Across The Hall (27 page)

talk about this without al of them around. Please, just come with me.” It was too late, Kerri stepped forward. The contrast between her sweet little

girl costume and her ice-cold bitch face would have been comical had I not been the one caught in the cross fire.

“How dare you! What makes you think that you can just say things like that? I don’t know what Sylvia sees in you or why she would even al ow you

in her bed but I hope to hel she sees what a fucking prick you are after this. I’ve been trying to tel her to drop your piece of white trash ass but

whatever bul shit you feed her has her coming back. Keep it up, now she can see just what an ass you are.” Kerri stood right in front of him. I prayed

he wouldn’t hurt a girl. I tried to step between them but I felt Kai’s hand on my arm.

Beau scoffed at Kerri. “Bitch, please. I make her scream my name. That’s what has her coming back.” He looked at Quinn then, “she likes it when

I slap her ass. She ever let you do that? The harder I...” Kerri stepped forward and shoved at him. He just laughed as Sloane got between them. He

had been closer to her than Reed.

“Reed why don’t you take Kerri out to cool down. I think we can handle this.” Sloane said in an even tone. I knew that if anyone was able to diffuse

a tense situation it would be Sloane.

“Kerri honey?” I didn’t take my eyes off Beau but I caught a glimpse of Reed wrapping an arm over Kerri’s shoulder. She stood stil and glared at

Beau.

I tugged at him again. “Please, let’s just talk about this.” He final y looked back at me and smirked. I continued to pul at his hand as I turned to go

down the hal .

Once in my room I flipped the light on and closed the door. “What the hel are you doing?” I hissed at him.

“What am I doing? I would say the question should be what the hel are you doing? You’re al whored up and flirting with every guy in the room.”

His face was livid. I trembled a little more from anger than fear.

“I was not flirting. Those are my friends out there. I was having a good time with them.” I said it low hoping the others weren’t outside the door

listening to us.

Beau let out a short gruff laugh. “Princess you lead every guy on. Look at what you’re doing to Quinn.” Then his face changed and I did feel a

tremor of fear shoot through me. Beau tilted his head to the side like he always did when he was thinking something through. “You slept with him,

didn’t you?” He said it as more of a question than an answer.

Never had I hated my god damn blush more than I did in that minute. I couldn’t stop it. I felt it creep up and mix with the heat I was already feeling

from the anger and the buzz I had going. I didn’t answer. There was nothing I could say that he could read on my face already.

“I thought so. You sure had me fooled. I thought you were so sweet and innocent. You’re just a fucking slut like al the rest.” He stared me down.

His eyes judging and disapproving. I looked down, not being able to stand what I saw in them. He was right. I was far from sweet and innocent and

now I had made a mess of everything and someone was going to get hurt.

“I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say. I didn’t need to say anymore. The door flew open and Quinn stormed in. He got right in Beau’s face.

“Get the fuck out! Now! You wil not talk to her like that!” Quinn was livid. His face was bright red and his dark eyes were flashing. I could see his

chest raise and fal quickly with his heavy breathing.

Everything felt in slow motion to me. I was stil reeling from the fact that Beau was right. Then to have Quinn in my room defending me. It was too

much. By then everyone else was in the room too.

Beau was looking them al over. His eyes stopped at Reed. He raised his hands up and looked over at me. “Sylvia, were not done talking about

this. Why don’t you ask your friends to leave and we can continue this?” His voice was flat once again but I could detect the edge of anger he was

holding back.

“No, I don’t think that’s going to happen. You’re the one who is going to leave.” Quinn’s voice was ice.

Beau looked at him and laughed. “What are you going to do about it pretty boy? Let the ice queen step in and save your ass again?”

Bringing Kerri into it was definitely the wrong thing to do. Reed stepped forward and grabbed Beau by the arm. “You need to leave. Now!” The

others fol owed him down the hal . I stood stil , stunned and hurt. I could stil hear Reed threatening Beau as he led him to the door. I looked back at

Quinn; he was watching me with cautious eyes.

