Stuck On You novel Chapter 7

I yanked my wrist out of his when we reached it. “Stop!” I yelled at him. He did. He looked both sad and mad at the same time.

“What’s going on? You look like you’re not even in this year anymore,” I said. He sighed and ran his hand down his face. “She triggered something, didn’t she? Something in your past that was painful.” I said.

“Stop talking,” he snapped. I looked at his face. They were really watery. It looked like he was about to cry. I sighed and shut my mouth.

“Hayden,” I said softly. I touched his face gently. He looked away from me for a second before he stared right into my eyes. He looked… pained. He fought with whether to tell me or not before he let out a deep breath.

“High school, two years ago, I had a girlfriend named Claire. I wasn’t like I am now. I was… the perfect boyfriend, or so I tried to be. Then one day, we went on a date, and coming out of the restaurant, there was this… guy. He knocked me out, and when I woke up… she was dead. The police told me that the guy mugged us and raped her before he killed her,” he explained. I ran my thumb over his cheek. “All I had to do was protect her, and I couldn’t even do that. I swore never to put myself in that position ever again,” he said quietly.