Four Doors Down(71)

I was so shocked when I saw her standing there in that corner. When she didn’t turn away immediately, I figured she was drunk. She probably thought she was hiding it pretty well, but I could see her swaying. She gave me her usual attitude, but when she said Kevin groped her because of the way I treated her, Id felt sick. I still couldn’t believe he’d been dumb enough to try that shit with her. As soon as she left, I thrown him into the nearest lockers and made it clear he was done as far I was concerned. He told me he was sorry, that he didn’t know I cared. The idiot practically begged, but I was done with him. And I made it clear to the rest of the guys too. I know Becca thinks I have some stupid power at school, and maybe I do, and for once I was happy to use it to destroy Kevin Wilson. I didn’t want anything to do with him.

I hadn’t even wanted to go to Zara’s party that night, but I had promised Jake a couple of days before and he definitely wasn’t letting me change my mind. The only thing I’d been able to think about all day was Becca’s face after Kevin had grabbed her, the look of pure disgust and actual panic as she gathered her things. The look she shot me when I tried to help her was of pure hatred, but I could see she was trying to hold it together; her hands were shaking slightly and she was blinking really fast like she was trying to stop tears. I was so angry at him that he would do that to her, and I just wanted to help her, to reassure her, but she didn’t want me near her. When she nailed him in the dick, I actually felt proud of her. I hadn’t been able to get her out of my head all day, though. At lunch, I was watching her to see if she’d look at me. She glanced my way once and I caught her eye, but she just looked through me like I wasn’t there at all.

When I walked in on her with that dick, with her legs wrapped around him, I felt like I’d physically been punched in the gut. I’d gone looking for her, hoping to talk to her and instead I saw some f*cking loser who was in no way good enough for her with his hands all over her. When I found out he was her boyfriend, it was like a second punch to the gut, this time from Floyd Mayweather. I shouldn’t have been surprised, really. I’d known how amazing she was for years, and it was only a matter of time before she finally let one of the many guys I knew would be interested in her into her life. Billy Jameson definitely put her off dating for a while, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

When she followed him out of the room and up the stairs, it took all my resolve not to grab her and take her home. The thought of her having sex with someone made me want to punch the wall, again and again, preferring the pain of a broken hand to the pain of knowing she was with someone else.

I went back to Jake and had just stood there, glowering across the room, not speaking. I could see Jake sending me curious glances wondering what was going on, but I ignored him and all attempts by Zara and Katie to draw me into the conversation. All I could think about was Becca, and that creep with his hands all over her.

Mason had come over. “Hey, did you know Becca McKenzie is here?” he said to me directly, knowing how I felt about her and knowing I would want to know if she was at the party. “I just saw her heading upstairs with some guy.”

I sent him a look which meant I clearly didn’t want to talk about it. He held his hands up and instantly backed off.

Jake glanced over at me. “She’s with a guy?”

I nodded. “Her boyfriend,” I bit out.

Sympathy crossed Jake’s face, which just pissed me off more. I didn’t want to be pitied. “Aww, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know she was with anyone.”

“Why would you care who Becca McKenzie’s with?” Katie asked me curiously.

John had sent her a warning glance and shook his head, indicating that I wouldn’t want to talk about it. You see, that was the thing. It was the worst kept secret between my male friends that I liked Becca. Everyone knew, but I just wouldn’t talk about it. That was why I couldn’t believe Kevin Wilson thought he could pull that crap and grope her. Didn’t he know I was willing to destroy anyone over Becca? I thought they all knew that.

Katie looked over at me and the tension that was radiating off me in waves and nodded in understanding. “You like her?”

I didn’t respond, but I heard John snort and mutter “understatement” underneath his breath. I scowled over at him.

“Does she know?” Katie continued.

“No. And she’s not going to either,” I told her. Katie nodded. I didn’t care that Katie knew. She was one of my good friends and unlike some of the others girls in our group, she wasn’t a gossip. But I didn’t want Becca to know. I knew the way she felt about me and didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable. And who was I kidding? As long as I didn’t say anything, I could still have this dumb hope that maybe one day she’d change her mind about me rather than shoot me down completely.

I think that was the moment that Katie decided to try and help me with Becca. After that, she was always asking me about her and trying to talk to Becca when she saw her, but she soon learned getting Becca to open up to a new person wasn’t as easy as she thought.

“I need some air,” I muttered. I turned and walked out the back door into the yard, and when I found her later drunk and alone, I was furious that her boyfriend had just left her, even though it did mean that I got to spend some one on one time with her for the first time in years. Even if she did spend the whole journey insulting me before throwing up on the sidewalk.