Page 44 of Ache
Mistake?
“I don’t know how you accidentally fall into bed with someone, Everly.”
Ooooh, his tone is ice cold. It even makes me shiver.
“Alec, please. I’m sorry. Can we just talk about this? About everything?” Everly is nearly on her knees begging this jerkoff to hear her out. To forgive her.
“Ever.” I tug on her arm. “Let him go. You don't need him.”You have me.
Everly lashes out at me, shoving me away. “Yes, I do. I do need him. You don't get to decide for me, Tage. You don’t get to just waltz right back into my life and expect me to drop everyone that I love. Last night was a mistake. It should have never happened.” The words are painful. Painful for me to hear and painful for her to say, because I know they’re not entirely true. I know Everly Paige better than anyone, and last night meant as much to her as it did to me, but Alec has staked a claim on a bigger piece of her heart than I anticipated.
“I think I need some air.” Alec brushes by us with a ghostly expression on his face. The dude is clearly fucked up, and not in the good way.
“Alec, please don’t go. Please, let's talk about this.” She catches his hand at the last second, but he instantly pulls away. She’s crushed.
She’ll get over it. Over him. Eventually.
Alec slams the door behind him, and all that’s left is us. Exactly the way it should be. The way it should have always been.
“Hey.” I take her arms and turn her to face me. There are heavy tears running down her cheeks. “It’ll be okay. I’m here.”
She peers up at me with a dark expression. It’s quite frankly a little disturbing.
Then, silently as a sniper, she slaps me right across the face.
19
Alec
Outside on the street, I suck on my vape pen like it’s a damn oxygen stick.
My mind is fucking reeling. This day, I have no words to describe it. I woke up on top of the world, and right now I’m buried beneath it.
Everything is bruised — my heart, my lip, my ego.
The first time in forever I take a chance on someone, and it blows up in my face.
“Rough day, huh?” Tage suddenly nudges me. I glance over at him to find a surprise. A fading red hand print graffitied across his cheek.
“You could say that.” I begin to walk away. The last person I want to be around ishim.
To my utter dismay, he follows.
“Get lost,” I spit.
“We should talk.”
“I think you’ve done enough talking.”
“Not even a little bit.” He latches onto my bicep and directs me into a dark pub on the street corner. “Drinks will help.”
“Nothing will fucking help.” I inhale one more puff of my vape.
“Alcohol always helps. It’s the cure-all. Especially when you drink so much of it you forget you even exist.”
“I wouldn’t mind forgetting you exist.”
Tage just grunts, but he doesn't seem bothered by my snarky comment at all.
