Breaking Elle (19 page)

“Now what would be the fun in that?” he asks.

“Is there a problem here?” Relief floods my system as I recognize Tyler’s voice. He pushes the guy away from me and grabs my hand pulling me next to him. Before Tyler has a chance to do or say anything else, Reed rushes past us, slamming the guy in the chest. The guy hits the wall with a loud thump, knocking over a table and beer bottles in the process. Reed takes a swing at him, his fist landing flush on the guy’s jaw. I cringe. A small crowd has formed around Reed and my unwanted dance partner.

“What the hell, man?” The stranger faces Reed stepping away from the wall. “Who the fuck are you?” He grimaces, rubbing his jaw.

Before the guy can fully straighten up, Reed grabs him by the collar and pins him up against the wall again. “You don’t treat
a female
like that!” He fumes, his jaw visibly twitching and the muscles in his arms strain and bunch from holding him.

“Relax, man. Have a beer or something. The night is young and there are plenty of chicks for all of us.” The guy raises his arms in defeat. “Just wanted a dance.” He smirks, winking over at me. That sets Reed off again and he slams him up against the wall a third time. By this time, a bouncer is cutting through the crowd to break up the fight. He pulls Reed by the shoulders toward the crowd and away from the guy.

“I’m cool.” He insists, putting up one hand, telling the bouncer to back off, and then rubbing the hand that he used to punch the guy. He steps back, his blue eyes feral and intense, but they gradually soften when he comes to stand next to Tyler and me.

I’m not sure if that is a look of pity, sorrow, or anger; but I don’t care. I’m just happy they both showed up when they did. I don’t want to think about what could’ve happened if they hadn’t. After that whole scene, I just want to leave. I shouldn’t have let Evelyn talk me into going out tonight.

“Thank you.” I smile weakly at Reed, noticing how good he looks in a pair of faded jeans and a thin gray t-shirt that hugs his muscles. He’s so distracting that for a minute I forget what just happened.

“My momma taught me that you should never treat a woman that way,” he replies, raking his hand through his hair. I glance at him, wondering why he would do all that when he barely knows me. I guess just because he’s a player that doesn’t make him a monster.

“Are you okay?” Tyler whispers. He places his hands tenderly on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. “Did he hurt you?” He frowns.

“No, Tyler, I’m fine.” I smile placing my hand on his wrist. “Thank you for getting him off me,” I murmur.

“You need to be careful,” he replies running both of his hands through his hair. “You never know who you could meet at these places. Where the hell is Cane, anyway?”

“Tonight’s girls’ night.” I grimace, wrapping my hair around my finger. “I’m usually careful. I had a little bit too much to drink.” I reply, slowly meeting his eyes, waiting for him to give me shit for it. My unwanted dance partner slides past Reed and Tyler. They both glare at him as he retreats into the mob on the floor where he attracts two new innocent victims.

“Come on, Elle.” Tyler shakes his head, baffled. “What if we hadn’t shown up? I don’t want to think about what would’ve happened.” He squeezes my shoulder and tenderly kisses my forehead. “Nobody’s going to put their hands on you like that again.” Tyler mumbles, peering in the direction that the guy disappeared into the crowd.

“Hey! I was looking all over for you.” I hear Evelyn’s shrill voice, as she breaks through the crowd, damp from sweating and a bit out of breath. She runs up and grabs my hand. “Elle, you have to come and see this.” She hisses as she tugs me behind her.

“What’s going on?” I reply, angrily yanking her arm. I’m sick of people pulling me around tonight. I motion to Reed and Tyler that I’ll be right back. “What are you doing?” I snap. She doesn’t answer me and continues dragging me toward the lounge area, stopping behind a drape that separates the room from the dance floor.

“Elle, I’m so sorry to be the one to show you this, but you need to see for yourself.” She doesn’t finish. She just points into the blackness.

“What?” Annoyed, I glance in the direction she’s pointing. Once my eyes adjust to the darkness, I see nothing but a couple and wonder what has her so worried. After a second, I realize that something is quite familiar about the man, and then it hits me.

