Page 21 of You for Her (The Edge of Retaliation 2)
“She didn’t matter to you when you were setting those girls in the prison onto her, Ethan. How do you think she would feel if she found that out?”
My heart explodes.
Pain, so much pain.
I make a wounded sound deep in my throat and grasp at my chest, which feels like it’s going to bring me to my knees.
Ethan was behind Trisha?
No.
It’s not possible.
It isn’t.
No.
“Don’t,” Ethan warns. “Do not. I know what I’ve done, but I refuse to be part of this any further. You need to stop. I believe her, Andrea. I also think there is more to this than even we know. She’s going to find that out, and when she does, she’s going to bring all of you down.”
Andrea goes silent for a minute, then exhales. “Yes, so do I, but we all made this choice, we can’t just back away from it now. Tanner will lose his mind, and that is when something bad will happen.”
“I’m not going to let him keep doing this.”
“You haven’t got much choice. You try to stop him, or you go to the police, we all go down. Is that what you really want? To lose everything?”
Ethan curses under his breath. “I’m leaving. I can’t deal with this much more. Tell Tanner to back off, or I will do something about it. No matter the risk.”
I hear Ethan’s footsteps go toward the front door, and I turn, rushing out. I’m so angry I can’t think. So hurt, I can’t breathe. I lock the door when I leave, and then I rush around to the front of the café, still out of sight. I see Ethan walking off down the street toward his car. I go after him. Risking it all and not caring.
I can’t.
I just can’t do this anymore.
Hearing my footsteps approaching, Ethan turns.
When his eyes fall on me, his mouth opens, and he begins to say my name, “Call—”
I reach him and slap him. I slap him so hard his head swings to the side and the sound echoes through the still night. Then I slap him again, harder this time, so angry my whole body is thrown into the movement.
“How could you?” I scream, shoving his chest, over and over. “How could you do this to me? How could you pretend to be my friend all this time when all along I was just part of some sick, twisted game you were all playing with me?”
“Callie,” Ethan tries, but tears are rolling down my cheeks, and I’m not done.
“Don’t!” I cry, throwing a hand up. “You let Trisha hurt me. You let her attack me and make my life hell.”
“I let her get to you once,” he defends himself. “Once, and then I couldn’t do it. I did protect you, that wasn’t a lie.”
“Everything is a lie!” I scream. “Everything about you is a lie!”
“Callie, please …”
“I trusted you, Ethan,” I whisper, my voice trembling. “I trusted you more than anyone else in my world. You were my best friend. You kept me sane. How could you?”
I turn on shaky legs and start walking away, my body heaving with sobs as I cross the road. I hear him call my name, but I don’t stop.
I just keep walking until I can’t see him anymore.
Until I can’t feel the pain in my chest anymore.
Until I can’t do anything but numbly put one foot in front of the other.
How much more can I possibly take?
SOMEONE BANGS ON MY door.
I press pause on the Hot Pocket in the microwave and listen for a moment. My stomach grumbles and my heart aches, a combination that calls for serious overeating. The knock sounds again.
Great.
It’s likely Ethan, considering I just abused him, slapped him, confessed that I know, and ran.
I probably screwed up telling him, but I don’t care.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer.
I proceeded to come home, drink more, and now I’m eating to make things all that much worse. I know I shouldn’t, that I should probably do something productive, like write in a journal or something. Eating seems like a better idea right now, though.
Exhaling, I ignore the knock, knowing it’s not Jo because she’s in bed asleep, and anyone else isn’t worth seeing. There isn’t one other person right now that I’d actually want to see outside of these walls. Not my family, not Tanner’s family, no one. I have all I need right here, which is incredibly sad, if you ask me.
“Callie, I know you’re home.”
Tanner’s thick, husky voice radiates through the door, touching my skin and making it prickle. Damn him for still having that effect on me. Sometimes, when it hurts really bad, all I want is to curl up in his arms and feel the way his strong body encloses mine. Then I remember he’s the reason for my pain, and it just makes it hurt even more.
