Misjudged

by Sarah Elizabeth

  “Not that I’m aware,” Alyssa sits herself up and shrugs her shoulders, before being pulled back down by Ryan, and I hear her letting out a giggle. I can’t wait for Brandon to get back. I’m starting to miss him already.

  Checking my watch, I see it’s almost one thirty, and after picking up a coffee for both myself and Brandon, I’ve decided to drop by his place to see if he’s gotten everything he needs, before we head back over here.

  Although I know only thirty minutes have passed, the time feels as though it’s dragging as I approach campus with both our coffees in hand. I glance up and my lips immediately stretch wide at the sight of Brandon walking through the large iron gates. I watch him place his duffel bag on the ground and lean himself up against the wall.

  “I was just coming for you,” I say as I walk up to join him. “Here, I got your favorite.” I hold the takeout cup to him, but he doesn’t respond. Instead, he averts his face and eyes away from me. “Brandon?”

  I notice his head is hanging low and can hear his deep breaths as he starts raking his hands though his hair, “Brandon?” I look away from him as a black SUV pulls up beside us, and when I bring my gaze back to him, his eyes are focused directly on the ground and his whole body has become rigid.

  I place the coffee cups on the ground and step in front of him when I see him bend down to pick up his duffel bag. I place my hands on either side of his face in an attempt to make him look at me.

  Fuck no.

  I notice the grimness in his eyes and the expression all over his face. It’s the very same look he had when he told me about the night Holly died in his arms. He looks hollow. He looks broken. He looks dead. His complexion is pale and his eyes have darkened, and in this moment, I can feel my heart beginning to break.

  Tears are beginning to fall onto my cheeks and I can hardly speak through the bile that’s rising in my throat. “Brandon!” Why won’t he look at me? Why won’t he talk to me? It’s as though he can’t even see or hear me. It feels as though he’s looking straight through me. “Dammit, Brandon!”

  His shoulders are slouched and his head remains directed at the ground. He’s not responding to me at all. Slamming my hands on his chest, he still doesn’t react and so I do it harder, over and over again, but still, nothing.

  “What’s goin’ on?” I barely register the fact that Neil is stepping up beside us. I begin shaking Brandon’s shoulders vigorously, “Alex?” Neil sounds concerned as he places his hands on my shoulders.

  “Neil.” Brandon’s voice is low and flat. “I …” He stops himself from saying anymore and steps back and to the side, before making his way over to the waiting car. He just spoke to Neil but didn’t even acknowledge me. What the hell did I do wrong?

  I follow him over to the vehicle, and as he reaches for the handle, I place my hand on his arm. “You promised me forever …” My voice is a whisper because I can hardly speak around the huge lump that’s lodged in my throat. “What did I do?”

  He pauses and turns back around, but still avoids eye contact with me. Lifting his hand to cup my face, he trails his fingers over my mouth before moving them lower, until he reaches the base of my throat. In that instant he rips the necklace he gave me, only yesterday, from around my neck and tosses it onto the ground, before backing away and opening the car door.

  “No!” I scream. My legs feel weak and my heart is hammering in my chest as a sudden rush of nausea fills my stomach. I bend to the pavement to pick up the necklace, and my body is trembling as I’m unable to control the sobs.

  “Neil,” Brandon nods once in his direction and I feel my legs buckle, which causes me to fall to my knees. I watch him climb into the SUV and he doesn’t even look back at me, not even once. “But I fell in love with you,” I don’t even hear my own words over the car’s engine. A sharp stabbing pain in my chest is making me feel dizzy and I can feel the tears soaking through my shirt.

  Neil wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me into him as I let the tears fall. I can’t do anything but watch as the car pulls away and heads down the street, before disappearing completely out of my view.

  He promised me forever … and then he left.

  The end of part one…

  Misplaced Trust (Misjudged #2)

  Due for release: Fall 2013

  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18129341-misplaced-trust

  Prologue

  I don’t know how long I’ve been crying. I know it’s getting dark outside, but I have no idea what the time is. All I know is that it hurts. My eyes are sore from the tears I’ve shed, and my chest is aching from the way my heart is slowly breaking inside.

  I’ve been clutching the necklace Brandon tore from my neck ever since I picked it up from the ground and came back to the dorm. It’s broken. I don’t know how to describe how I feel right now. There’s a wide range of emotions running through me, underneath the numbness that’s now beginning to take over my body.

  This morning we were happy. I had gotten a tattoo to show how committed I was to him, to show how committed I was to us. Maybe he allowed the guilt of believing he was betraying Holly overcome him again. Maybe he just needs some time and then he’ll come back to me.

  I’ve called his cell phone too many times to count but he hasn’t answered, not even once. I’ve left numerous voice messages, although I doubt when he listens to them he will be able to understand what I was trying to say anyway, because of the sobs.

  I feel hollow.

  His eyes. There was something in his eyes that told me he was … Shit, I don’t even know anymore. I thought I knew him. I really thought I could read him and know what he was feeling and thinking, but maybe everything was a lie. There’s no way someone could fake the connection we had … the connection we have, but why promise forever and then leave?

  When he made love to me I felt whole, I felt special, and I felt like there was nowhere else I wanted to be but in his arms, forever. He made me feel like I was the only one in his world that mattered and that he would do anything for me, like I would for him.

  He loves me, at least I thought he did. Did he ever love me?

  Table of Contents

  Copyright © 2013 by Sarah Elizabeth.

  Dedications.

  Acknowledgements.

  Misplaced Trust (Misjudged #2)