When We Collide (20 page)

Their argument was low and one-sided, Troy’s words
unclear as he breathed more poison into her mind, as she cowered
and slowly turned around to face him. I sat frozen as I watched her
take one step back, shake her head hard, and squeeze her arms
tighter around her body.

I was ready to spring into action if he moved one
inch closer to her.

But instead, I froze. The words she spoke next
should have been indistinguishable, but I heard them as if I’d been
standing at her side.

“I don’t want to be with you anymore…I never have.
Please, Troy...just...leave me alone.”

For a moment, I rejoiced, before the crack of Troy’s
hand across her face rang out in my ears, blurred my vision—though
somehow I’d never seen anything clearer than the shocked, horrified
expression that took over Maggie’s face.

Then something snapped, and I saw nothing except the
bastard who’d hurt her.

Troy spun around just as I rushed up behind him. In
the same motion, I cocked my arm back and hit him under the jaw.
Pain exploded in the bones of my hand, and with it, I felt a thrill
of satisfaction. Troy’s head rocked back.

Maggie screamed.

As Troy righted himself, he swung, catching me
against the right temple. The blow split my vision, my
consciousness tossing in a bid to concede. I shook it off,
remembered why I was here. I would fight for her. Die for her if I
had to—if it would make her better—if she would live.

“You piece of shit…you want to hit a girl?” The
words scraped from my throat, raw and abraded. I wheezed as I
sucked in air, pulled back then rammed my fist into Troy’s nose.
Blood gushed as the tissues gave and Troy fell to his back on the
ground.

I lunged at him, fisted Troy’s shirt in my hands. I
yanked him up and slammed him back down. “Huh? Answer me…answer
me!”

Troy spit a mouthful of blood in my face. “What do
you care? She’s just a trashy little cock tease.”

In a violent explosion of pent-up fury, I felt my
sanity slip. My fists landed in a constant barrage of blows to
Troy’s face.

“You fucking asshole…I’ll kill you…touch her again,
and I swear to God, I will kill you.” Beneath my hands, I felt skin
tearing, bones buckling. Foggy voices pressed into my awareness,
imploring.

A scream.

Shouting.

I didn’t care.

I drew my arm back again, struggled against the
hands holding it back, fought against the arms around my waist. I
kicked as I was pulled off of Troy. My shoe grazed the asshole’s
face.

“I’ll kill you,” I screamed again, my legs flailing
as I was dragged back and thrown to the ground beside Blake’s
truck. “I’ll kill you.” This time it was a whimper.

Around me, there was so much movement, what felt
like horror and panic.

In the fog, I heard Blake shouting. “Justin…get
Maggie out of here.”

Above the chaos I heard her sobbing.

Suddenly Grace filled up my vision, kneeling in
front of me, whispering words I couldn’t comprehend. Through the
haze of adrenaline, I tried to focus on Grace’s face. She brushed
my hair back.

“Shh…Will…it’s okay…it’s okay.”

It wasn’t until then I realized I was mumbling,
incoherent words pouring from my mouth, words that only registered
in my mind.

I lost her
.

“
Get him in the truck.” Blake
grabbed me under the arms and hauled me to my feet, his movements
frantic as he pushed and pulled at me.

Grace crawled in beside me, cradled me in her arms,
and rested my head in her lap. I twitched uncontrollably as the
flood of adrenaline wept from my body.

I lost her.

I’d become that person, one who couldn’t control
their fists or their rage. Someone to fear.

Blake gunned the gas, flew into a tailspin as he
whipped the truck around in the dirt clearing. We slid before the
wheels found traction. The truck rocked as it centered and Blake
bolted down the narrow road.

Tires squealed when they hit the pavement, the
engine roaring as Blake pushed it as fast as it would go.

“Shit,” Blake screamed and punched the steering
wheel. The sound hung in the darkness of the cab as we sped down
the road. “Goddamn it, Will!”

I felt Blake shake himself off, his eyes landing on
me. “Is he okay?”

Holding me closer, Grace ran her fingers through my
hair again. “No…I don’t think he is.”

Somehow I knew the words were directed at me and not
to Blake.

