Page 92 of Wrecked
“I fucking care, okay?” I drag myself to a sitting position. “I care.”
Pure venom pours from his glare which is in complete contrast to anything I've ever seen from him. And although it's aimed directly at me, I'm glad Jasmine has someone who cares about her so much and has her back as he does.
“Walterdied.”
My eyes close with a heavy breath falling from my lips.
She absolutely loved that guy, so I can imagine how absolutely wrecked she would be. My heart fucking aches for her. I need to see her. I need to fix things and give her the comfort she fucking deserves.
Pushing to my feet, I snag my keys off the ground and take a step toward Graham. “Look, I didn't fuck anyone. I need to go see Jasmine and explain that to her.”
“You expect me to believe that?” he scoffs, crossing his arms.
I sigh. “It's the truth. This week . . . it was tough. I know I don't have any valid excuse for leaving Jasmine in the dark. I know I drank too much. So much that I didn't even know that I let Brandy in. But I didn't fuck her. Iswear.”
His glare falters a little as he considers my words and the possibility that I might be telling the truth. “If you were so drunk, how do you know that you didn't?”
“Trust me,” I say, rubbing at my throbbing jaw. “She wouldn't say that we didn't if we did. She likes to keep that shit over you if she can.”
“Why'd she stay the night and wear your shirt?” he asks, skepticism still dripping from his tone.
“I don't know, man. She does what she wants. Felt like she needed to look after me or some shit.” Graham chews on the inside of his cheek, some of the anger on his face subsiding as he considers. I take that as a good sign and move another step toward the door. “I need to go see Jasmine.”
He takes a step to the side and blocks my path to the door. “No.”
“What?”
“No.Evenifyou didn't sleep with anyone else, which I'm not sure I believe, you've still been a shit boyfriend, and you still had another woman stay the night, drunk or not. And that's another thing. You getting drunk doesn't solve anything, in fact, in this case, you made things substantially worse. You could have talked to Jasmine instead of ignoring her.”
“I know. Fuck.” I stab a hand into my hair. “That's why I need to see her and apologize.” I go to take another step, but he lifts a hand to my chest, stopping me once again and even giving a slight push. “What the fuck, man? Let me go.”
His head shakes back and forth. “No. You're not going to see her right now. She's sleeping, and she needs some time.”
I stare at him, anger building and beginning to cloud my thoughts while my muscles tense up. He's keeping me from Jasmine when I need to fucking talk to her. I could easily knock him out and get past him if I wanted to. But . . . my shoulders deflate. I don'twantto. He's just looking out for his sister, and really, getting into a fight with him is not going to smooth anything over with Jasmine.
When he sees the determination finally leave my face, he drops his hand.
“You need to do better, Cam. She deserves better.” His voice is considerably gentler than it was a moment ago. “Do better,” he repeats and then turns around to leave.
Panic circles up to squeeze at my throat again the second he starts walking away. “Wait!” He pauses, looking over his shoulder. “Please . . . please just tell her that nothing happened with Brandy.”
His jaw works back and forth while giving me a once over and then returning his eyes to my face. I'm sure I look desperate as fuck. “I'll think about it.”
And then he's gone, and I'm left inside my quiet, shitty apartment.
All alone, just like I deserve.
CHAPTER 37
JASMINE
Boisterous laughter reaches my ears as a few people pass me by, one of them talking animatedly while the others listen. The sound grates on my nerves as it coasts across my skin, irritating me. Not because I'm angry at them but because I'm jealous.
It's notfair.
It's not fair that they're happy.
It's not fair that I'm barely holding it together while their lives are carrying on, as if nothing is wrong.
