Page 58 of Forever Mine
Caught in a time vortex where everything around us suspends in place, we stare at one another. I wouldn’t know what to say anyway.Fuck offwould be a good start.
Slam the door in her bitch face. Make her leave. Elijah will freak out if he sees her.
“Hello, Julien.”
The fact that she knows who I am pisses me off after all the cold, hateful looks she would give me whenever I went to Elijah’s house. It was during the hot minute she lived there after her and Mr. Barnes’s brief reconciliation. But what I remember the most is Elijah coming to my house and crying in my arms, telling me she left on New Year’s Eve. Walked out on him and Mr. Barnes a-fucking-gain, breaking both their hearts a second time.
“I don’t know if you remember me but?—”
“I know who you are.”
Beverly glides her fingers nervously back and forth along the strand of pearls around her neck.
“May I come in?”
“No.”
I don’t even bother to ask why she’s here. I don’t care. I just want her gone.
Her eyes hopefully lift to something behind me, or rather someone. I can feel Ryder silently hovering at my back.
“Elijah isn’t here. I wouldn’t let you inside even if he was.” I block the doorway just in case.
She clasps her hands in front of her. “I’m actually here to talk to you.”
Is she serious?
Immediately on edge, I ask, “How do you know where I live?”
Elijah hasn’t spoken to her that I know of, and I know April can’t stand her, so I doubt she told her. And what in the hell is she doing here on a Wednesday night at seven o’clock? The drive up from Charleston takes over four hours.
Something akin to remorse strains her Botoxed face. Then again, I can’t really tell because her smooth, wrinkle-free skin doesn’t move. At all.
“I made a mistake.”
Not able to hold in my anger any longer, I lash out. “You bet your ass you made a mistake. A big fucking one.”
And not because she suddenly dropped unexpectedly on my doorstep. She hurt Elijah. The mental anguish she inflicted upon him caused irreparable damage he’ll deal with for the rest of his life.
This time, I do what I should have done minutes ago. I shut the door in her face—except it doesn’t close because she wedges her red stiletto in the jamb.
“Julien, please. You’re the only one who can help me.”
Help her? Why would I lift a finger to help this woman? I wouldn’t spit on her if she were on fire. But I’m also not going to hurt her on purpose by repeatedly slamming the door on her foot until she removes it.
Peering over my shoulder at Ryder, I seek his guidance on what to do. His shrug saysI have no clue, but youmay as well hear her out, so she’ll leave.
This is unbelievable.
“I need my phone,” I tell Ryder.
Elijah is supposed to text me when he’s done with David, and I need her to be gone.
Ry comes back from the living room and slaps my phone into my hand. Flinging the front door wide, Beverly teeters backward on her five-inch heels when I step outside.
“There’s a coffee house a block from here.”
The small caféand bakery near the condo is family-owned by the sweetest couple, Laurel and Darryl. Laurel makes the best cinnamon scones I’ve ever eaten.
