Accidental Forever: Fake Romance Box Set

by Hazel Parker

  “That’s not what that was,” she argued. “It wasn’t for you. I blocked you on those sites for a reason, Trevor.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Pictures or no pictures, you told me you were dating that dude, and you weren’t. It was to make me want you back, wasn’t it?”

  She shook her head. “How do you know we’re faking? Maybe I was lying to Chandra.”

  “You really think you’re fooling me?” he asked rhetorically. “Give me some credit, Abby; I’m smarter than that. You still want me.”

  “I left, Trevor,” she reminded him.

  “And I told you that you’d regret that if you did it.” He had, indeed, said that to her on the multiple occasions that she’d threatened to go. A few times she’d even packed up her things and been halfway out the door, but that phrase, those threatening words that filled her with such fear that it paralyzed her, had stopped her every time. At the time, she’d assumed that it was a direct, bodily threat. It probably had been, and it probably still was. If there was one thing that Trevor was very good at, it was changing around his words to fit his needs.

  “I have to get back to work, Trevor,” Abby said. She was going to lose this battle, she could feel it. She was shaking and couldn’t think straight, and with the hold that he had on her even still, after everything that had happened, she knew that he could snap his fingers and give her a single, ominous look and she’d be right back in his grasp.

  “Abby,” he objected as if just her name were a full argument.

  “My boss is going to be mad.” God, she was even using the same excuses that she’d used when she was with him. She remembered him coming to her work while they were dating to check up on her when he suspected that she was cheating on him, having to use her boss as an excuse when Trevor would pressure her into coming home early and having dinner together. She didn’t wait to listen to his response, though she could hear him trying to tell her not to walk away from this. Pretending that she couldn’t hear him, Abby opted for the stairs instead of the elevator to avoid the wait time and hurried back to her desk.

  She wanted to call Devon. Part of her hated herself for wanting to call Devon, mostly because she knew that even if there were someone else—anyone else—to call, like Chandra or any of her other friends that she’d lost touch with in her isolating time with Trevor, she’d still want to call Devon first, and not just because he was her makeshift bodyguard. Her boss would never let her go home early for something as simple as being upset, but she knew that she could calm down so much easier if she could hear Devon telling her that everything would be okay. However, that wasn’t going to happen. There was no way he wanted to talk to her, anyway, when she was being so mercurial like this. One minute, she was hot and fiery and in his bed, and the next, she was icing him out so aggressively that she would barely speak to him. She’d have to work through this on her own. It was time that she started to learn to do that, anyway.

  Though her focus was spotty through the anxiety and wandering thoughts, Abby managed to muddle through the rest of the day without getting so distracted that it gained the attention of her boss again. For that, she was both very grateful and a little proud. Finally, after what felt like the longest day of her entire career, the clock struck five o’clock, and she wasted no time gathering up her things and hustling out of the office without so much as saying goodbye to the people that worked in the cubicles next to her. She bounded down the stairs, again too antsy to wait for the inevitably crowded elevator, and out the door to Devon’s waiting truck, where she knocked on the window to get him to unlock it. As she climbed into the truck, he was frantically turning down the blaring rock music that had prevented him from noticing her arrival.

  “Sorry,” he apologized, gesturing to the radio, “I love this song.” Abby couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out for the volume knob and turning it back up so he could enjoy it. Her stories could wait a few minutes.

  When the song ended, Devon was grinning. He turned the radio down once more and sat back against the seat with a satisfied sigh.

  “So, how was work?” he asked, glancing at Abby for just a moment. He did that, she’d noticed: made an effort to look at her when they were talking even when he needed to keep his eyes on the road.

  “Not so good,” she admitted with a shrug. Devon’s face fell into a concerned frown.

  “Oh, yeah? What happened?”

  Abby took a long pause, trying to get her words in order. “Well, Trevor came to visit,” she began. Devon’s eyes went wide.

  “Seriously?” he demanded. “Did you call the police? Why didn’t you call me? What did he want?”

  Abby chuckled lightly at his worry. “I’m fine,” she reassured, and now that she was here in the truck with Devon, it was true. “He wanted to give me flowers; said that he knew I wanted him back. No, I didn’t call the cops. It wasn’t a threat, not really.” Devon shook his head.

  “Jesus,” he muttered. “What did you say? Did you tell him to get the fuck out of your life?” Honestly, the whole interaction was a little fuzzy and Abby couldn’t remember exactly what she’d said, but she knew that it hadn’t been something as strong as that.