“Here.” Grace led me to a chair at the small kitchen
table and placed an ice pack against my eye. We were all
whispering, our movements checked and subdued in the quiet house.
The last thing we needed was for Mom to walk in on this.

“Thanks,” I mumbled as I held the pack to my eye and
slumped over in the chair.

I looked up at Blake who stared down at me, standing
two feet away, his face contorted in worry. “Are you sure you’re
okay? I really think we should take you to the emergency room.”

“I’m fine,” I said for the fifth time in about four
minutes. I dropped my attention back to the ground and released a
weighted breath.

“You lost your damned mind back there, Will…I’m
worried about you.”

I looked up. “He hit her.”

Blake ran his hand through his hair and shook his
head. “I know, but—“

Grace cut him off. “He stood up for a girl who
needed help, Blake. He doesn’t need to apologize for that.”

Blake shook his head again, paced back and forth in
the same two-foot radius before he exhaled. “I have to get Grace
home. I’ll be back later. You sure you don’t need anything?”

“Yeah…I’m fine.”

Blake headed out the back door. Grace hesitated in
the doorway, studied me in a way I didn’t quite understand.
“Goodnight, Will,” she finally said before she followed Blake out
and closed the door behind her.

I dragged myself upstairs to my room and quietly
latched the door. I lay back on my bed and held the ice pack to my
throbbing eye.

Everything throbbed, really.

My knuckles, my face, my heart.

I’d fucked it all up, losing it, scaring Maggie the
way I had.

The most terrifying thing was I knew I wouldn’t have
stopped.

I dropped the ice pack to the floor and turned to my
side, facing the wall.

Moonlight soaked the room, the shade open wide.
Shadows from the tree outside played across the walls.

Even though it was still hot and muggy outside, I
felt chilled. Cold. I curled up. Hated Troy. Hated she wasn’t mine.
Hated that I’d probably ruined any chance that she’d ever be.

I thought maybe I dozed, but I wasn’t sure, when I
was stirred by the tapping on my door. I groaned and rolled to my
stomach, mumbling into my pillow, “I’m fine, Blake. I’m trying to
sleep.”

The door creaked when it was opened. I looked over
my shoulder, frustrated Blake wouldn’t just leave me alone.

“Maggie,” I whispered and rushed to sit up. She took
a tentative step forward and latched the door behind her. In the
dim light, she stood across the room from me. Her face was streaked
in tears and dirt, her hair a mess, her eyes—I swallowed, wishing I
didn’t have to witness the sadness found there.

“How’d you get in here?” I asked as I slowly got my
feet, my movements calculated, worried she might run if I made the
slightest wrong move.

She averted her gaze to the tree just outside.

“I waited for you.” Her voice was all wrong,
strained, nothing like my Maggie. She still wouldn’t look my
way.

“Maggie…” I moved in her direction.

A sob tore up her throat. “I waited.”

“I’m so sorry. I thought…I didn’t think you’d want
to see me,” I pled as I took another step. “You know I would
never—”

I couldn’t stand the thought of her being scared of
me.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Her movements were small
and jerky when she shook her head. “You think I don’t know
that?”

With one last step, I backed her into the door,
unable to resist the comfort of her presence. Her hands were flat
against the wood, her head turned the farthest to the side and
downcast. “Maggie, look at me.”

“Did he hurt you?” Her abrupt question was a
whimper, her watery eyes darting up to meet mine before they
searched my face.

I slowly shook my head, tilting it to the side.

Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch my
tender eye.

Warmth sped across my skin.

“It’s nothing.”
Nothing
.

“I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt for
me,” she said, her expression pained, telling me the very opposite
of what I felt.
I’m not worth it
.

I brushed my fingertips over the small cut to the
side of her bottom lip before I pushed past our boundaries and
brushed my lips over it.

Did she understand? Did she feel anything close to
what I felt when our skin met? Did she understand, to me, she was
the only one who
was
worth it?

Maggie gasped, sagged against the door as she
twisted her hands in my shirt. “William.”

