Beautiful Devil

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

I’ve rewatched the end of the recording three times already, and each time I feel something new.

The first half was hands down the sexiest thing I’ve ever watched and I’ve decided if Hayes and I fail at hockey and fashion design, we might have a future in the porn industry. We were that hot.

Then there was the very end. Too hung up on my act of revenge, I didn’t notice Hayes’ expression at the time. When I watch the video back, I see pain at the first mention of the video. I may be reading into this all wrong, but I don’t think Hayes wants this shared. And now, after sitting on it for a few hours, I don’t think I want to either. What we have is too special to share with anyone else, especially Kamden.

Last night was everything I ever wanted, and exactly what wasn’t supposed to happen. Being with Hayes was phenomenal, to say the least. I can’t even form a coherent thought of how amazing it truly was. I’ve never connected with someone like that before, and I don’t just mean sexually.

This flawed guy wasn’t supposed to turn out so perfect. Yet somewhere behind his rebel persona, I’ve found the man I always dreamed I’d find. Now I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with all these feelings.

“So what now?” Avery asks from where she’s lying beside me on my bed. For a moment, I forgot she was even here, and that I just spilled my guts to her. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I stare blankly at the cracked paint on the ceiling, feeling fulfilled, but hollow. Is it even possible for those contradicting feelings to co-exist?

“I can’t do it,” I spit out with force. A heavy weight lifts from my shoulders and I spring up, letting my blanket fall into my lap. “I can’t do it,” I repeat, my voice shaking. “I hope Hayes understands, but we can’t send that video to Kamden. Fuck revenge, and fuck Kamden Donnelly. He's the past, and Hayes is my future.”

Avery sets a calming hand on my back. “Looks like you’ve made your decision.”

I turn to look at her, the smile on her face mirroring mine. I’ve always known she was team Hayes. Somehow between the crazy meetups, the two of them formed a friendship that I sort of love.

“I don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner.” I look at her with a pinched expression. “This was never about Kamden. It was always about Hayes. Subconsciously, I think I knew I had to hold onto him however I could and this was the only way I knew how.”

“Or your subconscious just wanted to fuck him again.” She raises her shoulders nonchalantly.

Clutching my hands over my chest, I fall onto my back in a hazy daze. “Oh, Avery. You have no idea how amazing he was. It felt like my body was singing his praises. I’ve never in my life experienced an orgasm like that.”

My phone buzzes from my nightstand and Avery reaches over to grab it. She looks at the screen before shooting me a skeptical look. “No caller ID.”

“Hmm.” I sit up and take the phone from her, opting to answer it just in case it’s a call from back home. “Hello.”

“Don’t hang up,” are the first words Kamden says. “Please, just hear me out.”

Sighing heavily, I turn my frustrated eyes to Avery. “What do you want, Kamden?”

“Oh, hell no,” Avery gripes as she leans close to me so she can hear what he’s saying.

“I need to talk to you. It’s important.”

My eyes roll. “Well, I haven’t hung up yet, so let's hear it.”

“In person. There’s something you need to see. Can you meet me at Clara’s in a half hour?”

Avery shakes her head and mouths the word “no.”

“Let me guess, a summons to appear in court because you’re suing me for slander?”

“No,” he huffs. “I was never going to do that to you. I was just pissed.”

“You were pissed?” I gnash. “How do you think I felt after you shared that video of us?”

“Damn it, Brogan.” A bang sounds in the background like he just hit something. “I didn’t share the video, but I know who did, and I can prove it.”

There’s a beat of silence as I look at Avery who I’m hoping gives me a hint at what I should do. She shrugs, not helping at all.

“So will you meet me?” he asks, tone low. “All I’m asking for is ten minutes then you never have to talk to me again, if that’s what you decide.”

“Ten minutes,” I tell him. “And this better not be some sick joke.” On that note, I end the call.

Avery gives me a pressed smile and another pat on the back. “Looks like you’re going?”

I swing my legs over the bed and stand up. “Looks like I am.”

By the time I get to Clara’s, Kamden is already there. He’s seated at a small round table outside, wearing a black down jacket and a pair of blue jeans. As soon as he spots me, a grin spreads across his face. Springing to his feet, he pulls out a chair for me. “Thanks for coming on such short notice”

I give him a side-ways glance as I sit down, wearing my skepticism on my face. “It sounded important. What’s up with you?”

He seems eager to get off whatever is on his chest, so he excitedly dives right in. “Remember how you blamed me for posting that video and called me out publicly?” I cross my arms over my chest because that isn’t a moment in my life I’m ever going to forget.

My scowl deepens. “Of course I remember, Kamden.”

“Well...” He folds his hands together on top of the table. “You need to take it down now more than ever.”

“Unbelievable.” I purse my lips as I slide my chair back, the legs scraping abrasively against the concrete patio. “I don’t have time for this.”

Panicked eyes meet mine, but he keeps his hands to himself, which is more than I can say for his friend last night. “You need to take it down because it’s not true. I have proof.” He mentioned that, but I halfway believed it was a ploy to get me here.

“Well, let’s see it then,” I say skeptically, still not certain he’s telling the truth.

Kamden picks his phone up from the table and hands it to me. “Hit play.”

It’s a video that looks like it was taken in his and Jeremiah’s dorm room. Reluctantly, I play it.

“So you’re saying it wasn’t Kamden and you know that how?”

That’s Jeremiah’s voice.

“I already told you, Jer. It was me.” And that’s Gabby laughing. She sounds drunk. “We were trying to watch a movie and that psycho bitch Brogan kept texting him. I was so pissed that he was letting her take away from our time together. So when he fell asleep, I went through his messages to see what was so important. That’s when I found and posted the video.”

