Pull

  door behind me. I’m pretty sure he just told me no, as in, No. I’m

  not going to allow you to self-destruct and push me away. What guy

  does that? I mean, his speech was hot. It was the type of thing you

  see on TV or read about in books. The prince pursues the princess

  and they live happily ever after.

  Silly Demetri. He of all people should know that Happily

  Ever Afters didn’t exist. It made me sad. I wanted to be a part of his

  life. I wanted so many things, but I couldn’t see a world where we

  could both exist without ending up hurt, and I was done with

  being hurt.

  ****

  Demetri

  I walked home pissed. I slammed the screen door and ran up

  the stairs, taking them two at a time. I knew Alec and Nat were

  probably just getting out of the movie. I dialed Alec’s number and

  waited.

  “How’d it go?”

  “Shitty,” I answered and threw the stupid Seaside sweatshirt

  across the room.

  “What happened?” I could tell he was walking, because I

  heard the car alarm go off and then the doors unlock.

  “She told me we needed time apart. That it was too much,

  you know, the whole it’s-not-you-it’s-me garbage.”

  “I’m sorry, man.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be.”

  “I’m confused. Aren’t you pissed?”

  “I’m more than pissed, and I even told her so. I kind of told

  her no.”

  Alec was silent, and then, “Dude, when did you grow a

  pair?”

  “Last night in my sleep, you ass. Now listen, I kind of got

  angry with her and went all protective barbarian he-man.” I still

  couldn’t believe I’d raised my voice at her and refused to give up.

  “Did you pound your chest and roar?”

  I laughed. “Tempted to, but no.”

  “Then you’re good.”

  “That’s it?” I cursed. “No words of wisdom from the older,

  happier, non-drug-addicted brother?”

  Alec cleared his throat. “Love her.”

  “How do you love a person who doesn’t even love

  themselves or see how their behavior is self-destructive?” Whoa.

  And suddenly the giant light exploded in my head. So that’s what

  all that therapy was about. How do you let others in when you

  can’t even look in the mirror? The answer is, you can’t. But

  hopefully by showing them that they are lovable, they will start to

  see the truth.

  “You still there, man?” Alec asked.

  “Yeah, um, I gotta go.” I pressed end and threw on a Henley

  shirt and put my phone in my pocket.

  I had a girl to kiss.

  Chapter Twenty

  Demetri

  Note to self, this looked way easier in the movies and music

  videos. Why the hell was I shimmying up this girl’s house, when a

  normally sane person would go through the door? I mean, come

  on. It was ten. Nobody went to bed at ten. I was sure her parents

  were still up watching Wheel of Fortune or crap reality TV.

  My foot slipped, making my face slam against the roof.

  I waited for a few seconds before continuing my climb. I

  really hoped that was her room, because if it wasn’t, I was probably

  going to get arrested. But it was the only room with the light on

  upstairs, and I heard the TV downstairs. I just figured she’d be the

  sulking type.

  I mean, I was the king of all sulking. I noticed it in others.

  Finally, I reached the window and peered in. Yes, I peered in

  like the creepy stalker I was.

  Alyssa was leaning back against her bed listening to music.

  Well, that was a plus. At least she was listening to music. Though,

  seriously if I had to tour with Justin Bieber or One Direction the

  next year I was going to shit a brick. I could not, and I repeat, could

  not handle competition in my fragile state. Especially if she liked

  them. I may have to steal her iPod. Great, now I was stealing.

  I knocked on the window.

  She jerked her head in my direction, her mouth dropped

  open, and then she pulled a blanket around her.

  Holy hell, she was wearing the tiniest shorts I’d ever had the

  pleasure of seeing. They were white. Damn. Parents should warn

  their daughters about what wearing white does to guys. It

  immediately makes me want to peel them off of her. Her small

  black tank top wasn’t helping matters. The tank top said Cheer.

  You can take the girl away from cheerleading, but

  apparently can’t take cheerleading away from the girl. What the

  crap? Did I really just say that in my head? I should probably be on

  meds.

  I knocked again.

  She glared and shook her head no.

  I lifted my shirt and showed her my abs.

  She laughed. See? I could be funny and relaxed.

  With a very exaggerated eye roll, she walked over to the

  window and opened it up. I slipped in and immediately kissed her

  on the mouth, not caring that she was probably going to slap me

  any second.

  Instead, she kissed me back.

  I lifted her up into my arms and pulled her against me. She

  wrapped her arms around my neck and let out a tiny moan.

  It was my undoing.

  I gently placed her back on her feet and went to close the

  window. I grabbed her arm and led her to the bed where I pushed

  her up against it.

  “Why are you here?” she asked between kisses.

  I chose to ignore all questions, considering all I really

  wanted were my hands everywhere on her body. They had a mind

  of their own as they roamed across her smooth skin, lifting her shirt

  just enough to give me a tease of her flat stomach.