I stare, stunned and disbelieving, my heart pounding in my ears. I want to run, but crippling pain and a lack of oxygen leave me paralyzed.
He promised.

Cane and his ex. against a wall. In a lip lock. My insides clench and my eyes burn with tears as I stand there frozen. His ex notices me first and grins spitefully since he’s the one pressing her against the wall. I hate her and I’m crushed by Cane.

My mind is numb; my eyes stay glued to them for a minute as I try to register everything. I shake my head as if it’s a bad dream, but it’s not. I need to leave before the tears start to fall. About that time, Cane realizes the Sierra’s focus is not on him, and he turns toward me. A look of pain overtakes his features, but that’s not enough for me.

I turn and run, ignoring Cane’s yelling for me to come back. Pushing and shoving through the crowd, I pass Tyler and Reed standing at the bar. I knew this was a bad idea. The whole night was a disaster on so many levels. If Cane and I had stayed home, none of this would have happened. That’s what I want to believe, but I know if not tonight, then it would’ve been another night.

I thrust the doors open and stumble outside. I close my eyes trying to wipe away the images that I just saw, but it doesn’t help. Everything that I’ve built with him crashes and crumbles at my feet, ripped, dissolved right in front of me. The tears instantly well up again, and I can’t hold them back this time. They prickle and burn as I blindly walk into the warm summer night, not quite sure where I’m going or what I’m doing.

I want to disappear and pretend what I saw never happened. But everything was crystal clear. Her red hair, those spiteful eyes when she looked at me, and her lips pressed against Cane’s.

He couldn’t do this to me! After everything we’ve been through, I told him another mistake would end things between us. Was I strong enough to let him go? Was I strong enough to get past this? Even though I was thoroughly disgusted with him, I still can’t imagine being without him.

“Elle!” Tyler yells from behind me. “What’s going on?”

I open my eyes and turn to face him, wiping away my tears. “Take me home, please,” I whisper. “Just take me home.” My legs buckle as he grabs me, presses me against his body, and helps me to his Jeep. He doesn’t say another word until we get to it.

“Elle, please tell me what happened. Was it that guy again?” His voice is soft and comforting, but it does nothing to ease the pain of what I just saw.

“No.” I stare at my feet, twisting my hair, unable to put a coherent thought together after what I just witnessed. I focus on the streetlight that flickers on and off, the breeze that floats over my skin, to try to calm my heart that beats furiously in my chest. “It was Cane.” I breathe faintly. I don’t look at him because I know what he’s going to say. I can tell by the way his body tenses and the way he clenches his fists. He knows what happened because he warned me the first time, but I didn’t want to listen.

“Fuck, Elle,
again
?” he questions angrily, punching the hood of his Jeep as my tears continue to fall.

Cane crashes through the door after me with Reed coming up behind him as I wipe away the tears. It’s like watching the worst soap opera unfold in front of my eyes. I see my boyfriend who I caught kissing another girl, and Reed who just rescued me from a creep both walking towards me. How does a girl deal with a situation like this? I look into Cane’s eyes that have been my world for two years. Do I save him a second time, or do I try to save myself? The thought of letting him go kills me.

“Elle, wait right there!” He points to me, closing the distance between us in five long strides. I keep my eyes on him, our entire relationship flashing before my eyes. “It’s not what you think! Let me explain!” He begs, his face flushed.

“You said you wouldn’t do this!” I shout. I’m livid, confused, shattered. Fuming, I turn my back to him and stare at my reflection in the window. My legs shake underneath me, barely able to keep me upright. Tyler stands next to me, holding his clenched fists to his body, his veins visible and pulsating under his skin, his breathing heavy and rapid. I glance up at his profile as he clenches his jaw. I’m afraid of what he’s thinking and feeling. I suck in a breath of air and let it out slowly through my mouth, closing my eyes to gain some sense of composure.

“Baby.” I turn at the sound of his voice just as Tyler lunges forward, landing a punch square on Cane’s cheek.

