"I'm going to the clinic tomorrow to get tested, and I swear to fucking god, Keaton, if you gave me anything..." she says, stopping in the middle of her sentence and dashing her tears away with harsh strokes.
I jam my hands into my pockets to stop myself from reaching for her. “You don’t have to. You didn’t catch anything.”
Her caustic laugh soars through the night. "Like I'd ever believe a word out of your filthy, lying mouth."
"This was the first and only time I ever fucked up, Char. God, butterfly. I promise."
"Your promises mean shit to me anymore, and never call me that again. I'm not your butterfly. I never will be again."
“Charlie, please, just listen. It never happened before tonight, and I wish it never had at all. I fucked up, Char. Really fucked up, and I’m so sorry. Hurting you was the last thing I ever wanted.”
"But you did. You hurt—no, that's too tame a word. You completely massacred me, Keaton. You turned me into a walking corpse whose only purpose is to live again. That way, I can do it without you. Regardless of what you say, I'm getting tested, anyway. I won't take that chance. You know...I think I almost hate you more for not using a condom. I really do hope you get gonorrhea and your dick falls off. That would be divine retribution for what you did to me." She pulls her phone from her pocket and holds it out to me. "Here. I already pulled their number up. You just have to hit the call button."
My brows lower as I slowly reach out to take it into my hand. When I glance down, my parents' number is there.
I peer back up at her in confusion, and she bares her teeth at me in a hateful smile. She reaches over to press the call button and sticks it on speaker.
My pulse races as cold fingers wrap around my throat while I wait for my father to answer the phone.
"My Charlie girl! Is everything okay? You don't normally call me and Norma this late."
The happiness in his voice has my stomach rolling with nausea again.
"No, Mr. Carr. Everything isn't okay. I'll let your son tell you all about it, though. Don't worry. I'll be right here to correct any part he tries to fib about."
"Keaton?" my dad calls sharply.
I close my eyes as I prepare to destroy one more relationship in my life.
I Love You, But Right Now I Hate You More
Charlie | The Past
Ineverintendedtosit out here with him while he faced our parents. But when I caught the storm of panic, terror, and pain flicker across his face, leaving him to face it alone was never an option.
I didn't make him tell our parents out of spite or cruelty. There was only one reason I pushed for it.
Keaton holds our fathers in such high regard, and I know he’ll need an ally. I’m not naive. He and Rianna will be outnumbered, especially with David firmly on my side.
It’s the last thing I want. Keaton broke me in ways I may never mend, but we’ve shared a lifetime of memories since childhood. No matter how desperately I wish I could erase them, they cling to me. Memories and feelings don’t vanish with a snap.
Or obviously at the sight of your boyfriend shoving his bare dick into someone else's nasty snatch.
I clamp my eyes shut, forcing myself to breathe through the ache. Once I’ve locked that vision away in the deepest vault of my mind, I open my eyes and stare into the fire.
The bright orange flames twist and writhe in a wild, chaotic dance. Beautiful, but deadly—a force that can erase everything in its path in mere seconds.
A lot like love, really.
"Dad," Keaton whispers.
His agony slices through me, and I curl tighter into myself, hugging my knees as if my arms could shield me from the misery swirling between us.
Tears streak down my face as I rest my cheek on my knees, watching Keaton wrestle with the words he owes his father.
If he’s in so much pain now, why did he do it? Is it regret, or just regret at being caught? Did he ever love her, or was it just a reckless gamble? Something must have pulled him in—why else risk everything?
"What's going on, son?" Chester's voice is gruff and full of sadness, like he already knows what we have lost tonight. "Where's Charlie? Can I talk to her since you're having trouble?"
