Forgetting Paige: (The Paige Diaries #3)

by D. K Lake

  "You close?" he rasps.

  "Yeah," I breathe.

  I grip his arm that little bit tighter, my nails digging in deeper. He must know I'm about to come, letting out his deep groan as he surrenders to the feeling and we both come together. He shoots his load down the stall wall next to me, and I bury my face in his chest and hold onto him.

  I can’t believe that just happened. That I let it happen.

  We take a moment and then he removes his hand from my panties. I look at the mess he's made on the wall that is now dripping onto the floor.

  "You're disgusting." I laugh quietly and grab some toilet roll to mop it up and deposit it in the toilet. I'm just glad he thought to angle himself away from me at the last minute and didn't get any on my skinnies or boots. I zip myself back up and pull my hoodie over my head as Dario sorts himself out. I remember to grab my ring off the side, then grab my bag off the hook, and we both exit the toilet stall.

  "I need to get back. I say, watching as he rinses off his hands in the sink.

  "Wait. One more kiss," He pulls me to him and kisses me so desperately it has me questioning everything. It’s moments like this that make me wonder if I'm with the right man.

  No, you can never be with Dario. You don’t belong in his world.

  "Stop it." I pull away. "I have to go. I'm sorry." I wipe my mouth and turn my back on him.

  "I know," he says quietly and follows me out the door.

  I don't get far before I stop dead in my tracks. Dario bumps into me from behind.

  "What's wrong?" Dario asks, looking over my shoulder, but I don't answer, I don't need to.

  Maverick is standing in the middle of the corridor with my bucket of popcorn, staring at us in utter disgust.

  Chapter 26

  I automatically reach up to smooth my hair down. I didn't even check in the mirror before I left the bathroom. I feel a bit warm, but I'm sure I look okay. This is fine. I can fix this. He doesn't know what we were doing in the bathroom. I'll just tell him we were talking. Nothing going on here.

  I suddenly realize Dario is still standing behind me.

  Why is he still here?

  "Maverick," I say and force a smile.

  He comes over to us, glaring daggers in Dario's directions.

  "He just wanted to talk-" I start.

  "In the toilet?" Maverick asks, looking back at me with a venomous look in his brown eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them look so dark.

  "I followed her in. It's my fault I held her up." Dario says, covering for me.

  I turn to him and see him shifting around on his feet with his hands in his pockets. Then he looks my way and a frown appears on his face.

  Have I got something on my face? Are my lips swollen from kissing?

  Why the fuck is Rio looking at me like that?

  "Why do you look so hot and flushed?" Maverick asks.

  Fuck.

  "I'm not." I lie.

  "You only get heat rash on your neck when you're stressed or after you've had an orgasm." Maverick reminds me and I self-consciously reach up to touch my neck.

  Shit.

  "That's my fault." Dario says and my eyes nearly bug out of my head. What is he doing? "I was being difficult, making demands and stressing her out." he continues, and I calm down a notch.

  I thought he was about to drop me in it for a moment there.

  "I mean, it is my baby, after all." Dario adds casually and I want to elbow him.

  "Why are your flies undone?" Maverick snaps.

  My eyes automatically go to Dario’s flies without thinking, and I see him quickly zipping himself back up.

  "Just took a piss, man. Calm down." Dario assures.

  "I don't believe you." Maverick says coldly and gives me one more look before turning his back on us, dumping the bucket of popcorn in the trashcan.

  "Shit." I mumble, about to run off after Maverick. "Why didn't you tell me I got heat rash?" I quietly yell at Dario and shoot him a deadly glare before chasing after Maverick.

  "Maverick! Wait." I call, following him out of the movie theater and trying to ignore everyone's eyes on me. "Maverick, please. It's not what you think."

  Ugh. That sounds so cliché.

  "Maverick?!" I call, chasing him along the street. "Maverick, please stop."

  He finally comes to a stop but keeps his back to me, waiting for me to catch up to him. I jog over to him, panting.

  "Please, just hear me out-"

  "Did you fuck him?" he growls, turning to look at me with furious eyes.

  "I..." I let out a breath again. "It's complicated."

  "Complicated? Complicated isn’t the right fucking answer. You either fucked him or you didn’t?"

  "No." I say but my voice breaks.

  "Then what did you do? And don't lie to me, Paige. I'm so sick of you lying to me when it comes to him."

