“I don’t have time for you either.” Her fury vanishes in a blink, replaced by a heavy disappointment. “I really believed you’d be the one to keep her safe, Alek. I had high hopes. But you let me down, and now I hate you just a little more for it.”
“Please, Ever. Just tell me how she’s doing,” I beg.
“Alek, if you can’t use your brain and figure out why you’re still not worthy of her or any information about her,” her eyes flick to Jerica and back to me, “then I guess she was right and she was never really that important to you.”
Everleigh scoots around me, but I reach out and grasp her arm gently. “I’m fixing it, Everleigh. I promise. Okay?”
I keep my voice low so that our conversation stays between us.
“Are you really, though? Because this is the second time since she left you that you’re still around her. I don’t think you deserve her, Alek. I don’t think you ever really did, despite what I wanted to believe.” She lifts one of her hands and pats my cheek. “It’s a good thing, though, because my brother will be happy to makesure he does.” She yanks her arm out of my hold. “And Alek? Don’t ever put your fucking hands on me without my permission again. Capeesh?”
Before I can track where she storms off to, the waitress appears, ready to take our orders. Eating feels wrong, like it’ll turn this mess into something normal, but I know I won’t have the energy to cook later. We know this menu by heart. Once we order, I sink back into the booth, rubbing my palms over my slacks, searching for the right words to break the silence.
“You know…I really don’t like her,” Jerica remarks.
Well, if that’s not an opening, I don’t know what is.
“It’s safe to say she doesn’t like you either, Jerica,” I snap.
I rake my hands through my hair, irritation prickling beneath my skin. “She’s right. You’re both tangled up in this mess, too. I’ll shoulder most of the blame, but neither of you is innocent.”
“What in the hell are you talking about?” Jerica asks.
“This fucking mess I’m in with Hayvin.”
“I don’t even know what happened between you two,” Jerica says.
The chuckle that escapes me is tinged with bitterness. “Ever was also right about you pretending. You want to know what happened, J? You did. For some fucking reason, she’s got it in her beautiful, stubborn head that she’s second place toyou.” I snort. “As if that couldeverbe true.”
Jerica winces and mutters, “Ouch.”
I shrug. “I’d say sorry, but it’s the truth. Vin was never second best. She’s the only one who’s ever made me feel this way. There’s nothing between us, Jerica, because I don’t want there to be.”
David stares at me with that empty fucking look of his that normally spells trouble. “Then maybe you should tell her this instead of the people who matter the least in all of this.”
“It’s hard to matter least when she believes you all matter the most,” I respond.
“And whose fault is that?” David comments.
“Oh, it’s mine.”
“Then why are you and everyone else trying to blame us for anything?” Jerica asks.
“Answer me this, Jerica. Did you believe me and Hayvin were still together when I came to help you move?”
She’s smart. The expression in her eyes and the way she fidgets in her seat tell me she knows exactly where I’m heading. “Yes,” she says warily.
I nod. “That’s what I figured. So tell me, what made you think it was okay to kiss me when I clearly didn’t want it?”
Her voice is defensive when she replies. “You were my friend, and I needed your help.”
“And you thought forcing yourself on me was the way to get it? You’re smart, J. You know exactly what that was.”
Jerica’s face goes blank as the color leaks from it. “What?”
“That’s fucking enough. What the hell are you doing, man?” David growls.
I glare at him. “I’m doing what has to be done. You’re my best friend, but you know what she did was wrong. Both of you are so twisted up from your past that you act without thinking and hurt people who never deserved it.” I raise a hand to stop him. “Just listen. I love you, man. But youknowthat. You’ve said it yourself a thousand times.”
