down by the lake. I didn’t think anybody was around when I met with Brad, but Neil’s been quizzing me for the past fifteen minutes over what she supposedly thinks she saw. Well, she’s wrong. Yeah, you’ve guessed it. She asked Neil if I was a dealer. I didn’t think she’d listened to a goddamn word that came out of that Matt guy’s mouth, but, I guess I was wrong. Why else would she go running straight to her friends,
to my friends,
shouting her mouth off?

I bumped into Rye and Neil on my way back through the campus, right after I left her. They wouldn’t take no for an answer, and that’s why I’m here now. In a bar across the city when the only place I really wanna be is back at my dorm, or with Holly. Any place would be better than being here.

From the surprised look over his face when I asked him what else she’d told him about me, I suppose I should be feeling a little relieved. It doesn’t seem like she’s told him about what happened between the two of us last week.

Honestly, though? I suppose I should be thanking her. Now
that Neil and Rye both know why I’m here in Seattle, well, they’ve offered to help me. You know what? I didn’t want anybody else to know what’s going on, but I trust them. They’re like my brothers. Always have been, and always will be. I can’t go back to Olympia, at least, not for information. Visiting Rach and her parents is one thing, but I can’t go back there to meet with the people who could potentially help me in the long run. It would be game over if I were seen out there by the wrong people.

Both Rye and Neil’s parents still live back in Olympia, and they told me they go back there quite regularly to visit home. They’ve offered to go out there if I need them to pick anything up for me. Getting them to do this will most definitely help, but I don’t wanna be asking them unless I really have to.

“Well, if it isn’t pretty boy!”
Great, this is all I fucking need.
“And I was just thinking to myself what a safe and fun establishment this is. Maybe I should go and let the owners know what kind of people they’re allowing in here these days. Surely it can’t be good for business if they’re letting scum like you through the front door.”

I keep my eyes focused ahead. He’s wait
ing for a reaction, that’s pretty obvious, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna give him what he wants. Neil, Rye, and their buddy Corey, are heading back over, and I can already see the frown over Neil’s face when he notices who’s standing by the left side of the table.

“Is everything alright, man?” I raise my head when I hear Rye speak, and nod once when they come back and take their seats. Is everything alright? Sure, why wouldn’t it be? I mean, yeah, I’d like to know what this guy’s fucking problem
is, but apart from that, nothing he says or does to me is gonna get me riled. I’ve been face to face with guys much worse than him before now. He doesn’t scare me. I mean, who the fuck is he anyways?

Neil slides one of the beers over the table to me, and
I watch that Matt dude skulk back to wherever the hell it was that he came from, “What did he want?” Rye asks with a quizzical look in his eyes. He’s looking puzzled. Yeah, well, so the hell am I.

“No idea,” I answer while turning in my seat a little more. “Do you know him?”

“Everybody around here knows that douche,” I notice Neil twist in his seat as he answers, and he’s practically throwing daggers with his eyes over to the bar. “He used to date Alex.”

“Are you kidding me?” I instantly sit
up straighter in my seat, and I’m damn sure that I’ve let something unwillingly slip from the way I just reacted. Neil’s narrowing his eyes my way again while Rye sits back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest while raising his eyebrows up high. “I mean he just doesn’t seem her type …” I grab my beer, and take a large sip from the bottle, focusing my eyes on anything but the two of them.

“They dated for around a month, right up until she caught the asshole cheat
ing on her with Lisa over there.” Rye motions behind him with the flick of his hand without bothering to turn around.

Right. So, he screwed up and obviously didn’t appreciate seein
g me that close to Alexis. Yeah, I think I just figured out what the hell his problem is. Well, it’s not my fucking fault he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. My eyes rest on the black haired woman standing beside him by the bar. Talk about taking a downgrade. That chick has nothing on Alexis. Nothing at all. Okay, so she’s not exactly unattractive, but appearance wise, they’re nothing alike.

Alexis’ hair is brown, soft, a little wavy, and goes way past her shoulders. She has the most incredible pair of dark brown eyes y
ou could ever imagine, her slight tan is glowing, and she has curves in all the places a guy wants them to be. That chick over there? Well, her blood red lipstick is kinda distracting, if not a little disturbing. Her skin is whiter than white, and her hair black, I guess you could say the same color as mine. She’s attractive if you’re into that kinda thing, but if she’s seeing a guy like that asshole over there then personality wise, I think she’ll most likely be lacking some.

“Hey, do you guys want another
beer?” I ask them as I stand, grabbing my wallet from the back pocket of my pants. I smile when Rye throws me a wink, and Neil gives me a nod.
Three beers it is then.

This place is pretty busy for a weeknight, but I don’t have to wait long for somebody to come over and take my order, “What can I get for ya?” The blonde
haired woman asks as she leans forward, resting her elbows on the top of the bar, her chin placed in her hands.

