But now I’m confused. I was pissed when I walked over here, but then he defended Bernie and told Chanel to leave. This doesn’t make sense.
“Misty—”
He’s cut off by a cupcake hitting his chest. A green streak spreads down his white T-shirt as it slides to the ground.
I turn to see Bernie standing behind me holding a container of cupcakes with green frosting and another one in her hand, aimed to be thrown.
“What the hell?” Zep asks.
BAM! Right in the face. Between the eyes. My girl has surprisingly accurate aim. Better than me.
“You’re a big jerk!” Bernie shouts, dumping the rest of the cupcakes at his feet, frosting side landing on the cement. “You don’t deserve my mom!”
She bursts into tears and runs into the house. Zep did what I was afraid he’d do from the very start. When they first started talking, I knew it was a good probability that he’d break my little girl’s heart. And he just did it.
“She threw cupcakes at me.” And then he laughs.
His amusement hurts even worse than watching him kiss that bitch who does nothing but toy with him every chance she gets. Something he seems to prefer over what I offered him.
“We made them for you,” I say, my tone quiet and calm as I look at the dessert on the ground.
His smile immediately falls when I glance up at him briefly, and he wipes the frosting from his face. “What?”
I bend down to pick up the container and stare at the work we did before going to the park. “Bernie wanted to make sure you felt better, so we made them. I remember you said Grandma made them for you with green frosting because it’s your favorite color. So we did.”
My chest feels ready to explode, and I miss the anger. There’s a pressure that feels like my ribcage might burst at any moment,but my heart feels empty. Breathing becomes difficult, but I refuse to break down in front of him.
I knew better, and I didn’t listen. It’s my own fault.
“You made me cupcakes?”
“She felt guilty going to her sleepover last night, and she wanted to make it up to you. She thought she let you down.”
“Misty—”
“I need to check on her.”
He grabs my wrist when I turn away, but I yank it back with enough force that I nearly lose my balance. “Misty, please.”
“You may find this funny, but I don’t. This, right here, is why I didn’t want to move forward with this relationship. I knew this would happen, but I didn’t think you’d be cruel about it.”
“Listen, I didn’t know Chanel was going to do that. I should have, but I didn’t.”
Letting out a dry laugh, I shake my head. I knew she’d do that, and I haven’t officially met the bitch. “It’s not about that. Not right now. You broke my daughter’s heart, and then you laughed, Zep.”
“I didn’t laugh at that!” His eyes widen as he tries to defend himself. “I would never laugh at her pain. It was the fact she threw cupcakes at me. And hit me in the fucking face. That girl has an arm on her.”
He’s right about that, but I just nod and stare at the ground. “Okay.”
“Misty—”
“It doesn’t change the facts. This was a mistake. You’ll never stop letting Chanel toy with you. I gave you a chance not to toy with me, and you blew it. I should have waited to tell Bernie about us. That was my second mistake.”
He runs a hand over his face, smearing the frosting along his skin. If I wasn’t a jumble of hurt and anger, I’d laugh. It’s almost comical. “Misty, please.”
“You did the one thing I told you I was scared of. Even a week of fun was too much of a risk. You knew what I worried about, and you broke Bernie’s heart anyway.”
“Hers? What you both saw wasn’t what it looked like, but don’t stand here and put this on Bernie if you’re pissed at me. Not after how far we’ve come.”
