Twisted Lies by Nora Cobb
Chapter 37
Astrid
My legs are beat from running and cycling all weekend long, and it takes a while for me to walk my bike back to Stonehaven after I drop Nova off. I decide not to kill the mood by hanging around Monarch. Relief actually washes over me as I walk through the stone gates at two in the morning. But something feels off when I enter my room. Hesitating, I decide not to switch on the lights and wake up Roni. I creep over to her bed to check if she’s even in it. She is, and as I stand over her still body, I hope she’s alone. Yuck. Quickly, I climb into my own bed and pull the covers over my head, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.
The experience at the Pit rattled my sense of safety. Surrounded by men I’ve never met—men that wanted me for the wrong reasons. I’ll never go back there again. Everything has changed because of the Stonehaven boys. Is it greed? Or lust? No wonder the Monarch crowd side-eyed dumbass me as I walked around cluelessly. Tossing and turning, I finally drift off to sleep, but when I wake up at sunrise, I know something is very wrong.
Roni isn’t in her bed, and I check the time. It’s not even six. She’s not an early riser, but someone was in her bed. Her down comforter is pushed against the wall, and the sheets are creased across the bed. I don’t want to stay here, so I decide to go to the gym. I take a quick shower to wash the filth off me, get dressed in my gear, and head out.
My sore legs drag like lead as I walk into the gym, and maybe I should’ve just hung out in the library instead. The girl behind the counter ignores me as I lay my forehead down on the smooth surface. I may have to leave. I’m about to go when Wyatt walks in and heads upstairs. He passes me at the counter like I’m mist and takes the stairs two at a time.
“Wyatt?” I call out, following behind him as fast as I move.
He pauses a second but keeps moving toward the private gym. Instead of waiting, he opens the locked door and disappears without a backward glance.
My ass drags as I approach the door, and maybe I should take the hint and leave. But I have to find out what’s wrong with Wyatt. Why is he running cold today? Wyatt is a part of my plan—a plan he suggested I make. I pictured him and me running the new club together with Nova and Derick. But that isn’t going to happen if he starts ghosting me.
Wyatt is by the free weights, concentrating on each curl as his biceps pop. I bite my lip, watching him, thinking about how close we almost came that night in his car. He would’ve been my first choice and no doubt the best. More importantly, I want him to be mine forever.
Charlotte’s words pop into my head. I don’t want him thinking of you when he’s in bed with me.
Suddenly, what she said doesn’t seem so crazy after all. It’s just sex. Even animals do it and get it right, so what makes it so special? I convince myself that Wyatt doesn’t care about Bryce as I walk toward him. It’s how we feel that matters, and that’s what I’m trying to protect. My thoughts are buzzing through my mind as I overthink everything. What does Wyatt know? Why isn’t he speaking to me?
“Hey, Wyatt.” I slip in beside him on the next bench over. “Didn’t you hear me call your name?”
He glares at me, and that cruel look leaves me with a feeling of dread that numbs me. That’s not the way I want Wyatt to look at me.
“What’s going on?” I demand. “Why aren’t you talking to me?”
Without speaking, he gets up, grabs his gym bag off the floor, and heads toward a private studio. I get up quickly, ignoring my tender thighs, and follow him, determined to have it out. They must talk about me, and if so, that gives me the right to defend myself. Wyatt hits the lights as I step into the studio, and I shut the door behind me.
“What’s up?” I ask, “Why the hostility?”
He scoffs. “You’ve been having a fun time without me. And somehow, you don’t expect me to be upset.”
“I told you how I felt about you,” My jaw tightens. “And you told me to find someone else.”
Wyatt sighs and stares at the blue mats bolted to the walls. “You’re right. Stupid me. I didn’t expect you to carry out my advice so eagerly.”
“What does that even mean?” I raise my voice, “You tell me no, but I’m supposed to wait around just in case you change your stubborn mind. You keep stalling and putting me off. How am I supposed to read that?” I lower myself down onto a thick mat on the floor, easing my legs out in front of me. “What happened to make you hate me?”
Wyatt reaches for his gym bag and pulls out a piece of paper. I recognize it immediately—it’s from Justin’s pad. After we made love in his studio, Justin drew me lying on the platform. Gradually, my annoyance at him melted, fading away into lazy satisfaction. I became completely relaxed and let him tug the drop cloth off me. Now, I stare at the drawing paper. What has Justin done?
Wyatt hands me the folded paper, and I open it carefully. It’s a detailed sketch of the Phoenix tattoo on my naked hip. My hand rests on my stomach and barely conceals my vagina. Wyatt knew about Bryce, but he knew nothing about Justin. My finger traces the pencil lines as I swallow a thick lump down my throat.
I don’t know what to do with the drawing. Part of me wants to fold it up and keep it, but that’s not the reason why Wyatt gave it to me. Foolishly, I hand it back to him, and Wyatt snatches it out of my fingertips, balls it up, and tosses it into a garbage can by the door.
“I don’t know what you want to hear,” I speak gently.
“There’s nothing you can say that that picture hasn’t already told me.” Wyatt glares at me, and I want to sink through the floor. “I knew Bryce was my competition, but Justin?” Wyatt screws up his face as if he smells a foul odor.
“What’s wrong with Justin?” I ask, knowing instantly it was a stupid thing to ask.
“The kid is a train wreck.” Wyatt can barely keep from shouting as he paces the floor. “He lets that psycho father of his and Pierce push him around.” Wyatt stops pacing and glares at me. “When I told you to find someone else, I thought you would find someone worth having. I’d feel like shit seeing you with someone else, but I’d accept it. But instead, you fucked Justin.”
I quickly wipe a tear off my face. “I told you that you’re the one I want to be with after all this is over.” I reach for his hand, but he yanks it out of my grasp. “Don’t do this,” I plead, “Not now. I need you now.”
Wyatt shakes his head as he zips his gym bag shut. “No, Astrid. You want to keep me as backup. I may have stood by and tolerated you with Bryce. But Justin? You picked him out of all of us?”
Wyatt scowls in disgust, and I feel that to the bone. He walks toward the door.
“I have to talk to you.” The tears choke my throat.
“I can’t do this right now with you.”
The door echoes as it shuts behind him, and I sit there, staring as if he might change his mind and come back. I’m too stunned to run after Wyatt. We talked about this. He knew how I felt, especially about him. But I guess we didn’t really understand one another. I still need him. And not only for fight club. No matter how I might feel when I’m with Bryce or Justin, Wyatt is the one I belong to.
So, I should just give the others up. But I can’t.
