Chloe finally kept walking to Elle, who was stunned at Chloe’s behavior and happy her friend had stood up for her.
Elle silently thanked God this had happened sooner rather than later as she walked toward Chloe’s car. She questioned what her sanity could have been if she had spent a long time with Nero.
Opening her door and getting in, she slammed it. Shutting her eyes, she replayed his words. ‘I promise, baby.’ Her tears started falling again.
Elle wiped them away when Chloe got in the car. She didn’t speak, just drove to Elle’s house.
Chloe parked her car in Elle’s driveway, and then they slowly got out of the car, going in her home and to her bedroom. Elle sat on her bed with her head in her hands.
“Do you want me to leave?” Chloe whispered to her as she sat down beside her.
Elle shook her head and looked up. “No, stay.”
“Okay, I can go make some popcorn and ice cream and we can watch your favorite movie, The Little Mermaid.”
Elle chuckled through her new tears; her friend could always cheer her up.
“I’ll be right back,” Chloe said, getting up.
Elle watched her walk out the door then scrunched herself up in a ball. No matter how much she tried, the pieces kept falling. There wasn’t enough glue in the world to keep her shattered heart together.
*
Nero stood there, watching Elle get in the car. Fuck!
He had no idea how he was going to fix this colossal fuck-up. Elle had dealt with enough, and that had been the last straw for her. The look on her crying face had killed him. He didn’t even know where to start on telling her the truth.
‘You know what you just lost.’ Chloe’s words had struck him. He did know, and that was what killed him the most.
Nero didn’t even understand why she was here. I didn’t text her. Nero pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and went to his messages. Sure enough, Elle’s exact words from earlier displayed on his screen. Nero knew no one had taken it from his pocket. How in the hell did that happen?
“We need to get out of here before the cops show!” Adalyn said as she and Lake came out of Poison’s doors.
“What the hell were you all here for?” Vincent asked, storming toward them.
Adalyn and Lake pulled their dresses down and pulled their tops up to cover their cleavage. “Why the hell do you think?”
Vincent’s face started to contort.
Lake stepped in, confessing, “I begged her to come dancing with me. It’s my fault. The only way we could get in was going with those guys. We didn’t do anything with them, though.”
Vincent took a deep breath. “Good. You can’t date boys until you graduate. I don’t care if it’s only a few months away. I won’t say anything, but I better not catch you two again.”
Nero watched the two both nod, even though it took Lake hitting Adalyn’s arm before she did.
Vincent held out his keys. “Go get in the car. I’m taking you both home.”
Adalyn snatched the keys and they both started running.
Vincent yelled, watching Adalyn hold her dress down as she ran, “You’re burning those fucking dresses when we get home!”
Lake tried to pull her dress down at Vincent’s comment.
Vincent changed his mind. “Actually, give them to me. I want to get rid of them.”
Nero would have laughed under different circumstances; Vincent was clearly just as shaken up as he was right now.
Vincent walked toward him. “My fucking retinas are burned from watching my sister’s ass in there.”
Amo was able to laugh, though. “Yeah, right, you were too busy watching Lake’s ass to notice it was even your sister with her.”
Vincent was about to say something, but then thought otherwise, looking at Nero. “I’m sorry about Elle, man.”
“Yeah, I feel bad. I set this whole thing up, then Elle and Vincent’s sister happened,” Amo added.
Nero ran his hands through his hair. “Oh, yeah, we owe you a thanks, right?”
“Thanks a fucking lot,” Vincent got out.
They started to hear sirens coming closer. “Let’s get out of here. Amo, you’re going to fucking owe me for this.”
“All right, man, I understand.”
They all started walking to their own cars.
As Nero walked toward his Cadillac, he thought of Elle’s last words. ‘Just leave me the fuck alone!’ He opened his car door, getting in. Not in a million years, baby.
Nero spun out of there right before the cops arrived. He didn’t know how he would win her back yet; all he knew was he wasn’t going to stop until Elle was his. For good.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Horror in the Mirror
Elle spent the whole weekend in her bed, trying not to cry. Yeah, unsuccessfully. The only time she left her bedroom was to go to work, which she couldn’t get out of. She hated leaving the house to do so, though.