Page 47 of Rome
Caleb shook his head and swallowed hard, “No, nobody’s called me that for years.” He looked distinctly uncomfortable, and I wondered why.
She looked at him for a beat longer, then her eyes flicked in my direction again, gauging my reaction. “And why is that?”
He shrugged. “I don’t really know, I guess. It seemed like it bothered Abby after a while, so I started shortening it to Rome.”Hell yeah, it bothered me. I couldn’t stop the eye roll that followed his comment.
“Abby? Is that true?”
I shrugged, but Kim kept gently prodding until I blurted out, “I loved the name Romeo when he was first patched in. It made me feel special, and I was honored that my nickname from the day we met was chosen as his road name.”
“What happened that changed your perception?” Kim’s voice was soft, and I knew she was worried that we were wading into a minefield. She had no idea how right she was.
“I found out the truth, a few months after his patch-in party.”
I sent a scathing glance toward Caleb, who couldn’t even meet my gaze. He knew what he’d done, he’d just never been sure whether I knew, and he sure as hell had never had the balls to ask me.
“I’d stopped by the clubhouse to drop off some Christmas cookies that I’d made for Caleb, his brother, and his cousin,” my voice was quiet as I started my explanation. I remembered it like it had just happened yesterday, instead of almost eight years ago. “I heard a couple of the club girls talking about how Caleb had a threesome with them the night of his party, then took two more girls up to his room later that night.”
“Fuck!God, Abby, please – “
I kept talking, raising my voice to cover the sound of Caleb’s anguished plea, aiming my vitriol at him now. “They talked about how you took different women up to your room all the time and said that you were so good in bed because you’d had so much practice fucking anything that moved. They laughed because you’d been patched in as Romeo since you were a total player, a completefuckboy. And all along, there I was. Stupid little Abby who thought the name Romeo was inspired by me.”
There was complete silence in the room as I finished. I looked at Caleb from the corner of my eye and saw that he had his face buried in his hands.
“I’m sorry, Abby. That sounds like it was a painful experience.” Kim paused, as if trying to figure out how to tactfully word her next question.
“Were you and Rome in a committed relationship the night of his party?”
I shook my head. “No, I wasn’t even seventeen yet, but I loved him, and I thought he had feelings for me, too, even though he couldn’t say anything. I used to catch him looking at me, and he acted jealous whenever I was around other guys.”
“I understand. So, he wasn’t cheating, since you weren’t together then, but it still obviously cut you very deeply to hear that.”
I scoffed at that, and it sounded just as bitter as I felt. “No, we weren’t together then, but to hear Caleb tell it, he’d been in love with me for years – that he’d been pining away for his Juliet.” I mocked as I rolled my eyes again. I turned to look at Caleb, who looked completely shaken by what he was hearing. He reluctantly met my gaze as I addressed him directly. “So,Romeo, tell me again how much you loved me back then, how you’d been waiting for me to turn eighteen. Tell me,Romeo, how the hell you managed to fuck all those other women if you supposedly lovedme?
I hated that my voice cracked on that last word, as the hurt from all those years ago came rushing back.
“Do you know how goddamned humiliated I was? I’d been so honored – so fucking grateful – that I was special enough to you that you were givenmy nickname for youas your road name, and that’s how you acted the very night you got it? Yeah, I was special, wasn’t I? So fucking special that you couldn’t manage to keep your damned dick in your pants on the one night that I should have been celebrating that milestone with you. If I was so important to you, why didn’t you invite me to the clubhouse for your party that night?”
I didn’t bother waiting for an answer. I’d held this inside for years, and now that the floodgates were open, there was no way to stop the torrent of angry words flowing out of me.
“Oh, that’s right. You wanted to fuck, and I wasn’t legal yet, so when it came down to a choice between spending the evening with the girl you supposedly loved or spending the evening fucking a bunch of random women, you chose your dick over me. Thanks for that. Thanks for making me feel so goddamned special to you. And thanks for making me look at thatfuckingpatch with thatfuckingname that has reminded me for the past eightfuckingyears just how little I actually meant to you then!”
Caleb looked absolutely gutted as I pushed myself to my feet and scooped up my purse from the couch next to where I’d been sitting. I looked at Kim, so angry that I couldn’t even cry anymore.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do this. Not today at least. I’m done.”
She looked up at me, and I could see the concern and the compassion stamped on her face.
“I understand, and that’s fine, but I’m worried about your blood pressure. Are you OK to drive?”
“Let me drive you.” Caleb’s voice was hoarse, and he looked tortured when I shook my head no.
“Baby girl, please. I need to make sure you and Everly are safe. If you won’t let me drive you, at least let me call Amelia or Jagger to drive you home.”
I ignored him. “I’m fine to drive, Kim, thank you.” She rolled her wheelchair backward a couple of feet, so she could swing it around and head toward the door. As she pushed a button on the wall, the automatic door opener activated.
“Abby!” Caleb lunged off the couch and reached for my arm, but I yanked it out of his grasp. I looked up at him, my gaze landing on the spot just above his collarbone. There was no trace of the hickey he’d had Sunday, but I could still see it clearly in my mind.
“Don’t fucking touch me,Romeo.”