“Sylvia, are you okay?” He asked so quietly and sincerely that I just couldn’t face him right then. I didn’t know what to say. He just heard that I

dreamed about him even when I was in bed with another man. What must he be thinking about me. God, maybe he thought the same thing as Beau.

I was just a mass of confusion and I knew it was wrong but I lashed out at him.

“How do you think I am? I’m embarrassed and pissed and...fuck!” I just didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want him looking at me like that. He

looked so concerned. It ripped at my heart to see that. How could he be worried about me after al he heard? “Just go. I’m fine. Real y. Thank you

but I wil be fine.” He stepped close closing the distance between us.

“I’m not going anywhere.” He reached his arms around me but I pushed him away.

“No, Quinn. You heard him. You know what he said about me. It’s true.” I couldn’t stop the tears by then.

Kai stuck her head in the room. She looked from me to Quinn and back again. “It’s okay Kai. I can handle this.” Quinn whispered. “Why don’t the

rest of you go on to Jason’s. I’l make sure she’s fine.”

“We’re not going to Jason’s.” She hesitated looking back at me. “Sylvia, we wil be right down stairs if you need us.” She looked once again at

Quinn and motioned him over. I couldn’t hear what she said to him but he nodded. Kai turned away and closed the door behind her leaving Quinn

and I locked in a stare-down.

As I turned away from Kai and back to Sylvia, I heard the door click. It left me aware of just how alone I was with her. It was what I had been

waiting for. No Kai or Kerri, no Reed and Sloane, but most of al no Beau. The opportunity was there. Al I had to do was open my mouth and let it al

out. Just tel her how she was everything to me, how I had been so empty without her. Now that I’d seen her -- held her -- loved her. Confess how

scared I was that she wouldn’t return it. Beg her to forgive me. Declare my love for her. Al I
had
to do
was
speak
.

Al I
could do
was
listen
. I heard my heart beat rapidly with equal parts adrenaline, hope, and fear. I heard Sylvia inhale and exhale a little fast and

a little hard, yet starting to slow. It was perfectly in tune with me. The two of us in post sex come-down bliss flashed in my mind, with our breaths

coming so similarly. The problem wasn’t that my words weren’t there. Hel , they had been there for two weeks. They may have been there even

longer than that, had I just listened to my heart before. No, the problem wasn’t a lack of words. The problem was Sylvia.

Sylvia reminded me of a guitar string pul ed so taut that one little pluck would snap it. She glowered back at me. Tears fil ed her eyes, leaving

them a distorted pool of anger, fear, and shame. It was the last that troubled me. I heard what that bastard had said to her. I knew I was being an

overprotective asshole, but as soon as I heard the door shut I fol owed them down the hal . I was so afraid that if I didn’t I would be too far away to

protect her when he hurt her. I was absolutely sure he would hurt her physical y, as he had just done emotional y.

As soon as I heard him cal her a slut I was in there. I could not stand back and let him speak that way to her. I went in with my hands ready, either

to defend or attack, I didn’t care which. Either way he wasn’t going to touch Sylvia. The others must have fol owed me, because after I told him to get

out he looked around me. I glanced at Sylvia, her face unmasked with fear and guilt. Sylvia had nothing to feel guilty about. That fuck-head was the

one who should feel guilty.

I looked back at Beau and got the distinct impression that he was sizing up the room, which was obviously in our favor. Not that I couldn’t have

handled him alone. I wanted to -- damn, did I ever want to -- but I knew Sylvia wouldn’t want that. I knew how she felt about violence and blood,

although I wasn’t about to let him hurt her anymore either. Then he had the bal s to order her to tel us to leave so “they could finish this.” I felt my jaw

tighten and my muscles tense. I tried desperately to calm myself as I ordered him to leave. When he chal enged me, I was ready to show him exactly

what I would do about it. I wondered if he picked up on that, and knew if I started Sloane and Reed would be in on it too. That was maybe why he

threw the bit about Kerrington in there.

