Some twisted empathy tugs at me. He’s hurting too, I can see it. So, I force myself to open the door wider and step aside, letting him in even though every part of me wants to bolt it shut.
How the hell did he find out where I live?
“Um..so, yeah. Ugh, you’re actually pretty easy to find online.”
Shit. I said that out loud again.
Neither of us seems to know how to behave around the other. We stand in my foyer, avoiding eye contact until Titan places a hand on my shoulder and gives it a comforting squeeze.
Blowing out a quiet breath, I lift my chin and finally face my unwanted and unexpected guest. “Not to be rude or anything, but why are you here, Reggie?”
Reggie scrubs his hands down his face before answering. “Look. There’s never going to be an easy way to break this shit to someone, so I’m just going out with it. Alek is cheating on you with Jerica. They were kissing each other at our house a while ago.” He shakes his head with a bitter laugh. “I’m not even telling you to be a good guy because I’m not one of those. You deserve to know, that’s true, but I’m telling you because I’m fucking selfish and I promised both of them I’d burned their worlds too after having to constantly watch this shit between them.”
His words are daggers, sharp and merciless, slicing straight through my heart. I stagger back, breathless, as invisible wounds flood my chest and threaten to drown me.
Reggie stalks the foyer, his voice rising with every word, oblivious to the wreckage he’s leaving behind in someone already shattered.
“Year after year, I had to watch their friendship. She never wanted him like that, at least that’s what she always said, but I always had my doubts. Guess I was right, huh? That kiss proved me right.”
Titan gathers my shaking body into his arms, shielding me against his chest. But I’m so numb, I can’t even feel the warmth he’s offering.
Cold.
I’m so fucking cold.
“That’s enough, dude. You’ve got five seconds to get your sorry fucking ass out of her goddamn house, before I make you get out. And I promise you, you don’t want me to do that,” Titan tells Reggie.
I’m shocked anything could cut through Reggie’s furious tirade, but apparently, the threat of someone even angrier, with violence simmering in his voice, does the trick.
Alek kissed Jerica.
It’s not like I didn’t see it coming when he walked out to be with her, but hearing it confirmed snuffs out something inside me. That last flicker of hope that maybe he loved me, that maybe I wasn’t just a stand-in, is gone.
God. I’m such a fucking fool.
The moment the front door slams, a sob rips out of me. I bite down on my fist, desperate to dam the pain, but it’s useless. The grief comes in waves, each one crashing harder than the last.
And then another.
And another.
Titan pulls me down to the foyer floor, wrapping me in a fierce embrace as I finally let go of all the agony from a love that only ever left scars.
“That’s it, love bug,” he croons. “Let your pain out. I’ve got you. I’ve always got you.”
“Why was I not enough for him, Tan? Why couldn’t I be enough for either of you? What is so wrong with me that nobody can ever choose me first?” I cry.
His body jerks under mine. Then he’s spitting out a curse before I’m being jostled around until I’m facing him.
He lifts his hands to my cheeks, brushing away my tears and smiling sadly at me. “Don’t put that burden on yourself, Hayvin. There’s nothing wrong with you. There never was. Only me. It’s just that in my head, my career made me man enough for you, ya know? It’s fucked up thinking, but it’s the way my dad raised me. So, in my head, choosing my career was choosing you. Even after you warned me. By then, it was too late. I’d already lost the best thing that ever happened to me. As for him, I can’t speak for him, but I will tell you, he’s one of the stupidest fucking peoplein this world. You, Hayvin Marie, are the most precious fucking diamond, and if he can’t see that, then that’s his problem. That doesn’t reflect on you. I’ve had you, love bug. I know what was in his hands. So, trust me when I say that whoever this Jerica girl is, there’s no way in hell she’ll ever compare to you. No one ever could. You’re smart and beautiful. You’re kind and caring. You love deeply and you love fucking fiercely. And when that love is aimed at someone, whether it’s a partner or a friend, they’re the luckiest sons-of-bitches in the damn universe because you’re that special, Hayvin, and I hate that this has made you question that.”
In an attempt to calm me down, he brushes a soft kiss across my lips before gently leading my head back to his chest.
I lose track of time in his arms, my sobs fading to quiet sniffles. His words echo in my mind, shifting how I see myself, how I see all of us.
“Vinnie?” he calls softly.
“Yeah?”