  “Demetri.” She pushed against me. This time I relented.

  “I can’t let you go,” I whispered.

  “What?” She tried to back away from me but she was

  trapped between my body and the bed. She wasn’t going

  anywhere.

  “I mean…” I snuck in another kiss. “You can push all you

  want, but I’m not going anywhere.” I grabbed a fistful of her hair

  and let it fall between my fingers. The air filled with the smell of

  coconut.

  “Even if that’s what’s best for me?”

  “You don’t know what’s best for you.” I shook my head. “If

  you had it your way, you’d still be sitting alone in your room

  wearing Brady’s old sweatshirts and flipping through your high

  school yearbook. Alyssa, that’s not life. This, what you’re living,

  isn’t real.”

  Her eyes flashed, and she pushed against my chest. “What

  makes you the expert? Huh? You have no idea! I mean, you said so

  yourself! You lost your girlfriend, but you weren’t even with her at

  the time! You don’t understand!”

  I could tell I was pushing her toward the edge, and even

  though what she said hurt, I knew that if I didn’t allow her to snap

  she would stay in her tiny little bubble and never fulfill whatever

  her purpose was for her life.

  She reminded me of baby eagles; the moms push them out

  of the nest the in hopes they will learn to fly. The babies constantly

 
fall, but eventually after one final push, they make it and learn to

  survive on their own.

  Alyssa needed to get out of her nest.

  Shit. I needed to get out of my nest. Everything I said to her I

  was saying to myself too. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and live your

  life, you ass!

  Sometimes, when love pushes you, it’s time to pull until you

  snap. I was going to be the catalyst for that, why? Because I cared,

  possibly loved her too much to see her continue this way.

  “You’re being selfish,” I said, releasing her body so she

  could get away from me. “You think living like this is protecting

  his memory? Would he want this from you? Would he want you to

  sit in his sweatshirt every night crying over him? Would he be

  proud of the life you lived, Alyssa?”

  “Stop, just stop!” Alyssa started sobbing. “I hate you! Just

  leave me alone!”

  “No, you think you’re the only one in the entire freaking

  universe who’s ever experienced pain and loss. How selfish of a

  mindset do you have to have to believe that? Hmm? What about

  his parents? Do you even know what it’s like to lose a child?”

  “Of course not! And neither do you!”

  I swallowed and tried to calm my heart, but it was still

  racing. “Actually, I do.” I approached her with my hands up as I

  felt tears well in my eyes. “And believe me, it really was my fault.

  All my fault. The entire thing. I did it. A mess of my own making,

  and a little boy died because of it. He would have been my son. I

  mean, I was going to help her raise the baby even though he wasn’t

  mine. Even though he was my brother’s. So betrayal? Lies? Losing

  a child? Yeah, I think I get it, Lyss. So next time you start to feel

  sorry for yourself, next time you allow yourself to feel the raw pain

  of guilt, maybe you should think just for a second that the world is

  only what you make it. You live in hell because you choose it.”

  “And what are you offering?” Alyssa turned away. “Heaven

  in your arms.” Her lips pulled back into a scowl.

  “No.” I shook my head and sat on her bed. “I’m offering you

  peace.”

  Tear streamed down her face as she walked up to me and

  slapped me hard across the cheek. It stung, but she was tiny, and I

  knew she was just acting out. It broke my heart into a million

  pieces to see her hurt like that.

  “Do you feel better, now?” Hit me. I wanted to scream, Hit

  me! If my pain would cause her relief, I was ready for it. I wanted it.

  “No.” She cried into her hands. “I’m sorry. I just reacted. I

  just…” She fell to the floor. “I’m just so messed up.”

  I knelt down next to her and pulled her into my lap.

  “Welcome to the land of the living, sweetheart. Everyone’s messed

  up. It’s what makes us human.”

  She shook in my arms. I whispered things in her ear and

  rubbed her head as she sank into my arms.

  “I just…” she sighed. “I just need to fix things. I want to feel

  like myself again. I don’t want to be broken, but then I’m afraid

  that if I get fixed —”

  “You’ll forget him,” I answered for her.

  “Yeah.” She shrugged. “The pain sucks, but it’s better than

  forgetting him like everyone else does. I feel crazy sometimes, like

  I’m the only one who cares about what happened. Everyone else

  just keeps moving on with life, and I feel like I can’t because I feel

  so guilty all the time.”

  “He wouldn’t want you to,” I answered using my thumbs to

  rub away the tears from her cheeks. “Believe me, he loved you. I

  mean, who wouldn’t? I love you, and you’re kind of a mess…”

  Holy crap. I just admitted that out loud, and I believed every

  word, because it was true.

  Her eyes got really wide and then she looked away from me.

  “I don’t feel very lovable.”

  “Okay, get ready because I’m going to only do this once.”

  “Huh?”

