It was the fucking truth. Milo preferred him. He followed him around the apartment all the time. He slept on the bed below his feet. The dog adored him, just like I adored him.
“Would you still leave if that night hadn’t happened?” I asked him.
Adam gave me an incredulous look before zipping up his bag. When he headed toward the door, I stood in his way.
“Please,” I begged. “Stay a little longer so we can talk.”
“I’m all talked out, Jordan,” Adam said, walking past me.
I followed him out of the bedroom, with Milo following us both, barking.
“Please,” I begged, because I had no pride left. “Please don’t leave me. Please don’t leave us.”
Adam turned to look at me. His sky-blue eyes shifted from me to Milo, and then to me again. For the first time since he came here from the hospital, I saw something in his eyes that looked like regret.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, opening the door. “Goodbye.”
“You’ll be back,” I bit out, clenching my fists to stop myself from going after him.
The door slamming shut behind him was his only reply.
Adam
I slowly climbed down the stairs because my leg was sore, when all I wanted to do was run. I tried not to think, but the image of Jordan and the ugly dog was imprinted in my mind. I tried to ignore the pain, but my heart was in agony. When I walked out of the building, I told myself it would pass. I told myself that in time things would go back to how they were. I walked up to my car and threw the duffel bag into the trunk, then slammed it shut. The next step would be entering the car, but I couldn’t move, and it made me stark raving mad.
“Fuuuuuuck!” I bellowed, resting my hands on the hood, hyperventilating. “Fuuuuuuck!”
I could hear the birds shooting off from the nearby trees, their wings flapping frantically. I could feel people staring at me while walking past me on the street. Was Jordan watching me through his window, too? Could he witness my pitiful state?
Just don’t look. Just don’t look.
Despite my better judgment, I raised my head and looked up, only to see a curtain swaying behind the window of Judas’ apartment.
“The fucker,” I growled, shaking my head in frustration. “And on top of that, I forgot my damn toothbrush!”
I was also talking to myself, but it was the least of my concerns. I locked the car and headed back, this time skipping two steps at a time. It hurt, but I just wanted to be done with it.
When I reached Jordan’s apartment, I was breathless, and the front door was open. Jordan stood on the doorstep with his chin raised and a challenge glinting in his eyes. Milo was nowhere to be seen, but I heard him barking from the pantry.
“I forgot my toothbrush,” I said, keeping my face impassive. “If you don’t mind...”
Jordan let me pass without a word before heading to the bathroom. I followed him there, only to see him picking up my toothbrush and showing it to me.
“This toothbrush?”
“Yes,” I replied, extending my hand. “Can I have it?”
“Sure,” he said, pushing the toothbrush behind the waistband of his jeans. “There it is. Take it yourself.”
I choked on a laugh because the little shit shocked me.
“You didn’t,” I muttered.
“I did.”
He was getting sassy, and I was getting angry. Not a good combination.
“Jordan, I’m warning you.”