I slide the phone back to Kamden, not needing to hear or see anything more. I should be elated that it wasn’t Kamden. I should be livid at Gabby. But truthfully, I’m not either of those things. And it comes down to the point of me not caring anymore. I don’t care what Kamden did or didn’t do. As for Gabby, she’s the one who is a psycho bitch and eventually everyone around her will figure that out for themselves. I’m over it all. Him. This. Us .

Kamden picks up his phone and sticks it back in the pocket of his jacket. “I think that means you owe me an apology.”

I reach into my pocket, scoffing, as I pull out my middle finger and stick it right in front of his face. “Just because you didn't share it, doesn't mean you weren’t part of it, Kamden. I already knew Gabby was a bitch who had it out for me. You said some pretty vile things to me and while yes, I am sorry I publicly outed you for something you didn’t do, I’m not sorry for everything that happened after. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s you.”

His nice guy persona fades in a snap. “Take down the fucking video, Brogan. I’m not going to tell you again.”

“I’ll edit your name out of the video, but that’s all you're getting from me. For all I know, you forced Gabby and Jeremiah to create that garbage, but guess what, I don’t even care. One of you assholes shared it, and no matter who it was, you’ll all still be assholes.”

With my chair still back enough to give me space, I turn away. “I think we’re done here.”

As I move to leave, I crash right into another body. When I look up, I see that it’s Hayes and he is fuming. His hand goes around my waist and he pulls me close to his side.

“What the fuck is this?” he sneers at Kamden.

Kamden’s eyes travel to Hayes’ tight fists. “Watch yourself, Madden. The last thing you need is another scolding from your coach.”

Hayes jabs his finger in the air, jaw ticking as he grits out, “That was a dick move, tattling on me like a fucking pussy.”

Kamden stands and I instinctively slide closer to Hayes.

“That’s what you get for being a little bitch. Thank your lucky stars I didn’t report you to someone higher up.”

Hayes turns his attention to me, looking me up and down for any sign of injury. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Kamden scoffs as if that’s the silliest thing anyone could venture to guess after being alone with him. “No, I didn’t fucking hurt her. We just had a little chat.”

Hayes tucks me back behind him when he sees I’m not injured, then turns to Kamden. “Did you call her here thinking she’d give you another chance?”

“Fuck off, Madden. If I wanted her, I could have her. I think I proved that the first night we met when she left your room and ran into my arms.”

What the hell did he just say? “I didn’t run into your arms.” I step out to glare at him. “You rammed into me, nearly knocking me down in the hall. But how did you know I had just left Hayes’ room?” I look between the two of them as this horrible feeling starts to build inside me. “Were you watching me?”

He goes quiet, but his silence is telling, which only infuriates me further. “Oh my God,” I spit. “You knew Hayes and I slept together that night, didn’t you? You acted like you had no idea then you got pissed at me when I told you. But you knew the entire time?”

My mind is spinning while I piece all of this together. Then it hits me. “You didn’t accidentally bump into me in the hall when I left his room. You pursued me just because you thought it might piss Hayes off, didn’t you?”

His hands go up and there isn’t a glint of remorse on his face. “It worked. At least for a while it did.”

I was just a game to Kamden. This whole time I was just a pawn and I had no idea.

“You son of a bitch.” Hayes lunges toward Kamden, but I grab him by the hood of his sweatshirt and pull him back.He lets me, but I can practically feel the heat coming off of him.

Kamden curls his lip in a devious smirk. “I guess if I’m a son of a bitch, that makes you one, too.”

Hayes takes a step closer, taunting Kamden and I already know someone is going to get hit today. “Not if I wasn’t raised by one, you piece of shit.”

I look back and forth between the two of them as they spew venom at each other, trying to comprehend what all these jabs mean.

“That was your choice, not his.”Kamden points a finger at Hayes, jabbing him in the chest.

“Ohhh,” Hayes growls, pushing him back. “He had a fucking choice. That bastard chose to stay away.”

Ok. Now this really doesn’t make any sense to me. “What are you talking about, Hayes?”

Kamden snickers as Hayes takes a step closer to me, regret in his eyes.“I take it you haven’t told her?”

“Don’t,” Hayes stammers as he shoots me a quick glance, trying to communicate with his eyes. But that’s the thing about us, we only know how to communicate with backhanded comments.

“What?” Kamden says as he walks closer to us. “Are you too ashamed to tell your new girlfriend I’m your brother?”

“Wait, what?” I gasp, unsure if I heard him correctly. “Did you just say, brother ?”

“That’s right.” Kamden smirks. “Turns out, fucking whores runs in the family.”

The next thing I know, Hayes’ fist is flying through the air, and before I can do anything about it, it connects with Kamden’s face and a crunch rings out around us.

I’m not even mad that I couldn’t stop the hit. If Hayes didn’t do it, I may have done it myself.

“What the fuck?” Kamden howls as he cups his bloody face in his hands. “I think you just broke my fucking nose!”

“Now who’s being a little bitch?” I recant the words Kamden said to Hayes only minutes ago. “Aren’t you tired of your face looking like you had a bad meeting with a wall? You provoke Hayes so much, I’d think you like looking all black and blue.”

Kamden scurries away to lick his wounds after murmuring something about reporting Hayes, and I turn to Hayes. My heart hurts when I see his injured hand wounded further. But that doesn’t touch the pain I’m feeling after what I just heard.

“So that’s it.” I raise my shoulders. “I guess I was just a game after all. I’m not sure who won, though. I guess you’ll have to ask your brother .”

I don’t stay to watch his face or see any of the satisfaction he might have gained from this because I think it would actually break me. I was just a pawn in their scheme against each other.

With that, I leave in a hurry, unsure where to go from here.