“I’m so in love with you, Maggie.” I hesitated, both
palms inches from her face, before I took her face in my hands and
kissed her again. “I love you so much, I can’t see straight…can’t
think straight.” I braced myself with one hand against the door and
wrapped the other arm around her waist to bring her flush. I’d held
her close, so many times, but never like this.

My mouth captured hers, and I coaxed her lips apart.
I swept my tongue across hers. So sweet. Everything I imagined
Maggie would be. I dove in, sure I would drown. I’d waited so long
to kiss her like this, to taste her warmth.

A moan lingered deep in her throat, and her fingers
dug into my hips as she tugged me closer.

My body reacted, hit with a need unlike anything I’d
ever felt. I pressed her against the door.

“Tell me,” I begged against her mouth, kissing her
hard. “Please, Maggie…tell me you feel the same.”

Her hands slid from my waist and up to my chest.
Then she nudged me away.

I reeled back. I’d pushed her too far. Violated her
trust.

“Maggie, I...”

The words died in my mouth as I watched the motion
in front of me. She held her breath and closed her eyes, trembling
as she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt. She pulled it
over her head and dropped it to the floor.

“Maggie...no.” I tried not to look, didn’t want to
take advantage of this screwed up night that had spun out of
control. I was desperate for her, but not like this.

“Please,” she said, “I love you, William.
You’re...everything.” She swallowed and blinked. “Please...I want
it to be you.”

Desire tripped through my body, and I dropped my
gaze to her plain white bra, the soft swell of her breasts exposed,
the creamy skin of her neck a milky glow in the moonlight.

“Please,” she said again.

“Maggie.” It was a plea.
Please stop
. It
repeated as a chorus in my head, though I knew there was no way I
could resist her. She was all I wanted. Everything.

Maggie.

I was shaking as badly as she was when I stretched
out a trembling hand and touched her, ran my fingers from her chin
and down the length of her delicate neck. I splayed my palm flat
across her chest—searched her face as I did. A shiver rolled
through her body, and her heart thrummed against my hand.

“Is this okay?” I asked, moving a little closer and
my hand a little lower.

“Yes,” she breathed.

My fingertips grazed over her breast and down her
stomach, before I flattened my palms against her skin and slid them
around to wrap my arms around her. My body was flush with hers, her
bare skin singeing me through my clothes. I wanted her so bad it
ached, but I couldn’t stand the thought of becoming another mistake
for Maggie. I moved my hands to cup her face, and I pulled away and
stared down at her.

“Are you sure?”

Those eyes filled with the complete trust she’d
given me over the last two months—filled with the love she felt for
me.

“I want it to be you,” she repeated.

Maybe it was wrong. Maybe she needed more time.
Maybe there was no amount of time that could ever make this fucked
up situation right.

But what I did know was there was no amount of time
that could ever change how I felt about her.

I rested my forehead against hers, breathed her in.
Then I kissed her. Our mouths moved slowly, learning the other,
steadily building in intensity. My fingers traced up and down her
arms. Her hands fumbled under my shirt and pressed against my
stomach.

“Come here,” I whispered, stepping back to lead her
by the hand to sit on the edge of my bed. “Lay back.”

Maggie bit her lip and her face flushed, but she
didn’t hesitate to scoot back into the middle of my bed. She rested
on her elbows, watching me.

I never took my eyes off of her as I knelt on the
floor and tugged her shoes from her feet. That tenderness was
there, shining in her eyes, mixed with a disquieted
apprehension.

My head spun with the magnitude of this moment, with
what she was trusting me with.

“Promise me you’ll tell me if you want me to stop,”
I murmured. I placed my hands on the outside of her calves and ran
them up her legs as I crawled onto the bed.

Her skin prickled and she quivered beneath me, but
she nodded and whispered, “I promise. But I want this, William. I
want you.”

I undressed her slowly, taking my time—giving her
time.

I slid my hands under her back and unfastened her
bra. I pressed my mouth to her shoulder, my fingers playing at the
straps. Sitting back, I slowly dragged them down her arms and
dropped her bra to the floor.

The softest hue of pink spread over her creamy
skin.

I watched her face, the modesty in the way she
blinked, waiting for my reaction. “You are so beautiful,
Maggie.”