  "Nothing." I say desperately, which is kind of true. I didn't even touch Dario's dick. He did that all by himself. He touched me, but I can't tell Mav that.

  "Nothing? You've got heat rash all up your neck."

  I look away with tears in my eyes. I can't lie to him anymore, it's not good for us. It’s not good for anyone, including this baby.

  "Mav...I..."

  "Just tell me!" he shouts.

  "I can't....it’s complicated." My voice breaks.

  "Fuck's sake. Stop saying that. Just tell me."

  "He's making me." I say before I can stop myself.

  "Making you? Making you what?"

  I look back at him and he must see something in my eyes that tells him everything he wants to know.

  "He was never going to agree to stay away, was he? Is that what this is? He's using you to get what he wants and in return, he's going to stay away and let you raise the baby with me? Is that what this is? Am I even warm? Fucking tell me!" He grabs my arms and turns me to look at him.

  "Yes!" I break down in tears. "Yes." I sob quietly. "He said he would stay out of our lives, but he was never going to let me go."

  "So you've been fucking him behind my back? How long has this been going on?"

  "No, I haven't seen him in weeks."

  "But you have been fucking him?"

  "It only happened twice." I admit.

  Well, two different times, and more than once on one occasion, but I don't think Maverick wants to hear that.

  "When?" he growls.

  "That night you were away at the football game..."

  Maverick thinks about it and then frowns, connecting the dots.

  "You told me you talked to him and that he’d come around to the idea of letting you be with me, and us raising the baby together," he scoffs." But that wasn't it, you just opened your legs for him to keep him happy for a few more weeks."

  "Mav," I gasp at his bluntness.

  "When was the other time?" he demands.

  "I went to see him at the garage...the day you proposed."

  Maverick steps back, looking at me with this distraught look on his face as he runs both hands through his hair.

  "You told me you felt sick and that's why you didn't want to have sex." he says exasperated, shaking his head, and then starts laughing darkly." You forget to mention you had already been fucked and that's why you happily got down on your knees for me. Fuck. You probably hadn't even showered since being with him. No wonder you sucked me off like a damn vacuum. Like some dirty whore. All because you felt guilty."

  "Maverick," I plead with tears streaming down my face.

  I know he's angry and I know he doesn't really mean the things he's saying, but they still hurt.

  "And what about just now?" he shouts, making me jump.

  "We didn't do that..."

  "Then what did you do? You might as well tell me, it's not like it's a secret anymore."

  "Nothing...I didn't even touch him."

  "But he touched you?" Maverick says in disgust. "I can't believe you. Why didn't you come to me and tell me?!" he cries.

&nbs
p; "Because he was never going to leave us alone. I know it's fucked up, but he didn't give me much of a choice. It was either this or he was going to make life difficult for us. I still don't know whose baby this is. I didn't want him causing us trouble for the next eighteen years." I try to explain my reasons for doing this to him.

  "I can't look at you right now." Maverick looks away and turns his back on me. "I can't believe you did this behind my back. You should have told me as soon as he brought this idea up, and I would have told him to go fuck himself."

  He's quiet for far too long.

  "I'm sorry," I say, wiping my nose. "Please, say something?"

  "What the fuck do you want me to say? Well done, honey. Great idea to open your legs to keep him happy and out of our lives." he says coldly, spinning back around to glare at me.

  I can't take it anymore. I can’t stand the way he's looking at me.

  I look around at my surroundings and just start walking. I cross the street and decide the quickest way back to the dorms. I can't go back to the apartment with Maverick, not while he’s like this. Thankfully, I still have my dorm key in my bag. My room is still paid for until the end of the month, so no one has taken my bed. I'll go there and hopefully, Em will be there and she'll know what to do. I know it's probably over this time for good. I ruined everything between us and I'm the one that fucked up this time. Em will have to drive me over sometime tomorrow to get my things from the apartment. I have no idea what I'm going to do or where I'm going to live now. I can't even worry about the baby right now. I have to figure out what I'm doing tonight first.

  I don't think about where I'm going and take the next right, and then I make a snap decision to take the cut-through, down a dark alley that comes out near the gas station. I can wait inside and order an Uber.

  "Paige!" Maverick calls, ruining after me, but I don't slow down.

  I don't think I can listen to him yelling at me anymore and calling me names. "Stop running," He hooks a hand around my arm and spins me around. "Where are you going?"

