Page 49 of Dark Tangled Truths
“What do we do about this?” Mom turns to Adam.
For a moment, no one speaks. It’s too early in the morning for any of this. There’s this pit inside my stomach that pulses because I don’t know if Damon’s still mine. If I’ve lost them all because I gave away his secret, because he was giving mine away.
“Nothing. Damon leaves today for Crowne Mawr. It seems like you two could use the time away from each other.” Adam stands and reaches his hand out to my mom. “We’ll deal with it when he gets back.”
CHAPTER 16
EvanAnn
It’s tooearly to get ready for school, and I’m too energized to go back to sleep as we head upstairs. Damon hasn’t said a word. I’m still mulling over what he did and how I responded. Overall, not good.
We walk into his bedroom. I follow out of habit. He heads to his dresser and pulls out workout clothes, ignoring me. My heart kicks up a notch. Instead of talking about this, he’s just going to let it fester? Fuck that and fuck him.
“What the fuck was that?” I ask, crossing my arms.
He doesn’t turn toward me as he strips off his shirt and pulls on a tank top.
“Damon, you fucking went nuclear on us and made that twenty times worse than it had to be.” I grab the shorts he has in his hands and toss them on the bed.
He just grabs another pair out of the drawer. I do the same thing.
“Fuck, Evan! Don’t you know when to leave well enough alone.” He doesn’t turn, but his words bite into me.
“Apparently not, but neither do you.” I run my hands through my hair. I need to move, but I want to know what he was thinking down there. “You just couldn’t stand being called myrebound, could you? Even though we both know that’s not what this is. You’ve never been the side piece, but it grates on you.”
He turns and those sharp blue eyes pierce me. “So you decided to rat me out to my father?”
“He needed to know. It’s not like you could keep it a secret forever.” I straighten. “But you’re right. I can be mature enough to admit that wasn’t the right time to say that. I said it because I wanted to shut you up before you admitted you blackmailed me into your bed.”
His eyes grow menacing and he closes in on me. My breath catches, but I stand my ground. “I didn’t really need to blackmail you at all, did I, Evan?”
He slides his fingers down my throat, sending a ripple of heat through me.
“You would have given in to me without it.” He turns his hand around and holds my neck.
I swallow against the pressure of his fingers. “Tell me this wasn’t just about you getting back at my mom for being with your dad. It was the perfect opportunity, wasn’t it? Tell her it’s her fault you fucked me? Because all this will ever be to you is a means for your revenge.”
He squeezes slightly, taking my breath away ever so slightly. “You like me this way, Evan.”
“I like when you aren’t acting like a manchild who doesn’t get his way.”
He releases me and steps back, his eyes cold. He grabs a pair of shorts and heads into the bathroom. After a minute, I hear the door to my bedroom open and close.
A little shiver goes through me, but I shake it off and go through the bathroom to my room. Today is going to be rough. It was always going to be rough with Damon leaving, but now I don’t know where we stand.
I should just stay home. Damon isn’t talking to me. I don’t feel like talking to him, but I want him to hold me and kiss me and tell me everything is going to be all right. Which sucks.
I’m exhausted and feel like my insides have been burned out. Tears press on the back of my eyes, just waiting to choke me. I can’t tell if it’s because I’m angry or sad or just fucking tired. But tears won’t help anything.
I just want to curl up and die and burn the house down. Not literally, but fuck, emotions are hard.
It wasn’t my place to tell his father about the hit and run. Not like that. But Adam needed to know. It won’t fix anything, but how can Damon move forward without letting go of it?
It’s the whole reason we’re together. He wanted to take everything away from Chase. I was part of that everything. Mission accomplished.
After I get ready for school—way too early, I sit on the edge of the bed that isn’t mine and stare at the floor. Because if I don’t stare at the floor, I’ll stare at the door to the bathroom and wait for him to come, to claim me.
He’ll finish his workout and want a shower. And what good is a shower without me?