When I was sure Reed had him, I focused on Sylvia. I was worried about her. I knew that she would always be affected by guilt trips. That was just

Sylvia. She never wanted to disappoint anyone. She wouldn’t even look at me. I needed to know that she was okay, but her reaction wasn’t entirely

what I was expecting. I couldn’t believe that she would want to be left alone right then. What if that motherfucker came back? How could she even

think that I would leave her alone?

I tried to take her into my arms to comfort her, but she wasn’t having that. She stepped back and confirmed my suspicions that she had believed

that shit he’d told her. Kai popped in and distracted me. She looked at me and for just a second there was the tiniest hint of her annoying know-it-al

smirk. This was just as much about me and Sylvia as it was about Sylvia and Beau. We needed to get this shit clear. Sylvia could not take this al

upon herself. I let Kai know that they could leave, that I would be okay with Sylvia.

Before she left, she told me to “think of everything you would like to do to Beau right now. That’s going to look like a trip to a day spa compared to

what I’l do to you if you hurt her again.” I was pretty frackin’ sure she would do exactly that, too. She gave me one of her mystical angel smiles and a

wink before she pul ed her head back.

I was left standing there, face to face with a Sylvia that looked so broken that my heart was breaking along with her. I did this to her. My leaving

her with that lie did this. I caused her to doubt herself. She knew what she wanted al along and my questioning that and making her decisions for

her led to this. To this bril iant, beautiful girl standing here before me feeling as if she deserved what an asshat like that would say to her.

“Quinn,” her voice hitched a bit as she spoke. “Go. Please.”

“Sylvia, I won’t let anything hurt you -- not even yourself. You can’t believe what he said.”

She scoffed at me. “You don’t know me anymore.” She pushed past me towards the door. When she reached the knob she tossed back, “You

know nothing about my life these past few years.” Then she walked out.

I went right behind her. “Sylvia, you’re right. I don’t know your life, but I
do
know
you
.”

I watched as she picked up the stupid flask Reed had left out on the table. She unscrewed it and threw it back like it was water. How she was

able to swal ow that much without choking was beyond me. Reed’s “Tennessee Tiger Sweat” was some powerful shit. She slammed it back down

on the table. “You know me so wel that you knew I would climb right into your bed the first chance I got.”

“Sylvia, it wasn’t like that and you know it. I never,
never,
expected that.” She continued to glare at me as she picked the flask back up. “If you

don’t sit down, you’re going to get a nasty headache from that shit when your head hits the floor.” She looked straight at me and took another big

drink. “Seriously Sylvia, slow down.” I knew that stuff was going to hit her hard.

When Reed showed up at my door before we went to Sylvia’s he handed the flask to me with a smirk. I took a big drink of it and sputtered. “What

the fuck is that?” It tasted like kerosene. He just laughed and explained to me that it was Hil bil y Pop, aka moonshine. His uncle makes it and he

brings some back with him every time he visits home. It had to be over 150 proof. It was some serious shit.

Sylvia made her way over to the couch ungraceful y taking the flask with her. I hoped to hel there wasn’t much left in there. I went over and sat on

the couch next to her.

She just looked at me, her eyes were so forlorn. “You don’t know the things I’ve done.” She covered her face with her hands as if she was trying to

hide from me.

I pul ed her hands away. “Sylvia, look at me.” I gently tilted her chin up with my knuckles, so she could look in my eyes. “I’m sure you have done

nothing wrong. Don’t listen to what an asshole like Beau says.”

“It hasn’t just been Beau. There were others.” I didn’t understand. Others? Had she dated other pricks like Beau?

“Other what Sylvia?”

“Others. As in I slept with guys other than Beau and you.” She choked out the words and I was afraid she was going to start sobbing.

“Sylvia, it doesn’t matter. Whatever you’ve done in the past just doesn’t matter. It is not who you are.” I brought my fingers up and brushed away

the tears. I wanted to lean forward and brush my lips across the same path my fingers just took. This wasn’t the time. Sylvia’s eyes were swimming

with remorse and I needed to make that go away, not add to it.

I pul ed back and looked her in the eye and tried to firmly tel her, “Sylvia, stop. You don’t have to be tel ing me any of this.” I wasn’t going to let it