“I’ll be here on Thursday, because I’m covering graduation this weekend for the paper. Maybe we could get coffee or lunch?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated.

“Well, just think about it,” he said, not pressing his luck. “I do want to make this right. And I’d like to see you.”

“Maybe. I’ll get back to you on that.” She was going to have to tell Brady. She didn’t know how much he was going to freak about this, but she hated holding grudges. She would never get over what Calleigh did, but Hayden was a different story. They had both made mistakes in that relationship.

“Giving me some hope. I’ll let you get to Savannah,” he said with a smile before departing.

Liz tried to clear her head as she jogged up to the stairs to Top of the Hill. Savannah was waiting for her at a table overlooking the street. She jumped up when Liz arrived and looked frantic.

“Oh my God, was that Hayden?” Savannah asked immediately.

“Yeah. It was . . . interesting.”

“I can’t believe he would come here to see you.” She took her seat and Liz sat across from her.

“Me either. He said he wants to make amends and that he wants to see me again this week to try to . . . I don’t even know,” she said, struggling to explain. “Maybe apologize?”

“Sounds sneaky. Brady isn’t going to like that.”

Liz nodded. “No . . . he isn’t.”

Chapter 14

AN OKAY PLACE

You did what?” Brady demanded, his tone harsh when she told him later that day that she had run into Hayden.

“He was on campus.”

He paused before responding. “I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

She had been expecting this response. Even if she hadn’t dated Hayden for a year and a half and he hadn’t had sex with her after finding out about Brady, she knew that Brady would hate him. He had always been the jealous type. When she had kissed Hayden two summers ago and told Brady about it, he had freaked out. They were in a much better place than that now, but that didn’t change how he felt about Hayden.

“I know you don’t, but I couldn’t really help it.” She plopped back down on her bed and waited for his response.

“I don’t care. You shouldn’t have let him walk you anywhere.”

“What did you want me to do?” she asked, getting irritated. “Push him down the stairs?”

“It would have been preferable.”

“Maybe, but I mean . . . nothing happened. He just wanted to apologize and make things right.”

Brady sighed. “Liz, that is guy code for he wants you back.”

“No, it isn’t,” she said, sitting up straighter. “Plus, that’s not even an option.”

“Trust me. Him talking to you, stalking you to your class, showing up on campus, trying to apologize means he just wants you back. And frankly, he can’t have you.”

Liz shook her head. Yeah, Hayden had complimented her, but he couldn’t honestly think that she would still be interested in him after what had happened between them. “You know my heart belongs to you.”

“I just don’t like the idea of him being able to get to you,” Brady said. “I can’t be there all the time. I’m not even getting in for graduation until Saturday morning.”

“You don’t have to protect me,” Liz told him earnestly. “It’s just Hayden.”

“You’re talking about the guy who raped you,” Brady whispered.

Liz cringed. She hated that word. She still didn’t relate to it or believe that it had happened. Yes, they’d had sex when she didn’t want to, but she didn’t tell him no or try to stop him. “That word, Brady.”

“I’m just reminding you that he’s not always had good intentions. I don’t want him to hurt you, and the best way for that to happen is for you to just stay away from him.”

“Well, he’s going to be in town this weekend for graduation and wants to get coffee,” she said, laying it out plainly.

“Absolutely not.”

“I wasn’t aware I was asking for permission,” she spat.

“I’m telling you this is a horrible idea. You know it’s a horrible idea. What good is going to come from it? You forgive him for the shit he put you through and suddenly you’re friends again? The world doesn’t work that way.”

“I forgave you for the shit that you put me through!” she yelled back, standing and walking across her room in frustration. “And I never even said I was going to forgive him. I didn’t say anything. I’m just willing to hear out what he has to say.”

“Why? Why must you torture me with this? Hearing out your ex-boyfriend is the last thing that is good for us.”

“You saw and talked to Erin,” Liz pointed out.

“Erin didn’t hurt you!” Brady cried. He was clearly pissed off at this point and it just made her more frustrated. She hadn’t even wanted to see Hayden, but now this whole thing just irritated her.

“Erin made me lose my job! Erin pushed us back into the papers! You flaunted Erin in front of me for a year! She hurt me plenty.”

“Hayden sold us out to the papers in the first place!”

“Just because you want to hurt him doesn’t mean I can’t see him.”

“I do want to hurt him,” Brady admitted. “I hate the guy. He’s a douche bag. He’s unstable. He’s one more thing that kept you away from me. Can’t you see that you shouldn’t be around him?”

“Don’t tell me who I should see. I can make decisions for myself.”

“I’m not telling you! I’m asking you not to see him because it’s fucking stupid, Liz.”

“Glad to know my decisions are fucking stupid,” she grumbled.

“It’s not your decisions that are stupid. It’s just anything that involves him. He’s a parasite. He’s feeding off of your good nature.”

“My ex-boyfriend is a parasite?” Liz asked in disbelief. “You’re really winning your cause.”

“Fine. Go see him. Because that makes perfect sense.”

“I didn’t even want to see him! God!”

“Then why are you pushing this?” he asked, exasperated.