Rebelonging (Unbelonging, Book 2) by Sabrina Stark

leave."
    Ignoring him, I marched to his front door and
flung it open.
    "You're not walking," he said.
    I turned to glare at him. "We already had
this discussion."
    "At least let me drive you," he said.
    "No."
    "Alright, then I'm walking with you."
    I knew it was smart. But I didn't feel like
being smart. I'd been stupid for weeks. Why stop now? "No, you're
not," I said, turning away.
    I strode out his front door and didn't look
back. But as I reached the front gate, I felt that certain
something, eyes on my back. I stopped. Reluctantly, I turned
around. And there he was, Lawton, a few paces behind me.
    "What are you doing?" I said.
    "Making sure you get home okay."
    With a huff, I turned back around and started
walking again. But after about a block, I couldn't stand it
anymore. I stopped again and turned around. He was still a few
paces behind me. "You don't need to do this," I told him.
    "Yes," he said, giving me a serious look. "I
do."
    "But it's creeping me out."
    "Why?"
    "Because I don't like someone walking behind
me."
    "Then I'll walk with you," he said. "But
you're not walking back alone."
    I glanced around, taking in our surroundings.
Between the street lights, the sidewalk was dark, cast in the
shadows of the tall trees that lined the residential street. I
crossed my arms. "Fine. Whatever. But it doesn't change
anything."
    Lawton strode forward, joining me on the
quiet sidewalk. For a couple of minutes, we walked in silence. The
night air was freezing, and I tried not to shiver. I slid a glance
in his direction.
    He didn't even have a coat. He was being
stupid. But what did I care?
    I shouldn't care.
    "I want to tell you something," he said.
    I kept my voice disinterested. "What?"
    "I know you don't want to hear it," he said,
"but I do love you, and I'm so fucking sorry."
    Something squeezed at my heart. I blinked
hard and kept on walking. He was right. I didn't want to hear it.
And I wanted to hear it a million times over.
    I was a mess. I clamped my lips shut to keep
from saying something regrettable either way.
    With something like a sigh, Lawton bridged
the silence and continued. "Which is why you deserve to know why I
flipped out on you."

Chapter 22
    Silently, I kept walking at a steady pace,
ignoring the unsteady beating of my heart.
    He had flipped out. Sure, almost
anyone would be mad if they thought their girlfriend was planning
to trick them into making a sex tape. But he'd taken mad to a whole
new level.
    He'd gone through my stuff. He'd treated me
like trash. He'd tricked me into his basement and locked me down
there for hours.
    As if taking my silence as an invitation,
Lawton continued. "A few years ago, right after that first fight
video went vial, I met this girl."
    Lawton met a lot of girls. No surprise,
considering all his claims to fame. He'd made his money through
prizefighting, the kind with bookies, beer, and bimbos. It wasn't
hard to imagine what kind of girl he was talking about now.
    But I didn't need to imagine. I knew exactly
who he was talking about – Brandy Blue, the girl who starred with
him in that sex tape.
    "It was before that reality series," he said.
"But I was starting to make a name for myself. Then there was the
money." He paused. "Growing up, I never had any, you know? But it
was starting to roll in. Lots of it. At least compared to what I
had before."
    I knew what he meant. Today, he was a
billionaire. Back then, a thousand bucks probably seemed like a
fortune. To me, it still was.
    "But this girl," he said, "she worked as a
cocktail waitress at this club I used to go to. She seemed nice.
You know, working her way through college and all that. I don't
remember what her major was supposed to be, but she was studying
all the time, brought her books to the bar, always talked about
what she was gonna do when she graduated."
    He blew out a breath. "Wait. I remember. A
veterinarian." His voice got an edge to it. "Yeah. An animal
doctor. She was gonna take care of puppies and