  “I didn’t really say…anything,” she admitted. “I got nervous and froze.” Devon locked his jaw, almost as if he were angry, but what reason did he have to be angry? Was he mad at her for not saying anything?

  “Yeah, sounds about right,” he said cryptically, and Abby blinked in surprise.

  “What does that mean?”

  Devon shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing,” he denied. “It’s just that you’re not exactly the kind of person who speaks her mind, Abby. You keep things in. What are you afraid of?”

  “With Trevor?” she asked incredulously. “That he’s a psycho who knows where we live and will kill us, remember? I thought we’d established that already.”

  “And with me,” he said. “You’re not afraid of me, are you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Then why can’t you talk to me about how you’re feeling?” Abby swallowed whatever angry comeback she’d been planning. How did he know?

  “You…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she denied. That was the coward’s way out, she knew, and it further proved his point, but at the same time, she couldn’t say anything to Devon; she just couldn’t. It felt like another high school crush, the kind that had always left her mouth too dry to speak and her heart racing. Devon was one of a kind, and she was already on thin ice, probably, given that they’d slept together twice now. One wrong move and she could shatter it forever and he, wonderful, amazing, kind, incredible Devon, could be out of her life forever.

  “Okay,” Devon said after a silence that Abby was beginning to think would never end. “If that’s how you want it to be, then that’s fine, Abby. We don’t have to talk about sleeping together if you still think it was a mistake.”

  “Wait, hang on,” Abby argued, “who said I thought it was a mistake?”

  “You did. Several times.” Oh. Well, that was true.

  “That was for Chandra’s ears,” she defended. “That’s the reason it was a bad idea; it’s not personal.”

  “Obviously, it is,” he said, “because if you really liked me, you’d tell Chandra that it wasn’t a mistake and that you didn’t care what she thinks.”

  “But I do care what she thinks.”

  “You care what everybody thinks, Abby,” he accused. “When are you going to stop worrying so much about the things you say and just speak your mind? Say what you want to say, not what other people want to hear? Do you think you can even do that?”

  Abby was about to argue that yes, of course, she could, but as they were pulling into the parking space, something caught her eye—or rather, someone, standing by her car.

  “Devon,” she warned, her voice taking on a fearful edge. “Devon, it’s Trevor.” He followed her line of sight to where Trevor was standing, still holding the same flowers that he’d brought for her at work an
d frowned.

  “You stay here,” he commanded, the argument from just moments ago already forgotten. “I’ll handle this.” He began to get out of the car, but Abby got out faster, stopping Devon with a hand across his chest.

  “Just…if you’re behind me, I think I can handle it,” she said. Devon looked guilty, of all things.

  “Abby, you don’t have to do this just because of what I said,” he argued, not taking his eyes off Trevor, who was waiting patiently even though he could see them talking and it was doubtlessly infuriating him.

  “I want to,” Abby said. “You’re right. I need to stop running away. It’s time to face the choices I’ve made.” Before she could turn away from their close, face to face chat, Devon wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back toward him. He paused to look into her eyes for just a moment, then leaned in and kissed her, hard and meaningful, on the lips. It left her a little breathless and quite dazed, but when he released her again, she was smiling and feeling more confident than ever.

  “Go get ‘im, tiger,” he encouraged. “I’m right behind you.” Abby nodded and turned toward Trevor, who was fidgeting uncomfortably in the way that he always had right before he blew up at her.

  “Thanks for the show,” Trevor said, forcing the calm into his voice, “but I know you’re faking.”

  “Trevor,” Abby called, a steely edge to her voice that she’d never heard from herself before. It clearly startled Trevor, too, because he sat up just a little straighter. “Who I kiss and how I feel about them is none of your business anymore.”

  Trevor rolled his eyes. “I know; you can do whatever you want. Girl power and whatever. Are you ready to cut this out and come back?”

  Abby shook her head and planted her feet firmly on the ground even though she wanted to leave. “I’m never coming back, Trevor. I left you for a reason. You’re a controlling, manipulative asshole and you’re not good for me. You’re not good for anyone. I want you out of my life for good.”

  Trevor looked stunned, completely beside himself. Abby felt Devon’s hand on her back supportively, keeping her grounded and confident.

  “You heard the lady,” Devon said, an unsaid threat. “Leave her alone.”

  Trevor nodded, chuckling disbelievingly in a way that made Abby’s skin crawl. He rubbed his face, massaging the stubble on his chin for a moment before running that hand through his hair.

  “Alright,” he finally uttered, clicking his tongue to punctuate the statement. “Fine. Have a good fucking life, Abby. Just know that when you come to me crying when all this shit falls apart because you can’t be by yourself, I’m not going to take you back.”

