Wicked Innocence (Wicked Innocence 1)

“Sax!” she cried out. “Will you stop acting like a fucking five-year-old and talk to me? Have I done something wrong?”

I turned around and laughed. She wanted me to stop acting like a child?

“When were you born, Micah? What year did you graduate from high school? How old were you when your brother died? When were you going to tell me you’re only fucking seventeen!” I shouted, my anger exploding.

Her eyes widened with shock as she stared at me, flustered. “H-how did you know?” she whispered.

“Does it matter?” I laughed. “Was this all some big joke to you? Fucking hell, you’re a minor. I broke the fucking law for you. I can’t . . . just go. Please.”

She threw her hand over her mouth as she stumbled backwards. “Sax, please. Let me—”

“No. You don’t get to do this. Take my car, whatever, just go. I can’t look at you right now,” I muttered. Opening the front door, I turned and tossed the keys at her. I walked inside and slammed the door shut.

Fuck. Leaning against the door, I slid down until my ass hit the floor. With my knees tucked up to my chest, I cradled my head. The worst thing was I was so fucking crazy about this girl. She was perfect for me and I had fallen for her, and fallen hard.

As angry I was, nothing dulled the pain I was feeling right now.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Micah

“Wow,” Dee muttered, her eyes wide. “Just wow.”

I wiped my eyes and nodded. I’d needed to talk to someone, and at the risk of losing her friendship, too, Dee was the only person I had left.

“So, you’re younger than me? Shit, Micah. All this time you’ve been giving me hell about not being able to drink and you’re seventeen,” she laughed.

“Yeah…sorry about that,” I mumbled, my face going red. “It’s weird, Dee—so often I forget how old I really am. I left the old me behind when I moved out here, and I wish I could make people understand that. I did what I did to survive.”

“By people you mean Sax?” she asked gently.

I nodded, the tears starting all over again. “He’s never going to forgive me. You should’ve seen how angry he was.”

“He just needs time to calm down. When he hears your side of it—”

“It won’t change how old I am,” I argued. “I just have to face that it’s over and move on.”

“And what about the band?”

I shrugged, another wave of tears flowing. I had no idea if I was even still in the band. That was a whole other level of heartache. I loved singing with the guys. The fact that I might have just lost that was gut wrenching, but worse than that, I might’ve screwed up everything for them by lying about my age.

After Dee left, I lay on my bed, depressed and feeling sorry for myself. It was just after six. Rehearsal would have just started. I hadn’t heard from Sax since last night. Had he told the guys what had happened?

Probably not. How could he without admitting he’d slept with me?

My phone rang, scaring the hell out of me. I picked it up, ready to turn it off when I saw his name. My heart thudded as I stared at the letters on the screen. Do I answer? Swallowing hard, I clicked answer.

“Why aren’t you here?” he asked, his tone cold. No hello or anything.

“Are you kidding? You made it pretty clear you didn’t want to see me again.”

“What’s happening between us doesn’t matter right now. This music festival is a huge chance for the band. I won’t let you screw that up too.”

Tears stung my eyes. “Fine, I’m on my way,” I muttered. Hanging up, I threw the phone across the room. How could I go over to his house and face him? He hated me. But he was right—this was a big chance for the guys, and I couldn’t ruin that for them.

***

One look in his cold eyes when he opened the door, and I almost regretted agreeing to come. This was going to get ugly. I could feel it. He was still so angry. He stood back, letting me in, mumbling something about the guys being out back.