“Three beers, please,” I say, and grab a few dollar bills from out of the center pocket. When I look back up, she’s in the same position she was before I placed my order with her. I notice a smile crossing over her mouth. Is she waiting for me to order something else? “That’s all. Just three beers.”

“I haven’t seen you in here before,” she’s pressing herself up even closer in my direction, and then I realize what it is that she’s trying to do here. Yeah, she’s showing me her cleavage, in pretty much all of its glory. “I’m Saff.”

“Yeah? Well … I’m parched.”
Not happening, sweetheart. Not a chance
. She steps back, her eyes become dull, and her lips tighten as she goes to grab our drinks.

Once I’ve paid and grabbed the bottles from off of the bar, I go to turn around
but bump straight into someone, which knocks me off balance a little bit. Yep. I just managed to spill most of the contents of all three bottles down my shirt and all over the floor, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Yeah, she sure doesn’t sound or look sorry. I shake my head, and go to take a step around her. “Hey, I said I was sorry.” She grabs a hold of my arm, and God only knows what I’m gonna catch from the contact.

“And I’m sure you mean
t every damn word.” I smirk, shrugging her hand away from me.

“Hey!”
Please. Really?
I close my eyes for a split second, and don’t bother to respond. But, before I even have a chance to place what’s left of the drinks down on our table, somebody grabs my shoulder from behind me. I think I can already guess who it is without even having to turn back around. I’m beginning to wonder if his little princess back there has any idea that her boyfriend’s still hung up on Alexis. That could be an interesting scenario to watch.

“Are you going to
apologize to the lady or what?”
Huh.

Well, am I? Alright, let’s get this over with so I can try and go back to having a quiet drink with my friends. I slowly turn around
, and see that he’s only a couple of inches away from me, “The lady? I don’t see no lady.” Oh, come on. You would’ve said the exact same thing if you were in my position right now. I briefly glance to his side, and snicker at the scowl that’s firmly stretching over her face. “Oh, I sure hope I didn’t offend anybody.” I can hear both Rye and Neil trying to contain their amusement, and then notice them coming over to stand behind me.

“You wait,” he t
ells me as he lifts his hand, pressing his index finger right into my chest. Is he threatening me now? “I’m going to make sure that everybody within a fifty mile radius knows what you did …
murderer!
”

“Oh, yeah?” I don’t
know why I’m entertaining this, but the bored tone within my voice is pretty evident, and I can actually see just how much I’m starting to piss him off. “Well, good luck with that.” I lift my chin higher, and notice his eyes are now beginning to shine. I’m really trying my hardest not to make it obvious of how much I really wanna slam my fist straight into his face, but it’s pretty hard when people say shit like that. They don’t understand anything. They hear the rumors and they somehow automatically assume it’s the truth.

He takes a step forward
, and I can feel my patience finally starting to wear thin. His face is only two inches away from mine now, and I sure as hell don’t like it when my personal space is invaded. We’re having a stare off, and I can already sense that he’s not the type of guy who’s gonna back down. People around the place are beginning to stare, and the security up ahead are watching us closely, I can see they are.

I take a deep breath
, and start shaking my head just as he presses his hands flat on my chest, pushing me backward. Should I retaliate? Yes. Will I? No. Anyone who’s watching this will be able to see that me doing so will only be playing into his hands, and I’m not gonna give him the satisfaction. He’s not the first narrow-minded person I’ve crossed paths with in my life, and I’m most certainly sure that he’s not gonna be the last.

“Come on, tough guy!” H
e pushes me backward again, and I take another step back. He’s not gonna beat me. Not a chance. He’s begging for me to throw the first punch, but it’s not gonna happen, and soon enough he’s gonna realize that this is the case.

“Back the fuck off
, Matt.” Rye steps in, and Matt moves his hands off of me, but this seems to only anger him more.

“Rye, don’t get involved,” I tell him, and move his arm
back away from the asshole. “He can do and say whatever the hell he wants. I’m not here to cause any trouble.” Rye seems to be listening to me, and I take a deep breath before focusing my attention back on Matt. “Now, if you don’t mind then I’m gonna go back to my seat with my friends here, and pretend that none of this shit happened, alright? I’m not looking for any trouble tonight, or any other night.”

It’s obvious that he’s angry, but he appears to be accepting that he’s not gonna get a fight out of me today. He turns around, and wraps his arm around that Lisa chick’s waist before they start
to head away.

“Shit, man. I would’ve sparked that—”

“Oh, hey! One more thing,” I close my eyes when I see him head back over. “Could you tell Alex that I said hi when you’re next trying to take her against a wall?”

“What’s he talking about?” Neil’s eyebrows furrow
, and I can see that he’s starting to clench his jaw.

My eyes dart between the three of them before I see Rye opening his mouth up to speak, “
Neil? Meet Mr. Operation Orgasm.” Rye speaks quietly while pointing right at me.
Awesome. Just fucking awesome.

“You … an
d … You and Alex?” Neil stutters, and he sure looks angry. See? I told you. The youngest is
always
protected.