  “I’m going to act really smart right now. I’m just preparing

  you, because it doesn’t happen often. If you want to take a picture

  to document it, I’m okay with it, just don’t sell it online.”

  “You’re insane.” She giggled through her tears.

  I shrugged, because really, she kind of made me feel insane.

  “Some scientists did this psychological experiment with dogs—”

  “Did you just say psychological?”

  “Shut up and listen,” I ordered and cleared my throat. “My

  mind is a little fuzzy on the particulars, but scientists would put a

  dog in a box, and then put a divider in the middle with its food on

  the other side. The scientists wouldn’t necessarily abuse the dog,

  but they would shock it over and over again each time it crossed

  into the other part of the box. Finally, they stopped shocking it, and

  showed the dog that it was safe, that it could cross over and get its

  food, but it refused to move. Even though there wasn’t a threat

  anymore, even though everything was fine. It’s a type of classical

  conditioning. You get burned so much that even when there isn’t

  any danger, you cower in the corner.” Wow. I can’t believe I

  remembered that from last year’s psychology class.

  “Am I the dog?” Alyssa asked quietly.

  Crap, probably a bad comparison. “You are like the dog,

  Lyss. You’ve been so scared for so long that even though there isn’t

  any danger anymore, you still pretend there is, so you refuse to

  leave the box and experience anything. What do you think happens

  to the dog when it can’t get its food and water?”

  “It dies.”

  “Your soul isn’t meant to be in constant pain, Lyss.” I

  rubbed her head again and sighed. “Your heart isn’t meant to stay

  in pieces, and you sure as hell aren’t meant to mourn your dead

  boyfriend for the rest of your days.” She was silent for a really long

  time. I kept wondering if I screwed up, if I possibly pushed her too

  far.

  Her knees cracked as she got up and held out her hand to

  me. “Will you stay the night?”

  Seriously? I tried to keep my face from looking too shocked.

  Tried, and failed as I felt my smile widen. “Yeah, that would be

  nice, but what about your parents?”

  Alyssa went to her door and locked it. “They’d probably be

  so excited I was socializing with someone my own age that they’d

  feed you breakfast. But I’ll lock this just in case.”

  I followed her to the bed and helped toss the pillows off.

  Honestly, and I’d never admit this out loud, I was so freaking

  exhausted that I wasn’t really thinking about sex. I just wanted to

  hold her. I sighed. If Alec could see me now.

  She turned off the lights and joined me in bed, tucking her

  head right underneath my chin. “Thanks, Demetri.”

  “For what?” I wrapped my arm around her and closed my

  eyes.

  “For saying no.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Alyssa

  I woke up relaxed. I yawned and then stretched my arms

  above my head, accidently
hitting something warm next to me.

  “Thanks.” Demetri’s voice was deep and sexy with sleep. “I

  love getting hit in my sleep.”

  I laughed groggily and nestled back into his arms, resting

  my head against his massive shoulder. “What time is it?”

  “Time for more sleep,” he grumbled and then pulled me into

  his body so we fit perfectly together. His lips found my neck and

  soon I forgot all about sleep, all about anything except for the way

  he made me feel. Safe and loved.

  “This your idea of sleep?” I moaned as his hands dipped

  beneath my shirt.

  “Absolutely,” Demetri said between kisses. “The way I see

  it.” His teeth tugged at my ear. “Is if I say I’m sleeping right now,

  then I won’t get in trouble for doing this…” His hands cupped my

  butt, rocking me closer to him. Warmth spread through my body

  and then a knock came at the door.

  “Shit.” Demetri sighed. “Sleep was just starting to get good.”

  “Alyssa!” My dad shouted. “It’s time for work and you have

  group therapy tonight! Get up!”

  Demetri laughed and tossed a pillow in my direction

  mimicking my dad’s words. Then he winked. “Your group leader

  says stay in bed. Don’t make me punish you.”

  I blushed and shook my head at him before laughing.

  “Alyssa? Is someone in there with you?”

  Demetri looked at the door and froze. “Crap, is this the part

  where they break down the door and your dad chases me while I

  run down the street with no pants on?”

  “Probably.” I shrugged happily.

  “Cool. On that note…” He jumped out of bed giving me full

  view of his perfectly sculpted body. Damn his abs. With a seductive

  wink, one that made my insides turn to mush, he threw on his shirt

  and proceeded to shimmy — his words not mine — out the

  window and down to the ground.

  “You sure that’s safe?” I whispered out to him.

  “Nope.” Demetri laughed. “It’s an adventure. I’m an

  adventurous guy, just ask…” Lots of cursing followed as he slid, or

  technically fell, the last five feet to the ground.

  I had unlocked my bedroom door when I’d got up to go to

  the restroom last night, which my dad just discovered as he pushed

  his way into my room and looked around suspiciously. Geez,

  you’d think he’d be encouraging me to socialize. Then again,