  "I don't know. Away from you." I shout.

  "What?" he says, looking hurt. "Paige," he sighs. "I didn't mean the things I said. You know I didn’t mean them, not really." he says honestly. "I'm just fucking confused, okay? I had no fucking clue this was going on. No idea what he was making you do. I just wish you had told me. Why didn't you tell me?"

  "I don't know. I thought this was easier."

  "Easier? I would have found out eventually."

  "I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. He gets in my head and confuses me, and he seems to have a way of talking me into anything."

  "Do you still love him?"

  "Yes. I can't help it." I confess, scrubbing the tears from my eyes. "But I need you more." I choke out, breaking down in tears again. He pulls me into his arms, and I crash into his chest. He wraps his arms around me and holds me close.

  "It will be all right. We'll figure this out." he murmurs, resting his chin on the top of my head.

  I squeeze my eyes shut and cling to his jersey top, soaking the fabric with my tears.

  "I love you," he says and waits for me to say it back.

  "I love you too…but I don't deserve you," I mumble.

  "Too bad. I'm not going anywhere."

  We're still locked in our embrace when I hear an engine rumble nearby, then a second later, the sound of tires skidding on the street beside us. I pull away to look over Maverick's arm and see a black van pull up. The backdoor slides open and two men jump out wearing balaclavas, and another masked man is behind the wheel.

  Maverick's arms tighten around me before he unravels himself from me and pushes me behind him to shield me from the strangers as they stalk toward us.

  I can’t think straight. I have no idea what is happening.

  "Mav," I panic, tugging on the back of his shirt.

  "Just stay behind me," Maverick orders right before one of them lunges at him and pulls him away from me.

  The two of them go after Maverick and he tries to fight them off. I start screaming Maverick’s name on impulse and all I can do is watch in horror as one of them produces a knife from under their hoodie. The other one manages to overpower Maverick, locking his arms around his back and holds onto him. I don’t know what they want. Or why they’re doing this. But I’m powerless to help.

  The one with the knife approaches Maverick and before I can register what is happening - he drives the blade into Maverick’s gut. My scream echoes down the alleyway. My whole body is trembling, and somewhere inside my head my conscious is telling me to run, but I can't leave Maverick.

  "Stop!" I scream, watching helplessly as the stranger pulls the knife out and drives it back in again.

  Then again.

  And again.

  "Run." Maverick croaks, his eyes meeting mine for the briefest of seconds, but I don't move.

  Maverick lets out a grunt as he falls to his knees. The one with the knife knocks him over the head with the handle end, and the one behind Mav kicks him down to the ground.

  Maverick doesn't get up again.

  I look back at the masked strangers and they soon turn their attention on me and start to approach me. I turn my back on them, not wanting to leave Maverick, but my survival instincts kick in and I start running, dropping my bag along the alleyway.

  I don't get far before someone grabs me from behind and lifts me off the ground. I scream, kicking and shouting as they drag me back down the alleyway. I fight with everything I’ve got, but I'm no match for my attackers. One of them covers my mouth with his gloved hand to mask my cries. While the other one helps to drag me back to the van as quickly as they can with me fighting them.

  I see Maverick lying on the ground, bleeding out, not moving.

  They don't even stop as they step over him. One of them jumps inside the dark van and pulls me inside, then pushes me down onto the floor, while the other guy slides the door shut. I scramble for the door but the one in the back of the van drags me away from the door, shoves me against the wall, and then smacks me across the face.

  I've never been hit before, and it knocks everything out of me. My ears start to ring as I fall to the floor. My head is spinning, and I feel sick. But I can't stop. I need to get out of here.

  The van starts to move, and I slip all over the floor as the driver speeds erratically through town. I push myself up and try to reach the door again.

  If I can just get to the door, then maybe I can throw myself out. I don't even think about what it will feel like to throw myself from a moving van, but what choice do I have?

  But before I reach the door, the masked stranger comes at me again and this time, he hits me on the back of the head with something hard.

  I cry out and fall forward, and my vision blurs. He then kicks me in the stomach and knocks the air out of me. I double over in pain, clutching my body protectively. My head feels strange and the walls start to spin.

  "STAY. DOWN." he snarls.

  The van bumps over something in the road as I collapse on the floor. I can feel myself fading. That last blow hit me hard. My eyes close and the rest all fades into the background. I surrender to the darkness and let it consume me.

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