Fuck.
I jump off my bed and run to the elevator, and when the doors open… lo-and-behold. I step on anyway because I’m still feelin’ like I gotta murder this motherfucker.
“Nico,” says Tom.
“Don’t say my fuckin’ name,” I warn him.
He huffs a laugh. “It’s like that, then?”
I whirl around and face him with a newfound understanding of a “crime of passion.” I’ve got him on size, and I use it to get in his face. “Fuck you very, very much, man. I hope to never see you again.”
He lifts a snide fuckin’ eyebrow. “So you believe the crazy bitch, too.”
Anoof, as Tom inexplicably finds himself strong-armed against the wall of the elevator. “Stop with the ‘crazy’ adjective use, asshole, because she was always right about you.”
He shakes his head. “I’d say I can’t wait for her to destroy your life, too, but I know you’re just her flavor of the week. She’s probably gone and left your ass already, anyway,” he sneers.
In saying this, he’s voiced my greatest fear. The elevator doors open to Annie’s floor, and I find myself being pulled to leave and find her and forget about this asshole for the rest of my life. So I step off.
“Lose my number,” I tell him, with barely suppressed rage. “And while you’re at it, lose May’s and Annie’s.”
He laughs, sharp and cutting, like what I said was fuckin’ hilarious. “I don’t have Annie’s number, anyway. Like she would ever, ever talk to me in any capacity about anything.”
Something about this makes me pause. Did Charlie tell him? No, from what I saw last night, Charlie would never speak to this asshole either.
I slap a hand on the door to keep it from closing. “How did you know about the porn thing, Tom?”
He laughs again, and it takes everything in me not to wipe the smug look off his face. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I think it’s pretty cool. You’re clearly making bank.”
“How did you know, Tom?”
“I’m on that porn site a lot,” he shrugs, like it’s a totally normal thing for someone with a fiancée to say. “You’re pretty popular. I see your content pop up all the time, and I recognize that weird duck tattoo you have.”
Everything inside me goes still while the ground shifts beneath me. Panic prickles at the edge of my vision.
I turn and stride away without another word.
She was telling the truth.
After forever, I bang on her door. “Annie.”
Nothing.
“Annie,” I yell, banging even harder.
I’m such a fuckin’ asshole.
I press my ear to the door. It’s silent.
“FUCK,” I scream at the ceiling.
I stride back to the elevator.
You stupid, stupid motherfuckin’ asshole. Of course she was tellin’ the fuckin’ truth.
I take the elevator to the roof, where I find the wedding planner.
“Where is Annie?” I all but yell at her.
