“We all saw her face and how upset she was when she saw him.” Hayes stared at the house. “Maybe she wasn’t even upset over us.”
“It pissed me off, too, but she’s over him. She told me she loved me and she meant it.” West sat forward and ran his hand over his mouth. “She loves us. She was just attacked by the assholes she thought were her best friends until last year and our sister. She wasn’t expecting to see those fucks and she reacted better than she could’ve. And then we fucking said it was fake. I said we didn’t have to love her to fuck her. I said it in front of the guys who were calling her names and treating her like shit. I told her to expect more from the men she gives herself to and then I just shit all over her.”
My gut twisted. “What now?”
“I don’t know.” He sat back in his seat and then nearly jumped out of the truck when a palm slammed into the window beside his head.
It was Jolene. We all froze but West somehow managed to roll his window down. As soon as it was low enough Jolene shoved her hand into the truck and smacked him.
“Why the fuck is my baby in there sobbing her head off? I know what a woman looks like when she’s crying over a man so tell me what the fuck you three did.” She looked like a feral Dolly Parton and it was terrifying. “I swear to god that I will come to your house, sneak into your rooms while you’re sleeping like goddamn Santa Clause, and I will cut off your dicks when you least expect it. Tell me what happened!”
We all flinched as she screamed the last bit at us. Hayes leaned forward and cleared his throat. “Does she know we’re here? Could we talk to her?”
“Are you stupid? No, you can’t speak to her! She’s curled up in her bed and soaking my second favorite mattress with her tears. She can’t stop crying for long enough to tell me what happened. I don’t know what you assholes did but you need to leave. At this point, it’s for your own safety. I feel particularly psycho tonight.”
“It was a miscommunication. We can make it right.” I hoped to god we could make it right.
“You’re in extra danger of being murdered because I liked you three for her. I thought you’d be the men to give her the care she deserves. I don’t like being disappointed.” She smiled as the sound of metal being scratched filled the night. Dangling her keys in front of West’s face, she hissed. “Oops.”
West leaned away from her. “Accidents happen…”
“You’re fucking right, they do. Remember that.” Jolene stepped back and motioned us forward. “I suggest you run home before I decide letting you leave isn’t enough to soothe my rage tonight.”
“Yep, yep.” Hayes hit West’s leg. “We’re leaving.”
All three of us shuddered as she stood in the street watching us leave.
“We deserved that.” Hayes suddenly punched the dashboard. “It’s killing me to think of her hurting because she thinks we don’t love her. I fucking do. I love her.”
The back of my eyes burned and I had to press my palms into them to keep myself together. “Of course you love her. We all love her.”
“We’ll fix it.” West stopped at a red light and grabbed his phone from the center console. “She doesn’t have to go the rest of the night thinking we meant what we said. We’ll call her. Or text. Or leave voice notes. We’ll do whatever it takes because she can’t hurt because of us. I can’t be another man who hurt her.”
68
***Cass***
“For the love of god, Cass, there are only so many times a woman can listen to this sad crap before she loses the plot and gets a little stabby!” Aunt Jolene stomped into my room in a pair of pink leather boots and denim dress covered in sequins. She smacked her hand down on the old CD player on the dresser and groaned in relief when the music stopped. “Oh, sweet silence. How I’ve missed you!”
I turned the volume up on the TV andThe Notebookblared from the little speakers. “Just leave me to my misery!”
“No! It’s like living with Brittney Spears when she went crazy!”
I sat straight up and muted the TV. “You lived with Brittney Spears?”
“Yeah. The impersonator from Arkansas. I’ve definitely told you about her. We lived together during the time period when she was sleeping with her husband’s cousin and her husband’s cousin was cheating on her with her mom.” Aunt Jolene rolled her eyes. “Arkansas, am I right?”
I unmuted the TV and groaned. “Just leave me here to rot.”
She grabbed the remote and sat down next to me, just to have an empty ice cream bowl fall over on her. “Oh, my god. They’ve broken you. You’re living in ice cream filth and blaring the saddest playlist I’ve ever heard while watching the saddest movie ever!”
“It’syourplaylist!” Flopping back in bed, I stared at the ceiling and wondered if I’d ever feel like leaving my bed again. “I’m not broken. I’m just…”
“No! No, no, no. No more tears!” She grabbed my face and squeezed my cheeks. “You haven’t left the room in three days, babygirl. You need fresh air and to take a break from being heartbroken.”
I turned away from her and hugged my pillow. I never wanted to leave the room again. If I had to face the Ford brothers I wouldn’t be able to stand up tall. I was humiliated and crushed. I’d made a fool of myself. Worse than that, I’d given my all to someone again when they wanted nothing. They didn’t want me. Not for more than PR or an easy screw. I’d been so sure they felt the same way about me. I thought they loved me and knowing that they didn’t was something I wasn’t sure I’d be able to bounce back from anytime soon.
“Come on, sweetheart. You’re made of tougher stuff than this. Have I ever told you the story of your mom’s first love?”
