Dallas smirked.
“If you weren’t my sister, I’d be more intrigued. But since you are, I just want to go on record and say that you are stupid for making a sex tape. Married or not. I hope to never fucking see it. I already had to hear some of it. Now, it makes a little more sense.” He paused to clear his throat.
“No, Tate didn’t send him the video. He did however call Ronny and set him on mute so he could hear you guys going at it, but you couldn’t hear him. He was screaming for fucking ever before he gave up.”
“Oh my God,” I groaned. “Please tell me he hung up after he realized what was going on.”
“He did not.”
I closed my eyes and tossed my head back in disgust and exhaustion. Why Tate, why?
“If it means anything, the moment I knew what was going on I left the room. I was not about to listen to that for an hour.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, not really in the mood for his jokes. I crossed my arms again. “Wait, why did he wait so long to come over here?”
Dallas’ smile slipped off his face. His eyes drifted over to them. I was sure they’d run out of steam soon. I would not be cleaning up the blood.
“He recorded it. He spent most of the night listening to it, stewing it. When he couldn’t take it anymore, he left. I wasn’t able to stop him, so I came along,” he shrugged.
Recorded it? I groaned. This could not be happening. I turned back around and went back into my room. I flicked the light on and went to my closet, quickly picking out underwear and a clean dress and sweater. I slipped them on and grabbed for my boots. I’d put them on in the car. They’d been fighting for far too long now. I only had a few more minutes max to get out of here.
My heart was racing as I went back out into the living room. Dallas saw me and went to the pair. He was yelling over them, demanding they stop again. He looked over at me and waved me off. I nodded and ran to the front door. I grabbed my keys off the table and hurried out the door.
As soon as that door was closed, I sprinted down the stairs. I reached the ground floor and flew outside to my car. I started it without putting my seatbelt on. My hand went to the shifter and as I was about to put in reverse something slapped against my window.
I screamed as I jumped high in my seat. Instantly I reached out and locked the door before looking up at the hands slamming into my window. When I finally glanced out, I saw Tate. I shivered. His face was covered in blood, his eyes were panicked. I shook my head, refusing to open the window.
“Jimmy! Open the door!” he screamed. I shook my head again. That was about all I could do. I was frozen in terror.
“Just let me explain!”
His words brought me back to earth. Explain? How could he explain recording our sex for someone else. Not just someone else, but my ex-boyfriend with an anger issue. There was no justifying that. I flipped him off and put the car into reverse. I backed out of my spot slowly. He took a step back and slapped the hood of my car. He was still shirtless and barefoot.
He waved his arms but did nothing else as I turned out of the parking lot and drove off into the night.
I wasn’t sure where I was going. I didn’t know where I could go. I drove around the city, aimlessly driving through the roads. Finally, I found myself at a beach. I hadn’t remembered making the conscious choice of driving here, but alas, here I was.
I stepped out of the car, still barefoot. I shuddered at the feeling of my sensitive feet on the pavement but chose not to put my shoes on yet. I locked my car and went towards the water.
The sand was cold under my feet. I muddled through the soft ground until I was only a few feet from the water. I promptly sat down and brought my legs up to my chest. I embraced them and rested my head on my knees. What a mess. What a fucking mess.
I listened to the waves lapping lazily at my toes. I didn’t know even how to react to any of this. Who was I supposed to be mad at? Who was I allowed to be mad at? Ronny, Tate, or myself?
I wasn’t sure how long I was there alone, but I turned when I heard a car door shut behind me. I stiffened as I saw a male figure walking towards me. Who was it? It was too dark and the streetlights too far for me to see more than a dark frame. They walked too confidently towards me to be a stranger. Fear shot through me as I thought it was Ronny, but then as the figure grew closer, I saw that it was Tate. Anger replaced terror almost instantly.
I turned back to face the ocean. I couldn’t speak to him right now.
“Jimmy, come on, don’t be like this,” he said as he got closer. I pressed my lips together, forcing myself to ignore him. He was not going to tell me I couldn’t be upset about what he did. He deserved every punch Ronny got in.
He reached me and placed his hands on my shoulders. I flinched away.
“Don’t touch me.”
He pulled back. He stood behind me in silence for a long time before stepping to the side and dropping down beside me. He made sure to leave a couple of feet between us. He crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap.
“You’re a hard one to find,” he chuckled but I didn’t find it amusing. His laughter fell flat over us.
“How did you find me?” I asked, my tone completely devoid of any emotion.
