“Is this because of what happened? None of that is your fault.”
“I knew I should have let you handle this, Ford,” Earl said.
“Would you like me to remove her from the vehicle?”
“No, that won’t be necessary.”
“Ashley, you were good while you were what I wanted, but you’re just so…”
“Flawed? Wrong? Irritating? Bad for you?”
“Whichever one you need to pick to help you get through this. I don’t care, but I do need you to leave. I have work to do.” He pulled out his cell phone, and as easily as that, I was dismissed.
He was done with me, no longer wanted me.
I wasn’t surprised. This was a feeling I was so used to.
My mom did it. I’d felt it all my life.
A means to an end, and Earl had found the end of his use with me.
Pain shattered my heart. Tears filled my eyes, and a sob escaped.
“Don’t be so dramatic. In time, many men will use your cunt and take what they want. It’s the way of the world.”
I tuned him out. I didn’t want to hear him. I took my purse from him, as well as my passport. Gripping the handle of the door, I climbed out.
My body still hurt from the beating it took weeks ago. Ignoring the pain, I went to Emily. My best friend waited for me. She must have seen the despair in my face because she came out to me.
I’d known it would end like this.
Earl had never pretended to be a good man. He’d always been open, telling me right from the start what he’d wanted, and like a fool, I had thought I could make him want differently.
Emily wrapped her arms around me. I didn’t want Earl to see me collapse, so I held on to her. She was heavily pregnant and couldn’t afford for me to lean on her.
To my surprise, Caleb, River, Gael, and Vadik surrounded me.
“We’ve got you,” Emily said.
“You don’t have to fight this anymore. We’re the ones who have you. He’s not going to hurt you anymore.”
“He didn’t beat me up,” I said. I didn’t know why I was defending him.
I had to be in shock. Everything hurt, and yet I felt completely numb. The pain was all over, and yet not one focal point could I pinpoint.
“We know what happened, and that’s not what we’re on about,” Emily said. “I’ve got you.”
In Emily’s arms, I didn’t fight it. I let it go. Pouring my heart and soul out to her, I broke down.
I had fallen in love with Earl Valentine, and in return, he’d shattered my entire world. Broken me down until there was nothing left.
****
Emily
I brought down the tray, and I wasn’t happy.
Ashley had been with us a week, and she hadn’t eaten. I’d already started to see the weight dropping off her, and I didn’t like it.
Caleb, River, Gael, and Vadik were each in the kitchen when I returned. They stopped eating as I entered.
River was the closest, so I went into his arms, putting the tray down on the counter. “Still no change?” he asked.
“No change. She sits on the window ledge looking out at the garden. I’m scared for her. She shouldn’t be like this, should she?”
“You told us she’d fallen in love with the prick,” Caleb said.
“Yeah, and this doesn’t make any sense. Why did he get rid of her? We all saw the way he held her.” I tucked some of my hair behind my ear.
Our baby was being a little pain today, not settling, and enjoyed kicking me in the ribs, winding me.
The base of my back was also giving me trouble, but I didn’t tell any of my men. They’d only worry and put me on bed rest for the remainder of the day, and I had to take care of my friend.
Ashley needed me.
They all needed me, but I didn’t have a problem with that.
I enjoyed being their everything.
When it came to my best friend, though, guilt clawed at my gut. Earl had gotten his hands on her because of a deal my men had made. If it hadn’t been for me, or them, Ashley would have been safe.
No one would have gotten to her.
“We know he’s been attacked. Ashley nearly got killed,” Vadik said. “He’s probably doing it to protect her.”
“But once he’s all done, he can come back for her. I don’t get it. Why lose her in the process?” It was all getting a little confusing for me. “I hate seeing her like this. So broken. So lost. It’s not fair. She’s too good for him. For all of this.”
“Do you want us to kill him for you?” Caleb asked.
“I’d be happy to,” River said.
“I always hated that he got away with fucking lying to us. Breaking his bastard word,” Gael said.
Earl Valentine was a sore subject for all of us. Even though I wanted him dead for the pain he currently caused my friend, deep down, I knew she’d hate me for killing him.
“No, we can’t kill him. She loves him too much to put a bullet in his head.” I stared at the counter, but it didn’t offer any valuable alternatives. “We’ve got to be patient. Ashley’s strong. She’ll get through this.”
Chapter Seventeen
Ashley
I’d always hated the movies where the girl was completely dependent on a man for happiness. I loved a good happy ending where there was love and romance. But doing absolutely nothing because of heartbreak pissed me off.
Now, I was the joke.
I was the person I hated most.
I sat on a window ledge, looking out at the garden. Crude Hill was an awful place. I fucking hated it, but it had lots of beauty surrounding it. My mom had loved this place. She’d been so happy to have finally gotten a place here. She hadn’t held the pleasure for long.
Long enough for her to have gotten a taste.
Me, I liked it here, but it wasn’t home.
Crude Hill had way too many memories and a lot of loss.
Each day, I woke up determined not to let it get to me. To get over the words Earl had said to me. I’d known it to be true even before he spoke them.
I’d been waiting for them. He’d helped to turn me into something I hate.
The phone wasn’t going to ring because he’d made a mistake. Emily tried to help, she did. I’d turned into her, only seven years later. She was the happy one, and I was the miserable one. I hated myself. They were happy, and I put a downer on everything. It was why I stayed in my room.
I’d tried to eat dinner with them. The happiness and conversation emitted from the five of them had been too much. Emily had four men at her beck and call. I couldn’t even keep one man interested in me.
Being surrounded by all that love made me feel sick and full of failure.
What kind of man would want me?
I swiped at the tears threatening to keep falling. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t give the tears the satisfaction of falling, but they did.
I’d gone through too many hankies and tissue because of my pain. I rubbed at my chest and still, it hurt so badly.
A knock pulled me out of my depression. I called for them to enter, expecting it to be Emily. It wasn’t.
Drake stepped inside.
He walked toward me and plopped himself down opposite. “I heard you were back.”