23
Avery looked like hell. Her green eyes were swollen and red from crying. All I wanted to do was pop Justin in the nose for what he was doing to her. Instead, I hugged her and pulled her inside Benji’s house. Other than the previous night at Barney’s, it was the first time we were all together, but first, she needed girl time.
She slipped off her coat, and I attempted to mask my surprise. Avery never ever wore T-shirts, especially not wrinkled ones. Her eyes fell to the floor as a hint of pink crept up her cheeks. “Thanks for having me over.” She tucked her dark-brown hair behind her ear.
Where was my confident friend? I wasn’t sure what had happened yet, but it seemed as though Justin had done a number on her, and I didn’t like it at all.
“Yeah, I think we will have more privacy here than if we went out for coffee. At least you can cry and yell if you need to without anyone staring.” I took her hand then pulled her up the stairs and to my bedroom.
“Your ass looks great,” she said, walking behind me. “Probably because it’s getting tapped.”
I giggled. “Thank you. I’m … really happy.” I shut my mouth. She wasn’t there to discuss Layne and me. This was about her and how I could make her feel better.
She flopped down in the middle of my king-size bed, and I closed the door before joining her.
I moved the cream and black decorative pillows, then crawled onto the bed and propped up on my side. “Spill, sweetie.” Avery had my full attention.
She sniffled, then rifled through her jeans pocket for a tissue. “I don’t know what happened, Ten. One week, I’m meeting his parents. Then the next, bam! Like, he wants to see other people? I don’t know what I did wrong.”
My heart cracked right down the middle. Why did women think that if a guy didn’t like them, it was because something was wrong with them? Sometimes people weren’t a good fit, and sometimes the guy was a straight-up asshole. I’d seen how well Avery treated Justin, so I didn’t think it was anything she had done.
“There’s nothing wrong with you. You’re smart, seriously hot, fun, and you have an amazing heart.”
“I caught him with another girl,” Avery wailed.
Dammit. I would string him up by his dick. “What do you mean caught? As in they were in bed together? A kiss?” Not that it mattered. He was obviously a complete and total jack wad.
“Kissing while we were all at Barney’s! They snuck off to the parking lot, and …” She trailed off, swiping away tears.
My stomach dipped. Jack had been out there. What if something had happened? Whatever plan Layne was figuring out, I hoped it was good.
“And then Ramsey caught us arguing,” Avery continued. “I was so embarrassed.” Her hands flew over her face as she broke down in sobs.
“I’m sure Ramsey didn’t think anything about it. He seems pretty nice, right?” I had no idea if he was or not. I was just grasping at anything to say that would help her feel a little bit better.
“Yeah,” she squeaked.
“He certainly was gorgeous. Did you say he’s transferring to college up here?”
Avery wiped her cheeks and blew out a big breath. “In January. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other, but our parents have been friends for years. We used to visit Ramsey and his family every summer. Well, sort of. We’d all meet in the Hamptons for the summer. I went until I turned seventeen, then I was too cool to hang out with them. It’s been four years since I’ve seen them.”
I cleared my throat and prepared to give the best speech I could. I wasn’t sure if Avery would believe it, but I would.
“You know I love you, right?” I started.
Avery’s eyes connected with mine, and she nodded.
“Although I pretended to be normal, bouncing around foster homes fucked me up. Men thought they had the right to screw me, and often times, the wife grew jealous even though I wasn’t asking for it.” I rubbed my forehead. Telling her about my past was harder than I’d anticipated. “I moved to Spokane to start over, and you and Benji became my family. There weren’t expectations or sex involved, just me. You just loved me for me. It didn’t matter what flaws I had, how difficult it was to get to know me, or how long it took me to warm up and trust you—you loved me anyway.” I sat up and took her hand, hoping she understood what I was trying so hard to convey. “You loved me because you saw something inside me that was worth the risk. You showed up day after day until my walls crumbled, and I let you in. Avery, there’s a guy for you that will do the same. He will show up for you over and over and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re worth every minute.”
“Really?” she croaked. “You think so?”
I nodded. “I know so. Hon, Justin just isn’t what you want. No girl wants to be cheated on or to feel unloved, unworthy.” My heart skipped a beat as I realized how much Layne really gave to me, and all I wanted was for Avery and Benji to have the same.
“You’re right. I definitely don’t want to be cheated on.”
“Hey, if I can fall in love, then anything is possible.”
For the first time since she’d arrived, Avery laughed. “Tell me how it’s going. I feel like I should be front and center with you on this new adventure, but between us temporarily moving out and my drama with Justin, I’ve not been a very good friend.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Please, girl. It’s been a shit show lately with everything going on.” She had no idea how much of one it had truly been, and I couldn’t divulge the secrets either, not if I wanted to keep her safe.
“Ugh, you’ve gotta fill me in now that I’m done blubbering about Justin. So some criminal the FBI is tracking was on our property? Do they know why? And who is he?”
I cleared my throat. Lying to her wouldn’t be easy. “They’ve been following him across several states, but I don’t know other than he hid in our storage shed in the backyard. The police were concerned about our safety.” There, I’d done it, and it was mostly the truth. Maybe it was enough for her to stop asking questions.
“Ugh. That’s so stupid, but at the same time, I’d probably be scared to stay at our house, ya know? Mom and Dad have been super sweet while I’ve been back at home.”
“Michael and Marilyn have too. It’s been good to spend time with Benji as well, but I miss us all living together like we did before the assault.” My gut twisted into knots as the memories flooded my mind.
“And to think the guy you hated so much saved you both.” Avery’s expression turned gentle and she took my hand. “I know you, Tensley Bennett. You’re scared out of your wits about this relationship with Layne.”
“Sort of. I’m doing a little bit better, but it’s taking time. I’m afraid I’m going to wake up one morning and he’ll be gone and I wasn’t good enough to keep him.”
“Hon, you’ve got a lot of years to undo of men hurting you. If Layne is a good one, like I believe he is, he will prove to you every day that he’ll be there for you. Hopefully, one day, I’ll find the same.”