“I won’t say it again,” she snaps. “Leave!”
“You’re overreacting,” Deacon says. “It was one mistake, Ella!”
Ella notices me and scowls, but I can stand in the damn lobby if I want to. And what I want right now is to watch a cop get dumped. Bonus.
“I am not going to list the reasons to end this. I don’t evenneeda reason,” she says. “I don’t want to be with you. That’s enough.”
Deacon skids to a stop in front of her. “It isn’t.”
Ella glowers at him. “It is for me. Get out.”
“Your dad?—”
“Mydad,” she interjects, “will take my side regardless. If you really think the fact that you wear a badge meansanything to him, you’re wrong. He cares about what I care about; aka: not you.”
Nice.
“You’re being a real—” Deacon falters, and I grin. Oh, he’s gonna die.
“A realwhat?” she challenges, hands on her hips. “Go on, tough guy. Finish your sentence.”
“A real…ly unreasonable person.”
I snort. Deacon looks at me.
“Why are you here?” he demands.
“Free country,” I say. “Please, continue getting dumped.”
Deacon stalks toward me. “Maybe you should fuck off.”
“This is what I’m talking about!” Ella cries. “You only ever act tough if the situation doesn’t call for it! God, you’re such a … a bro.”
I bite back my laugh so hard that I have to look away. But I quickly look back when Deacon responds.
“I am not abro!”
“You kinda are,” I say. “Bro.”
I shouldn’t piss off the guy who is probably going to get assigned Barnaby’s missing person case, but by that point, I’ll be out of the country, so fuck it.
“Deacon, face it, we’re over. You’re not going to change my mind. I am done,” Ella says. “Just leave.”
I take my phone out, fingers flying across the screen.
Me: You might want to find an excuse to visit your brunette. RoboCop just got monumentally dumped
The cop storms out, shoving open the glass doors to the building like they fucked up his relationship and not him. Ella stamps her foot in frustration.
“Ass!” she hisses to herself, then looks at me. “Whatareyou doing here?”
I say nothing, my eyes back on my phone as I give her the finger.
She points at me. “Ass number two!”
I bite back another laugh, and she walks away.
Me: she’s getting in the elevator
