Walking Heartthrob

Chapter 29 Blowing Off Steam

Daylen arrived lickety-split on that bike of his, I didn't even have to count the minutes. As soon as he arrived, he threw off his helmet and slid into the seat beside me, cupping my face with tender hands.

"Lys, what happened?" He asked, concern filling his moonlit orbs directed at me. With the pads of his thumbs, he wiped my tears away, awaiting my answer. I was so moved—he rushed over here to be with me because I was in distress and was so eager to comfort me... I buried my head in his chest and let a few more silent tears fall.

"Doesn't matter anymore now that you're here," I said in a broken voice, clinging to his jacket. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight.

"Shh, sh, my dove, I'm here," he whispered in his sweet lisp. "Does this have anything to do with the American boyfriend?" I glanced up at him with misted eyes.

"How did you know?" I asked hoarsely. He stroked my head.

"Not exactly a shot in the dark... We did talk about it last night, remember? And I guessed when you wanted to be alone for a bit this morning, I had a feeling it was because of him."

"Well, you're almost right," I said despondently, "only it's not the American boyfriend anymore—it's the ex-American boyfriend. I broke up with him."

"Oh, Lys," Daylen looked agonized and swallowed heavily. "Did it hurt that much for you? Then, because of me..."

"No, no, Daylen!" I hurriedly shook my head to stop him. "It wasn't because of you, nor did it hurt for the reason you think. I was ready to break up with him for a long time. Because I found you," I touched his face and I hoped he could hear my love for him in my voice. "But then I also found out..." I told him everything that happened and showed him Kevin's Instagram account. Daylen's eyes lit up to a silver blaze that could've turned someone to stone as he looked at the photos.

"Not to sound barbaric, Lys, but your ex sounds like a bloody, sodding, arsehole for ditching you."

"Daylen!"

"Alright, I shouldn't have said that in your earshot. I'll amend my previous statement: he's a stupid git." A weak laugh worked its way up to my lips and I was hiccupping, crying, and giggling all at once over Daylen's indignance on my behalf. He also gave a little smile of relief, probably on seeing me cheer up.

"I can't believe you ever dated that sod, dove. He's not worthy of you. He needs a good shove in the—"

"Daylen!"

"Never mind," Daylen quickly stopped, folding his lips in for a moment. "Forget about that tosser, Lys, don't give him a second thought. He doesn't deserve your tears. Besides, his loss is my gain." I looked up at him, warmed by the ardor I saw in his eyes and the feeling of his fingers massaging my arms. That's when it dawned on me; we'd both had people cheat on us, people we'd been in a relationship with.

"Daylen? Was this how you felt after—Laurel cheated on you?" Daylen stayed silent in thought for a moment.

"I can't say it didn't sting, dove. But no, I was never really in love with her. Just the thought of her betrayal—"

"Made you wanna punch something?" I finished for him. He nodded.

"Left me raving mad. If you're going to hook up with someone else, have the decency to break up with the one you're dating first!" He was right. Daylen and I fell in love by accident; Kevin hooked up on purpose and tried to cover it up. I would've broken up with Kevin and borne the guilt for dating Daylen beforehand if I hadn't found out he'd been dishonest and doing disgusting deeds behind my back. I clenched my fists in tearful anger.