Eliza Jane - Tempted

I come at him again and take a swing. Reis doesn’t even try to stop me and I connect hard with his jaw.

People gather around us, but I tune everything out but Reis and the betrayal that floods through me. He blocks my next hit, a left hook, but I land a right uppercut and he loses his balance at the unexpected hit. He stays down, and then I’m on top of him, pounding his face over and over until I realize he’s stopped moving and Taylor is screaming for me to stop.

Taylor

I see something in Colt snap. His control is gone. He takes a swing at Reis, which is so unexpected; he easily connects with his jaw. Reis stumbles back several steps, but once he’s caught his balance, he stands his ground, watching Colt.

My stomach drops to my toes. I grip MJs hand and she squeezes mine back, holding me in place.

Reis grips Colt around the waist trying to drive him toward the ground. Colt won’t go down easily and turns on Reis, pining him underneath him. Once Reis is down, Colt slams several punches straight into Reis’ face.

I watch as Colt slams his fist into Reis’ jaw. The pain shudders through me as though I was the one hit. It slams into me. A primal scream rips through my throat. Tears steam down my face.

I free myself from MJs hold and cut through the crowd, pushing bodies out of my way, heading straight for the center of the ring. All eyes are on me as the noise level in the barn drops to a whisper. Colt stops at the sound of my screaming, his face is a mess of pain, anger, and hurt.

I pull Colt off of Reis, gripping his shoulders and pushing him back. They’ve both stopped struggling and watch me with concern. Reis’ lip is split and bleeding. His eye is swollen and puffy. Colt is out of breath, but doesn’t appear hurt.

I hate myself. I’ve driven them to this moment.  I drop to my knees beside Reis, still crying. Colt gets up and storms away, slamming the door open loudly as he exits the barn.

The party atmosphere dies away and people begin to filter out. I sink to Reis’ side, crying too hard to even talk as I inspect him.

“I’m okay.” He sits up and attempts a smile. “Shh. Don’t cry, Taylor.”

“This is my fault!” I sob into his neck.

He stands and pulls me to my feet. He brings a hand to my face and with just his trembling fingertips, brushes away the tears coating my cheeks. “Go to him.”

He turns to leave without another word, heading out the opposite side of the barn.

I drop my head and let the tears flow. Even though I hate seeing Reis hurt, I realize my pain isn’t entirely for Reis. I feel for Colt too, driven to fight his own brother over my actions. I’d hurt them both. My feelings for Reis in this moment are nothing compared to what I feel for Colt.

A few minutes later, I wipe my face and notice MJ and a few others are still in the barn, but pretty much everyone else is gone. I should feel embarrassed, ashamed, something, but I just feel numb. Alone. Completely alone. I head toward the door, but MJ grabs my hand, preventing me from going out after either Colt or Reis. Her eyes implore mine, filled with worry.

“Don’t Taylor. Don’t you dare go after either one of them. What happened to the strong, independent girl that signed up for college classes and swore off Colt’s bullshit?”

“If you hadn’t noticed – Reis just got his ass kicked because of me. How selfish would that make me to not see if he’s okay?” I shrug out of her grasp, only to stop dead in my tracks. Logan is the darkened corner of the barn, pressed up against a guy I don’t recognize. They’re kissing, quite enthusiastically. Holy crap!

I turn to MJ. “Did you know?” I don’t mean the accusing tone in my voice, it just comes out that way.

“Of course. Anyone with functioning eyeballs could see that he’s been trying to come out. But you’ve been so damned wrapped up with those brother’s, you’ve not noticed anything. Get your head out of your ass, Taylor.” She stomps away, leaving me standing alone in the center of the barn.

I have to check on Reis. He was bloody and battered when the fight ended, but lifted himself up and staggered from the barn. He shouldn’t be alone right now. Besides, I feared Colt’s reaction had something to do with my kiss with Reis.

I find Reis sitting outside up against the side of the barn, his head in his hands. It’s started raining, but he doesn’t seem to notice or care that he’s getting wet.

I kneel beside him and he lifts his head at the intrusion. His features are a mix of pain, worry and regret. I smooth my thumb over the crease in his forehead and he relaxes ever so slightly. His face is a mess. Busted lip, swollen eye, bloody nose, and a big gash in his cheek. “Are you okay?” Damn Colt did a number on him.

“I’ve been better.” He attempts a smile and his busted lip oozes fresh blood.

I swallow down a sob. I can’t help that I’m still crying. Seeing Colt attack Reis like that was intense. And knowing Reis is hurt physically, and Colt is hurt emotionally because of me just sucks.

“Don’t cry, Shrimp.” He catches a tear on my cheek with his thumb. “There’s a reason I didn’t fight back, I probably deserved what happened in there.”

“How can you say that?”

He takes a deep breath. “I told him I kissed you. And he was right to hit me. It’s like guy code,” he explains at my confused expression. “Everything will be fine now, you’ll see.”

“How can you say that? Nothing is fine.” I’ve ruined everything. Between Colt and McAllister, Colt and Reis. “I’m like…toxic.”

“Hush. Colt wants to protect you, from the shitty stuff in life, from me.” He squeezes my hand. “Let him, okay?”

Lightening streaks through the sky, momentarily lighting up the intensity in his eyes. I’m lost in my own thoughts when a loud clap of thunder startles me. Reis chuckles at my response. The flashing of the lightening and the violent crashes of thunder continue for several minutes, but the rain has dwindled to just a mist.

“Now that he knows I kissed you, he won’t want me back.”

“Nah. He just got out all his anger on my face. He’ll forgive you.”

