“Don’t do what? What you do?”
“We need to go somewhere and talk before we both make things worse.”
“Are you kidding me? As if it could get worse than this? You have no idea how mad I am at you.” She took off toward the kitchen.
I looked around the room at everyone who was getting an eyeful and saw Britany going in after her.
“Fuck,” I said. She was only going to make it worse.
I glared a Lizzy, who was on her friend’s heels and giving me a big shit-eating grin.
I hurried, catching up to her, stopping her before she could get in their way. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Me? I thought I’d go into the kitchen and get some popcorn for the show. Your little girlfriend has been all over that dork for the past hour, and I can’t tell you how amusing it is to watch Ben try so hard. Not to mention, it’s highly entertaining to see her fall, making a fool of herself just to piss you off, and, of course, the grand finale—when you fall for it.”
“Right. I’m glad my grief amuses you. You used to be a nice girl too. I guess I know where Britany gets her bitchiness.”
“Come on. Me and you used to have a lot of fun. We’re old friends. You know all about my influence.”
“Yeah, which is why you’re no longer my type. Come to think of it, when was the last time anyone actually wanted to date you?” I didn’t care if it hurt her feelings or not. I was pretty sure she didn’t have any.
She laughed, proving my point. “Aww, nice try. I’m still having fun. But I’m curious. Tell me. What do you want with her? Marriage? A family?”
“All of the above,” I said. “What’s the big deal? Maybe I think it’s time to grow up and settle down.”
“You’re not the type. And you’re wasting the best years of your life trying to be something you’re not. Let her go. Come back to the dark side with Britany and me. We have a few tricks left to teach you.” She turned up her drink and gulped it down. She gave me that devilish grin and held her hand on the door as if I’d have to go through her to go in.
Not a problem.
“Move.” I pushed her aside. I had to get to the kitchen.
They were going to tell her God knows what about me before I could set the record straight. I pushed the door open just to make sure Avery was okay, and when I did, Britany had her cornered on the other side of the room.
Avery looked up, and in her eyes, the pain was so great, I knew she’d never forgive me for whatever the girl had said. She’d never believe me, no matter how much I said I was sorry and no matter who told her it wasn’t true.
It was over. I could see it in her eyes as she shook her head.
I couldn’t deal with it anymore. The lies. The rumors. They had controlled and owned me for long enough. Now they had taken the only girl I ever truly loved. I turned and walked out. It was more than I could take. I had to get away from there. Lizzy was right. I was trying to be something I wasn’t. But I also couldn’t go back to who I used to be. I was better off being somewhere else—and someone else.
I left the house and went down to my Jeep, which was parked on the street. As I climbed in and I looked for someone who might be coming to stop me, there wasn’t anyone. Avery was truly done, and things were an even bigger mess. I couldn’t think of a better reason to get away from there. I sped off into the night, knowing there was only one place I wanted to go.
Chapter 29
Avery
The next morning, I sat in my apartment, staring at the phone. I had tried to call Seth a million times, but he never answered, and that damned voice mailbox of his was still full. That let me know he wasn’t too worried about hearing from me. He had offered me a chance to talk, and that chance had passed.
I got up and went to the kitchen, hoping a cup of strong coffee would keep me awake. I had dozed off for a short time after returning home but had been up most of the morning. I kept waiting to hear from him, but as the hours stretched on, I was starting to lose hope.
I was in the middle of setting up my Keurig when the phone rang, and I popped in the cup and hurried to catch it just in case it was Seth.
Abi’s name flashed on the screen with a glowing photo of her bright smile. “Hey, Abi. What’s up?”
“I’m just checking on you. You had me worried last night.” I had insisted she go back to the party, and she only did after much hesitation.
“Oh, I did. And the first thing I saw was my stupid brother running down the stairs naked as a mole rat.”
“Oh, no, I’m sorry,” I said, feeling the first smile of the day coming on. “I didn’t mean to send you away, but I just wasn’t good company. And it was something I had to do alone.”
“Did you find him?” she asked. I could hear the sound of water running on the other end of the phone.
“Not yet. I still keep hoping he’ll call me.”
“He will. He’s going to blow off some steam, and he’ll realize he’s wasting his time sulking when he could be with the most beautiful girl ever. He’s going to pick his sorry ass up and come crawling to you, begging you to take him back.”
“Well, that last part might not happen, but as long as I get him back, I don’t care how it goes down. I just miss him.”
“I know,” she said. “And about the apartment situation, I’m not sure if it’s going to be permanent. My parents are buttheads, but if you let me stay until I at least figure things out, I’d appreciate it. God knows this dorm is done with me.”
“Yeah, well, you stay as long as you need to. I’m sure it will be fun while it lasts.” That seemed to be the way of things.
Seth and I were a lot of fun while we lasted, but for some reason, I still couldn’t give him the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s still going to be a good week before I can move in, and if something changes between now and then, let me know. I still want to stay here until the last minute just to piss them off. My parents don’t know I’m being forced out.”
“What about your brother?”
“Ugh, don’t mention him. I swear, the stork was drunk and left him on the wrong doorstep. We can’t possibly be related after what he did.”
“You mean you couldn’t see a family resemblance with all of that skin.” I couldn’t help myself.
“Oh, you’re mean,” she said, her voice laden with agony. “I’m telling you, Avery, I’m traumatized.”
I gave a little giggle.
“That’s the sound I was hoping to hear,” she said.
“Yeah, well, let’s hope by the end of the day I’m smiling too.”
“You will be. I have a good feeling about it.” Her tone was genuine, and I was glad that at least one of us could be positive.
“Thanks. I’ll call you later with the details. Hopefully, it’s good news.”
“Yeah, speaking of calling me later, I should go,” she said. “I have to drive out to my parents’ today and store some of my things while they’re out of town. I don’t want them to see me bringing them back. They’ll ask me a bunch of questions.”