“Stop!” I yell and instinctively step to Cane who staggers back a couple feet clutching his right cheek. Tyler moves into punch him again, but Reed intervenes and pulls him away, distancing him from us.

“I deserved that.” Cane grimaces, rubbing his cheek. He steps in front of me with a pained look in his eye.

“Yeah, that was long fuckin’ overdue.” Tyler seethes as he steps forward again, but Reed restrains him, holding his arms behind his back. I look away from Tyler and Reed and glance back up at Cane who drops his hand from his cheek. He exhales heavily dropping his shoulders.

“How could you do this? I never thought you would do this again!” I spit out, slapping his other cheek. He looks up stunned and hurt. The sobs rack my body. I push against his chest and start punching him repeatedly, mumbling how much I hate him for hurting me again. He doesn’t resist my attack; he lets me strike him. Even though I want him to hurt as much as I do, I know that my blows have no effect on him. He finally grabs my wrists and pulls me into his chest, but I angrily pull away glancing up at him through my tears.

I see the red marks on his skin where my hand connected with his cheek and feel the stinging of my hand, but it does not compare to the pain I feel in my heart. I bring my hand to slap him again, but he catches my wrist and twists me into him so my back is against his chest. His heart races and I feel his breath against my cheek as he tells me to calm down, his voice clearing the fog surrounding my brain.

“How the fuck could you do this to her a second time?” Tyler butts in, his eyes flashing at Cane. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” Tyler fumes prepared to hit him again.

“Stay out of this, Tyler. This is between Elle and me. You got what you wanted,” he says. He turns me around so that I’m facing him and gazes into my eyes. “It’s not ...” Cane glances at his feet, back up, and swallows noisily. “It’s not what it looked like. You know how she is. She still has a thing for me after all this time; she’s relentless.” He lowers his eyes and shakes his head.

“Really?” My eyes blaze with fury. “Really? Tell me what I saw then,
baby!”
I yell, tears of rage stinging my eyes. I’m heated and the words are getting harder to speak. “What if you saw me in that position?” I exhale in a rush, bringing my hand to his chest as I push against him.

“I’d kill him. I...” His voice trails off. “I’d fucking kill him.” He mumbles under his breath as he clutches my wrist.

“What happened to your promise?”

“I... you know I love you, Elle.” His voice is shaky. His eyes glisten as he searches mine.

“A promise is forever.
Forever!
You were my forever, Cane.” Emotions lock up my throat, and I close my eyes.

“You
are
mine.” I can hear the pain in his voice, but his declaration makes my eyes fly open.

“Am I? Because I’m thinking I’m not yours anymore,” I murmur, wanting the whole shitty night to go away, wishing we were home instead of
this
, standing in a parking lot arguing about a kiss, his mistake. Life is throwing me too many curveballs, and I can’t keep up. This situation could be the one that causes me to spin out of control.

“Baby, you can’t do this. Don’t.” He drops his shoulders, covering his face with his hands. “Don’t walk away.” He knew what would happen if he did something like this again, so why, why did he risk what we had? What we worked so hard to repair?

“You did this,” I whisper harshly, jabbing my finger in his chest. “I haven’t done anything but give you another chance!” I scream. “You broke my heart! You broke us again!” I step away from him wiping away a tear. “I have to go. I need some time.” The rollercoaster of emotions is wearing me down, the fear, the pain, and the anger. I can barely remember how perfect I thought things were. As I turn to the Jeep, Reed steps away from Tyler who then quietly opens the door for me. I slide into the front seat, locking the door. I’m afraid to look back knowing that more tears will flow.

“Baby, please.” He begs, stepping to the door. I can’t help but look at him. The brown eyes that I’ve grown to love are tortured and pained like my heart. He shoves his hand through his hair, placing his palm on the window pleading for me to open the door. I want to. I place my palm up against his thinking it was just a kiss. A stupid kiss. But it’s more than that. He did the one thing that he said he would never do again. I don’t want to hear his excuses this time. Tyler climbs into the seat next to me and squeezes my hand. I look the other way and tell Tyler to go before I convince myself to forgive him.