Wrong Side of Town

She told me not to tell anyone, and I didn’t. When she left, I didn’t know what to do.”

The accusations from him were appalling; disgusting. There was no way my mother could do that to him. “I don’t believe you.”

Seth gave me a sad smile as he began to turn away. “Believe what you want, Estella. I’m telling the truth.”

Tears were squeezing their way from my eyes. “And even if she had done that to you, why would you do the same thing to me, Seth? Why would you ruin my life?” I was shaking all over uncontrollably.

“Because that’s all I knew. Because I was trying to forget.”

And as Seth walked out the door that was the last he ever tried to touch me again.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Vincent

My body was shaking.

I couldn’t believe what Estella was telling me.

That sick, perverted asshole was going to pay for doing that to her. I would make sure Seth died tonight. That was the only way the anger was going to leave my body. That was the only way to make this right.

“I’m going to kill him,” I managed to say.

Estella’s eyes widened and she reached out for me. “No,Vincent! You can’t do that. You just told me that you wouldn’t fight. You need to keep that promise.”

“Not when it comes to this.” I pulled away from her. “Not this, Stelle. Don’t ask me not to do this. I need to make sure this asshole dies.”

“Vincent, stop it.” Estella’s tone was firm. “This happened years ago. It’s not something that needs to be dredged up again. Yes, what he did was wrong. Yes, he ruined my life. But I also know that he has changed. He has a fiance, he has a baby, and he’s spent the last two years trying to make it up to me. I don’t want anything to do with him, but he keeps coming back. Guilt weighs heavily on his mind constantly. I know it does.”

I pressed my lips together. It didn’t matter if he felt guilty; what he’d done was the worst thing you could do to someone who loved and trusted you. He was a sick freak.

“Promise me,” Estella was saying, “promise me you won’t do anything to him.”

I wouldn’t be doing anything, but that didn’t mean that one of the boys wouldn’t be doing anything either. This was something that definitely needed a follow up, and Seth was definitely going to be getting a visit from Goat, or from one of our police buddies. There was no way Seth was going to get away with this, but there were some things that Estella didn’t need to know.

That girl was too sweet for her own good. That was why I loved her so much. I needed her goodness to stay with me always.

I nodded in response and Estella frowned at me. “Promise me you won’t fight anymore, Vincent. I need to know that you won’t hurt anyone anymore; that you won’t become like Ryder.”

Her words hit a soft spot, and I pulled her in so close that our foreheads touched.

'The first night I met you, you talked about choices. You told me that I chose this life for myself. What you didn't know was that my whole life has been someone else's choice. I've never made a choice of my own, but that changes today. Today I'm walking away from other people's choices. Today, I choose you, Estella Markson.'

“And you’re leaving that life behind?”

“Forever. From now on the only thing that matters is you. I want to make you happy. I want you to forget about what happened to you. I want you in my life and I will do anything to keep you in it.”

Estella let out a long breath, her eyes sad. “I’ve always wanted to forget, but it’s so hard. All I know is disappointment. I’ve been disappointed by everyone close to me for the last two years. But you make things easier. You and Dylan make my life better. I tried so hard to fight it, to fight you, but whenever you’re not with me, I can’t handle it.”

I wrapped an arm around the small of Estella’s back and kissed her hard on her pink lips. When I pulled away, her face was glowing, and I drank in the warmth from her whiskey eyes—the same eyes that had captivated me weeks ago.

“One day all the bad memories will fade and the only thing that will be left is you and I. I will always be here, Estella Markson, and I’ll never let you down.”

Epilogue

Estella

My skin was red, and raw, and pink.

The needle was biting into my arm, but I did my best to ignore it. The pain was only going to be temporary and it would be worth it.

Vincent stood behind me, silent and composed. He was the steadying presence in my life. He didn’t take his eyes off me once. Just having him here with me made me feel more sure about the decisions I was making.

We were making choices together and they were our own.

The tattoo artist stepped back and placed the needle down. “What do you think?”

“Take a look, Stelle.” There was a smile playing on the edge of Vincent’s full lips.

Taking a deep breath, I lowered my heard to the inflamed area of my skin, not sure what to expect.

What I saw made me take a sharp intake of breath.

Seth was gone from my arm and in its place Forget was written in a fancy cursive font. Just that tiny change made me feel like a different person. I felt stronger with Vincent by my side. I felt like we could deal with all the world’s problems together.

Vincent was my rock and I was the one that held him together. We still had a lot of things to figure out, but the one thing we knew was that we were breaking away from the past that had continued to haunt us.

I finally felt like a whole person. Vincent was the one who helped me escape and took me away from the harsh reality of things. Now, I was complete.

Now, I could finally move on. I could leave that chapter of my life behind forever.

Now, I could finally forget.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Some days, I just sit here and cry. Which sounds totally morbid, I know. You’re probably thinking, “What’s wrong with this psycho? Why is she always crying?” See, the thing is, I’m not much of a crier—I know it’s hard to believe—and I never have been. But you guys sure know how to make me cry.

Someone made a quiz for Falling for Hadie on Goodreads—I cried. Someone told me about getting a tattoo of a quote from my book—I cried. Someone told me a very sad and personal story—I cried. See, I’m doing all this crying because you guys are letting me into your lives. I always wanted to be able to touch people with my books, and now that it’s actually happening, I cry.

My readers are amazing. They share personal stories with me; they send me videos and pictures that they think I’ll like; they talk to me about their day; they tell me about their family and friends. My readers motivate me so much to get my books written.

Then there are the people who speak to me day in and day out and check up on me just to make sure I’m coping. I don’t know what my life was like before you guys were in it. Thank you Erica Cope, Eden Crane, Ren White, Michelle Flick, Sarah Hayden Davey, Ren White, Samantha Durante, and Autumn Doughton. I can’t begin to