I can’t think about Colt and I right now. That gash on Reis’ cheek still hasn’t stopped bleeding. “Come on, let’s go clean you up.”

He doesn’t argue. He just lets me help him back the school. I lead him to the girl’s dorm and into the bathroom. After cleaning out his cuts and scrapes, the slice on his cheek is deeper than I thought. The skin is completely split open right over his cheek bone. I hate that Colt’s fists have done this to him. His skin is slightly feverish and he leans back, grimacing as I dab the alcohol pads over his skin.

“I think you might need stiches.”

Reis inches closer to the mirror to inspect the damage. “Damn, he really got me.”

I can’t help but smile at him. Even after his fight, he’s calm and easy going. “Come on, cutie. I’m taking you to the emergency room. We can’t have that face of yours scarred.”

He hops down off the bathroom counter and stands in front of me. “Thanks for everything. I’m still glad you were mine for a few weeks.”

I don’t correct him, but I’ve never been his. “Thanks for being there for me while Colt was gone. And I’m sorry how everything turned out. You will make some girl very happy someday.”

He smiles and pulls me in for a hug. “Go to him,” he whispers near my ear.

I shake my head. “No, we’ve got to get you to the hospital.”

“I’ve hogged you enough. It’s time I let you go. I’ll drive myself.” He pulls his keys from his pocket. “I have my Jeep, remember?”

“Reis, you’re hurt. I’m not letting you go alone.”

“Shrimp, you need to go figure out what’s left between you guys. I can tell you miss him. I’ve been a poor excuse for a fill in. And I won’t continue to be your buffer.” He grips my arms and moves me away from him. “Go.” His eyes plead.

I nod. “Okay, I’ll get MJ and Logan to go with you.”

He kisses my forehead. “Thanks, Shrimp.”

I text MJ, telling her Reis needs to go to the ER. Then bandage his cheek, hoping to hold the cut together and stop the bleeding until he can get it stitched up. While we wait for MJ and Logan to walk back from the barn, Reis changes his blood stained T-shirt for a fresh one from his backpack.

I walk him downstairs and make MJ promise to text me and keep me updated.

Reis is right – I need to talk to Colt.

Colt

After my shower, my head is a bit clearer. I’ve tried to talk myself out of it, but I want to see Taylor. I need to find out what went wrong between us and explain that I never once cheated on her. Is that the only reason she’s with Reis?

I’m still damp from the shower when I throw on a clean T-shirt and pair of jeans. I head out into the hall and as I round the corner, I see Taylor holding onto Reis, leading him into the girls dorm. They’re backs are to me, so they haven’t spotted me. If Taylor’s with him, does that mean she’s made her decision?

They speak in hushed voices and though I can’t make out her words, her concern for him is obvious. I’m desperate to hit something again and would probably punch a hole through the wall if there wasn’t a constant ache reminding me that I’d already fucked up my hand tonight. I head back to my room, knowing that this time, I’ve lost her.

A few more shots of Jack eases the ache in my hand, but does nothing to quench the pain in my chest. I pick up my phone and stare at it for a while. Even though all my old contacts have been erased, there’s still one number I know by heart. Samantha, who’d always been in my phone as Yes. I knew she wouldn’t let me down.

I don’t even bother with the niceties. “It’s Colt….Yeah, I got a new number….Be here in ten minutes….Um, we broke up…See you soon.”

Taylor

After Reis has gone with MJ and Logan, I take a few minutes to clean myself up. First I wash my face, needing to get rid of the tear streaked make-up and pools of mascara around my eyes. I brush my teeth and hair. Then I change into yoga pants and a sweatshirt. Tonight has fried my nerves and I just need to be comfortable.

I have no idea how this conversation is going to go, but I know I need to apologize to Colt for kissing Reis, and I need to allow him to explain what, if anything, happened with Bria.

I pad down the stairs in bare feet, heading to the second floor to Colt’s room. He’ll either be in here, or maybe his office on the first floor. When I turn the corner I nearly get run down. I take a step back, gripping the banister and mumble an apology. I look up to see Samantha, otherwise known as Yes, Colt’s on again off again friend-with-benefits. Holy shit! What is she doing here?

She grins widely as she recognizes me. “You still have the nerve to be here?” She shakes her head, narrowing her eyes. “You did a number on him.”

My fingers grip into the railing, steadying me. “Are you here to see him?” I choke out.

She pats the top of my head. “He called me, sweetheart. Me. Now run along.”

As disgusted as I was by the physical violence tonight, I feel like I could punch her right now. I force a breath in through my nose. “He called you?”

She nods. “Of course. I knew it wouldn’t last with you. The only one he’ll last with is me. I know how to take care of him.” She saunters away, continuing past me on the stairs, heading to his room.

I am so mad, my entire body is humming with anger. I fly back up the stairs to my room, without even thinking I grab a backpack, stuff my laptop and some clothes inside and storm from the room. I am done with this place. There’s no way I’ll stick around to hear her screaming out Colt’s name again.

I head downstairs to the first floor, intent and stealing the key for the fuck truck. Long past caring if I get caught. Just try and stop me. Who’s going to stop me? Colt? Don’t think so. I’d use every self-defense move he taught me until he was on the ground in a heap.

I fish the spare keys from their hiding spot Colt once showed me in the administration office and head out the back door.

It’s only when I’m thirty minutes down the road and merging onto the highway that I realize this might not have been the best idea. It’s eleven at night and home is an six hour drive. But I don’t care. I can’t spend another night at that school. I pull my phone from my purse and fire up the navigation app on my new phone. I hit the voice command and say my parent’s address. I turn up the radio and promise myself I’ll stop for coffee when I get tired, then I settle in for a long night.