"How?" Jamie snaps, holding me tighter. "Did you know I was with her?"
With me?Fuck, I should get out of here.
Peeking behind me, I ask Jamie, "How do you know them? Are you with?—"
Jamie's face turns red, and when I glance back at the other two, Ellis smirks. "Seems we have the same taste,Bubbles."
A knife to my heart would have hurt less than the reminder of everything I threw away. That nickname distracts me a little from what happened tonight.
"Ellis, I'm sorry?—"
Ellis waves a hand to cut me off which makes Jamie stiffen, but Ellis doesn't seem to mind ripping my feelings apart. I don't blame him. I've seen firsthand the damage of ghosting someone, but I did it anyway.
"I'm sure you are, Violet. But it's been seven years. No need to lie now."
"What?!" I gasp. "No. I'm not lying. I'm so sorry! I never should have blocked?—"
Ellis' eyes turn cold and steely, making me recoil. "We don't fucking care, Violet. We're here because the man we're pursuing had an emergency. Unfortunate that it wasyou."
"Wait a fucking second," Jamie interrupts this heartbreaking moment with so much rage it makes me cry harder. He stands and sets me on my feet, making me flinch in pain. "You don'tevertalk to Violet that way. What the fuck?"
"You don't?—"
Jamie cuts Ellis off. "I don't know how you know my woman, but you won't speak to her ever again if you can't be fucking polite and kind. She's been through enough without your verbal lashings because you got your feelings hurt almost a decade ago."
Jamie steps so he's standing in front of me. Reaching out, I grab his forearm. "Jamie. I hurt them. I ghosted them, blocked them, and changed my number. We were in a serious part of building an actual relationship, and I-I ruined it."
Full on sobbing, I try to defend the men on Jamie's couch. They have every right to hate me and tear me down. What I did was cowardly.
"Absolutely fuckingnot!" Jamie snaps, wrapping an arm around my hip and dragging me to his side. "Nobody talks to you that way."
Copper fills my mouth because the only way to keep from hissing in pain is to bite the inside of my cheek. I vaguely remember the mugger kicking my hip as I fell to the ground.
Jamie levels Nate and Ellis with a glare so hellish, I shut up. "And no way inhellare you allowed to think you'repursuingme when you're clearly a fucking asshole with no emotional intelligence to comprehend the woman you clearly loved back then was exposed to something so traumatic it altered her life."
Ellis sits up straight at Jamie’s words, but the man holding me isn't done. "Violet has workedhardto understand her choices and decisions. She deserves patience and care. You may be owed an apology and anexplanation, but in no way are you owed the opportunity to hurt her further. Now get the fuck out of my apartment. I hope that if I ever see you again, you'll rethink your stance on Violet because she's mine even if she hasn't accepted it yet. We're a package deal. Get out."
Stunned into silence, I watch as Ellis and Nate slowly uncoil from the couch. Ellis stays in his place with his shoulders tight and his face unreadable. Nate, on the other hand, walks toward me slowly.
Each step he takes makes me stiffen further. Jamie watches every move Nate takes, and the closer he gets to our two-person huddle, the more I notice about him. Seven years made this man more rugged and wide. He's intense.
Jamie clutches me tighter once Nate is within touching distance, and there's no way I can mask the wince this time. Nate zeros in on Jamie's hand and reaches for me.
"Don't fucking touch her, Nate," Jamie growls, and it strikes me just how intimate Nate's name sounds coming from his lips.
Nate pays him no mind as his thick fingers reach for the hem of my sweatshirt. I suck in a breath at his closeness, but pout a little on the inside when Nate is so careful not to touch my bare skin.No, Violet. No. This man hates you,I scold myself.
"I don't hate you," Nate whispers, glancing into my soul quickly before his eyes narrow on my hip. "Ice this. And try to keep weight off your leg for a few days."
"What?!" Jamie gasps, releasing me and moving. Hisnew position shoves Nate out of the way and blocks my two regrets from my line of sight.
While Jamie fusses over the nasty bruise, Nate and Ellis slip out without another word. For some reason, that hurts more than all the insults and accusations Ellis could throw at me.
Nineteen
JAMIE
What the fuck just happened?
