Broken Hill High (Broken Hill High #1)(69)

My eyebrows furrow in confusion. “How do you mean ‘twisted’?” I ask.

A smirk plays on his lips as he lowers his face and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “Everything I ever did to you, was for a reason.”

“Explain,” I say slowly.

“The things I did to you were always to benefit you or give you something that you wanted. I just went about it in a twisted way because it was the only time I could get a reaction out of you.”

I look up at him in disbelief. “You cut my hair,” I remind him with a scoff. “I don’t see how that benefitted me.”

“Really?” he questions. “For two months before that, I sat behind you in health class and listened to you telling Brooke how you wanted to change your hairstyle but didn’t have the guts to do it. So, I cut your hair and you had no choice but to go and get it done. You still wear your hair the same way now.”

My mouth drops open. “Are you shitting me?” I gasp as I recall the way I would whine to Brooke about it. I cried when he cut my hair but he’s right, mom sent me to the hairdresser and I got it cut in the style I wanted. I haven’t changed it since. “What about when I was on a date with Todd Hyde and you told him I was a stage five clinger?”

“You weren’t on a date with Todd. All his friends were there watching. They had bets if he would finger you by the end of the night. It was all a game. I told him you were a clinger and he piss bolted out of there. I didn’t want you to get used like that,” he says. “I promise you, babe, everything I did always had a reason behind it.”

“Phoenix’s birthday two years ago?” I question.

“You didn’t like Phoenix and you wanted to go to a concert instead. I gave you a reason to leave.”

“You’re serious, aren’t you?”

His eyes stare into mine as he nods his head. “Yeah,” he says. “I’ve been in love with you since we were twelve years old, Tora. Every fucking day. I couldn’t talk to you, not like this, but I needed you in my life. You’ll never understand just how much I hated myself for putting you through all that. I wish I was stronger when I was a kid and I wish I had the balls to tell you the truth, but I didn’t. I was a pussy and instead of being honest with you, I tore you down.”

I wrap my arms further around him and pull him down into me as his words play over and over again in my mind. I mean, I could have sworn he just said he’s been in love with me since we were twelve. “It’s ok,” I tell him as I hold on for dear life, feeling completely overwhelmed by his admissions. “I get it now.”

“It will never be ok,” he tells me. “What I did…” he trails off as he shakes his head in disgust. “I swear, Tora. I will make it up to you.”

“I don’t want you too,” I tell him. “You already have. You were right before when you called me your girl.” He pulls back to look down at me. “Over the past few weeks, you’ve wormed your way inside and I don’t know when it happened, but at some point, I forgave you.”

He searches my eyes, but I’m not done yet. “I want to be with you and not just in the ‘get naked together’ kind of way, but truly be with you. I want to share my life with you because over the past few weeks I’ve learned that you’re not the asshole I always thought you were. You’re so much more than that and I’m starting to fall hard for that guy.”

He brings his lips down and kisses me as he runs his fingers through my hair. “Are you sure?” he questions.

“Yeah,” I say. "I mean, as long as there are no more secrets between us.”

He cringes and I pull back. “Then you should probably know that I was the one who told your mom you weren’t eating at fourteen.”

“What?” I gasp as I look at him with betrayal.

“I’m sorry,” he tells me. “It’s just, I didn’t like seeing you like that and I couldn’t help you without making it worse. I had to. I couldn’t let you go on like that.”

I nod my head as he leans his forehead against mine. “Anything else you need to admit to?” I question.

He grins down at me. “On your car keys you have that diamond keyring that says ‘Trixie’,” he says.

“Yeah?” I question, wondering what the keyring dedicated to my dead dog has anything to do with him.

“That was from me.”

“What?” I shriek with wide eyes. “No way. Mom and dad got me that after she died.”

“No,” he says with a smirk as he slowly shakes his head.

“But it was on my bed.”

“I know,” he grins. “I put it there, but I swear, you will never understand the satisfaction I feel every time I see it dangling from your keychain.”

I stare up at him in wonder. “You’re unbelievable.”

I can’t help but laugh. “I think I like you a whole lot more now,” I tell him. “But there’s only one issue.”

“What’s that?”

“When you were not dumping Ashley, you told her you don’t do the whole girlfriend/boyfriend thing,” I remind him. “I’m not like Ashley. I’m not the kind of girl who will be there just for sex.”

“I don’t want you just for sex,” he tells me. “I’ve never done the girlfriend thing because none of them were you.”