My hands grip the steering wheel tight to quell the tremors racking my body.
I put her into reverse and pull out, passing the twins who are still next to the elevator door, waiting, watching… my protectors. Darra is nowhere in sight.
I acknowledge them both as I drive past, but don’t stop.
I need time and space. I pray they understand my compulsion to flee, to lick my wounds in private. My breathing stutters, and I close my eyes as I’m forced to wait for the barrier to go up. My stomach heaves, my throat burning as I finally put my car into drive and escape the nightmare that has only just begun to unfold.
CHAPTER 2
KAT
It’s late when I finally make it back to the apartment. A few hours in the office going over mindless reports, the perfect way to shelve the shit show that became my life this afternoon.
Not that I blame Lottie. No, I blame her bitch of a mother, and my two-timing, back-stabbing ex, who appears to be her biological father.
I roll my neck, trying to ease the tension in my head and shoulders.
When that doesn’t work, I massage my temples.
Fuck!
It’s not like Zach and I are still together.
Only the two of us were together when he was sleeping with her.
I scrub a hand over my face, letting out a frustrated growl.
“We made love in your bed.”
Darra’s words echo through my mind.
I thump the back of the sofa, withdrawing my hand quickly as if stung.
Did they make love here, too?
Zach and I lived together for seven years. How many of those was he shagging her too? Here in our home?
My vision blurs, my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I blink rapidly, fending off tears he does not deserve. A sharp pain lances through my palm. I look down to see crescent-shaped welts where my fingernails have broken the skin.
Fuck you, Zachary Greville!
I give myself a mental shake. This is not what I need right now. No distractions.
What I need is sleep.
Everything will be better in the morning.
I walk into our bedroom, my eyes instantly drawn to the bed.
My vision tunnels, an alien sound escapes me as I pick up the first pillow, throwing it across the room, then the second?—
Destruction.
I grind my teeth, my muscles quivering, taking in what’s left of my bedroom. My heart beats rapidly in my chest, and a trickle of sweat runs down between my shoulder blades.
Blankets and pillows litter the floor, even the mattress is upturned, and the bedhead sits at an awkward angle. Nothing escaped my wrath. There’s no way I’ll ever be able to sleep on this bed again or even here in this room. Everything is tainted bythem. My apartment, my sanctuary, is no more.
Bile burns the back of my throat, and the pounding in my head intensifies.
