When Bad Boys Fall

Ninety-Nine

[|]

"Huh?"

"Yes. Lucas is on his way here."

I shook my head in disbelief. How did he figure out where I was? I didn't want to see him. I needed to have control of my emotions before I see him and I knew that wasn't any time soon.

"I can't see him. I don't want to meet him, Jared. What did he say?" I asked.

"He found out through Andrea that you were here and that's when he called to tell me."

I hissed in anger. Andrea isn't going to escape my wrath for doing this to me. But then again, I had not said anything about our relationship issue to Andrea, so it was logical that she would open her mouth to tell Lucas about my location.

"I don't want to see him, Jared. Take me back. I don't care if I have to stay with you in your apartment," I said and Jared rushed to my side.

"Look, I am tired of this problem. Aren't you two in love with each other? Why don't you realize that it's the situation that's causing you two to behave this way? Yes, Lucas was wrong for not telling you he was supposed to marry Maddy but this is obviously something that has been going on between his family and hers for long. Just telling you about it won't stop their parents from pushing them into this marriage. I ship you two alot and it affects me to see you two like this."

I hated how true his words were. He had a point and I knew I was overreacting to everything but he should not have kept a huge secret from me, knowing it would affect our relationship in the future.

"So, what do you expect me to do? You think I should grovel at his feet or something? Lucas said shit to me, accusing me of cheating and now this marriage topped it all up. Don't expect me to smile and give him a big hug. I have a right to be hurt."

Jared groaned. "No one said you shouldn't be hurt. All I want is for the two of you to talk and decide what happens next. Don't use your emotions to make decisions that you might regret later."

I mulled over his wise words while envisioning how the scenario would have been different if we had talked but I was human. A human who had gone through so many emotional problems and sitting down to talk things out wasn't the first thing to do.

"Okay," I said in a low voice and Jared fisted bump the air. "I'll talk to him when he arrives. Excuse me."

I made my way to the door but Jared stopped me and I glared at him.

"Where are you going?"

"I just want to step out for a while. I'll be back," I said and opened the door.

[|]

After spending an hour walking around town, trying to reminisce on some places I had not seen in a while, I made my way into a small supermarket to buy some snacks I was suddenly craving.

I grabbed some chips, bottled water, canned drinks, chocolate and fruits, then started making my way toward the checkout counter. As I did, I felt a heavy feeling over my body. I stopped walking and look over my shoulder on instinct, only to see a tall, burly man standing close to a shelf looking at me.

My heart pounded in fear when I saw how dangerous he looked with his deep frowning face, tattoos all over his face and his black outfit. When he noticed I was staring in his direction, he looked away and pretended to be checking the diapers in front of him.