  Abby didn’t say anything, feeling her excitement growing with each step that he took away from her. She felt a little silly knowing that all it would have taken was a talk to avoid all of this, but still, she was elated to know that it was over. Just as Devon had said, tackling her problems head-on had worked. She turned to Devon, grinning from ear to ear.

  “Oh my God,” she laughed, “I can’t believe I just did that.”

  Devon took her face in his hands and smiled widely. “That was amazing,” he agreed. “I can’t believe you did it, either. And I just hope it worked.”

  Abby reached up and gave him a celebratory peck. “Me too,” she breathed, allowing the reality to wash over her. “Maybe it’s actually over.” Devon smiled, pulling her in for a hug. However, just when she allowed herself to sink into his arms, she felt him tense up, releasing her quickly and shoving her aside.

  “What’s—Devon!” she screeched, reaching out helplessly as she watched Trevor approach, walking rapidly and with a murderous look in his eyes. He’d been trying to get to Abby that much was clear, but Devon was faster, stepping in the way and catching Trevor’s fist in one hand.

  “Get inside, Abby!” Devon managed to shout before a firm blow from Trevor landed on his cheek, sending him reeling. He wasn’t down for long, however, shaking off the hit and getting right back to the fight. Abby got back into the car and dialed the police, the emergency line this time, and began to explain what was happening. The commotion drew the attention of a few groundskeepers who were salting the parking lot for the snow, and they’d stepped in to help subdue Trevor.

  “You can get him inside,” one of the men said, helping Devon to his feet and walking him over to Abby. “We’ll sit with this guy until the cops come.” Abby nodded and thanked them, telling them her apartment number for when the police arrived, and took Devon by the shoulders to look him over. A bruise was blooming on his cheek, and he still appeared a little shaken up, but overall, he didn’t look too badly injured. Nevertheless, she guided him gently inside the apartment and sat him down on the couch.

  “Abby, I’m fine,” he reassured her, rolling his eyes a little.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” she countered. She didn’t have any ice packs in her freezer, so she opted for a bag of frozen corn, crossing to sit next to him on the couch and pressing it to his eye. He winced, though he tried to hide it, and she frowned.

  “Does that hurt?” she asked, eliciting a heavy sigh from Devon.

  “No,” he lied, then crumbled under a harsh, knowing glare. “Fine, a little,” he caved. “But seriously, it’s okay. I’ve had way worse bruises than this one from kickboxing.” She raised an eyebrow.

  “You kickbox?”

  “I used to. And this,” he gestured to the black eye, “is nothing. Really.” Abby believed him that it wasn’t a serious injury, but that didn’t erase the fact that she felt guilty that it had happened at all. It was her fault, after all. Trevor had wanted her, and Devon had been hurt because of it.

  “Just let me take care of you for once,” she pleaded, taking his hand in hers and stroking the palm with her thumb. “I was scared when you two were fighting. I thought he was going to hurt you.” Devon looked her in the eyes.

  “He didn’t, though,” he reminded her, “not really. This is going to heal in a few days. You don’t need to be so worried about me.”

  “Of course I’m worried about you,” Abby maintained. “I care about you, Devon. I don’t want something to happen to you, especially because of me.”

  Devon’s irritable demeanor softened. “Alright,” he finally said, relaxing against the couch tiredly. “If you’re going to feel all guilty about it, do what you must.” Abby smiled lopsidedly, taking the frozen corn from his hands and pressing them to his eye once more. Again, he flinched a little, but it only lasted a second before the relief set in, and he looked to be in a little less pain. They didn’t speak as they waited for the police to show up, opting instead for enjoying the silence. It was over, Abby knew. Even without the strike system, Trevor would be charged with assault, and he’d hopefully go to jail for it. Devon wouldn’t have to take care of her anymore. She wouldn’t be in danger anymore. That was bittersweet, she thought, because it also meant that he’d probably leave. She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself as a knock on the door jarred her from her thoughts.

  Chapter Fourteen: Devon

  The police responded in record time, probably because Abby had called the emergency line so frantically. Apparently, they’d already arrested Trevor, cuffing him and putting him into the back of the police car, and there were a few officers outside still getting the statements from the two groundskeepers, but the officer that they’d gotten to know so well, Andy, had been the one to knock at the door.

  “Miss Miller,” he said, not greeting Devon likely because he didn’t know his name but nodding to him instead. “It would appear as though you two have had quite a day.” Abby laughed mirthlessly.