James sighed. “She’s as impossible as she is adorable.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “So what’s going on? I’m assuming the two of you didn’t just stop by to get Scarlett in trouble?”
“She said it was an accident,” Tanner said.
James laughed. “How was it an accident that she opened the door?”
“I don’t know, but she’s too cute not to believe.”
“That’s the whole problem.” James sat down on the edge of his desk. “I give in to her too much. With everything that’s happened over the past few months, I just want her to be happy.”
James’ family had been through enough devastation. And I couldn’t be the reason for any more. “I need to tell you something.”
“About Scarlett?”
“No. Well, yes actually. I should just start at the beginning. Ever since Brooklyn died…” my voice caught saying the words out loud. “Mr. Pruitt has been sending me texts. A few a year. Sometimes more often. He always says he needs to speak with me. And I never reply.”
James pushed himself off his desk. “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
Because I was mad at you. Because you married his psychotic daughter. The list was endless. “I don’t know. I didn’t think it mattered. I didn’t care about what he wanted. But the last few texts he’s sent said it’s urgent. I didn’t respond to those either and I started noticing a woman following me around. At first I thought she was just some woman I’d slept with…”
“You slept with her?” James asked.
“Months ago. I think. Actually, that night’s a little foggy. But she looks familiar. And that doesn’t matter. What matters is that she started showing up at my games. And she was at the graveyard the other night.”
James pressed his lips together. He didn’t need to ask why I was at the graveyard.
“Tanner did some digging and Mr. Pruitt hired a few hitmen recently. One of them is some woman who’s really good at her job. We think it might be her.”
“Jesus.” James shook his head. “Okay, well, we’ll figure this out. No need to panic. Do you want to spend the night here? I can let my security team know about the woman if you give me a description. And maybe I can call Mr. Pruitt. I expected him to hate me after everything that happened with Isabella. But he was surprisingly understanding the last time we spoke. I can…”
“That’s not everything. Poppy showed up at my office. She actually may have mentioned something about Mr. Pruitt making certain allowances with my friends because he still thinks of me as family.”
James lowered his eyebrows.
I got how that sounded. I had never technically been part of Mr. Pruitt’s family. James had. And he was probably insulted by that. But I didn’t care how insulting Mr. Pruitt was right now. I only cared how violent he was. “Poppy said that if I didn’t return his texts he wouldn’t be as forgiving. She threatened Scarlett.”
The color drained from James’ face. “So what did Mr. Pruitt say when you called him?”
“I didn’t call him.”
“What? When did you say Poppy told you this?”
I hadn’t said. I was really hoping he wouldn’t ask. “Monday.”
“Today?”
I swallowed hard. “No, last Monday.”
“You didn’t tell me for a week?”
“I tried to tell you after the game but you had to leave early…”
“You mean on Friday? When I had to go home early to put my daughter to bed? Matt, that was still five days after Poppy threatened Scarlett. Why the hell would you wait so long?” He pulled out his phone and sent a text. “You won’t be happy until you destroy my family, will you?”
“James, that’s not…”
“Don’t. I’m not a fucking idiot, Matt. You think I haven’t seen the way you look at Penny? I don’t know how many times I have to tell you this. She’s not Brooklyn.”
“And you think I don’t know that? Brooklyn’s dead. And she died thinking I didn’t love her because of you, you piece of shit.”
“Hey, guys,” Tanner said. “Let’s all take a deep meditative breath on three, shall we?” He stepped between us. “Now I get that Matt’s a disloyal little bastard on occasion, but you know he has a good heart. And James, from what I’ve heard, that shoe fits you as well. I think it’s best that we get all the animosity out right now before anyone messes up anyone else’s life.”
“I’ve apologized for kissing Brooklyn so many times,” James said. “High school sucked for me. I was drunk and high half the time. Brooklyn was my friend and I crossed the line, but I was freaking drowning. I wasn’t thinking clearly. But you’re thinking clearly right now, Matt. And what does that say about you?”
I wanted to yell at him. And punch him in his stupid face. But honestly? He was right. He hadn’t been thinking clearly back then. I knew that. And yet… “It was me who cleaned up your mess half the time. And covered for you showing up to school hammered. It was me who was worried that you’d take it too far and fucking kill yourself.”
Tanner sighed. “This isn’t going well. How about we take a lobster break? It’s getting cold.”
James stepped around Tanner to look at me. “Kill myself? What are you talking about?”
James knew what happened to my aunt. He had been there that night when we found her. And not once had he asked if I was okay. He’d been too busy getting shit-faced while I was worried he’d do the same thing. I was the only one that cared about him, and he’d pushed me away because of a stupid rumor. He hadn’t even given me a chance to tell my side. “You’re a hypocrite. And a liar,” I said. Those had been Brooklyn’s last words to me, and I knew how deeply they could sting. I regretted them as soon as they were out of my mouth. But I wasn’t going to stand here and tell him that. He’d messed up my whole life and he was too blind to see it. He’d gotten the wife, the family, the kids. He’d gotten everything I’d ever wanted. And I hated him for it.
“I’ve never lied,” James said.
Well at least he knew better than to deny that he was a hypocrite. “Oh yeah? Because I know that the two of you weren’t just friends.”
Tanner gasped.
“You don’t look at friends like that,” I said. “You loved Brooklyn too.” And I think that was the worst part. He’d betrayed me worse than I’d ever betrayed him. I had to get out of this apartment. I couldn’t freaking breathe. “Don’t worry about Mr. Pruitt. I’ll handle it myself.” I didn’t need to hear anything else James had to say.
“Um, good day to you,” Tanner said to James before hurrying out of the room behind me. “I guess we won’t be sharing the lobster with him after all,” he said to me. “That did not go well. Look out!”
I almost ran straight into Penny because I was trying to figure out what Tanner was yelling about.
She looked up at me. “Matt, what’s going on?”
How much of that conversation had she heard? “Ask your husband. Maybe if he’d sobered up enough in his twenties and not married that witch we wouldn’t be in this mess.” I walked past her without another word. Fuck James. Fuck everything.