Page 39 of Then and Now (The Edge of Retaliation 3)
“That seems to be what they do best,” I mutter.
“They’re hurting, you know.”
“Hurting?” I hiss. “They’re rubbing our faces in their new lives.”
“Because they’re hurt. If they didn’t care, they wouldn’t even be here. They’re here because they care, even if they’re all furious with us right now.”
“Maybe so,” I say, tucking the sheet in, “ but there is no need to treat us like crap.”
“No, you’re right, there isn’t. Don’t take it, Callie. I’m not going to. We’ll clean this mess up and then we’ll be able to go on with our lives.”
I stop making the bed and look to my best friend, knowing that I can tell her anything, knowing that she’ll understand anything. “It hurts, Jo. Seeing him with her. I don’t know if I’ll just be able to get over all of this again. It took so long the first time, and now he’s here and … god it hurts.”
She steps forward, curling her fingers around my shoulders and saying, “I know, believe me I know. But we’re tough. God, you and I, we’ve been through so much worse. We’ll get through this, too. Do you hear me? We’ll make sure that we walk out the other side without any bruises.”
I nod, swallowing the painful lump rising in my throat. The one that belongs to Tanner Yates and his new girlfriend.
“What if …”
“Don’t, honey,” Jo says. “Don’t imagine them doing anything in here. Stay away from them. Get extra shifts at work. Do whatever you have to, but stay out of their way. He’s tormenting you, don’t let him. Hell, you get Jake over if you need.”
“Jake and I haven’t even had sex yet,” I mutter.
Jo squeezes my shoulders. “You’ll get through this.”
I hope so.
I lean back down and finish up making the bed, and then Jo and I walk back out just as the guys walk back in with their things. Tatum drops his bags hard onto the ground, and looks at Jo, “You goin’ to let us into your place?”
Jo gives him a look that could melt ice. “You come into my home, into my life, with that attitude and think I’m good with it, then you’ll be sadly mistaken. You want to stay with me, you pull your fucking head in, Tatum, or I’ll lock you the fuck outside.”
She walks past him, keys in her hands, and I want to cheer her all the way out the door. My grin can’t be contained as Tatum watches her go, his face registering shock and a little lust. He picks up his bags, Ethan doing the same, and they follow her out.
Now I’m alone. With them.
I take a deep breath, deciding to adopt Jo’s attitude and say, “Your room is made up. Stay out of my way, I’ll stay out of yours.”
I walk past Tanner and Madeline and into the kitchen where I begin washing up this morning’s dishes, avoiding the stare I can feel burning into my head. A moment later, Tanner picks up his bags and walks into the room, Madeline following him. She murmurs a thanks, and I realize it’s the first time I’ve heard her talk.
Poor girl. She is probably just as uncomfortable as I am.
Does she know about me? What exactly did he tell her about me? About us? About anything? I have no idea. All I know is that right now, they’re in my house and everything has been flipped upside down.
I woke up this morning not expecting my day to end like this, yet here we are.
I don’t know where to go from here.
I finish up with the cleaning and go into my room, having a shower. Should I offer them something to eat? Should I be nice? I don’t know. I decide I’ll order some pizza, and if they are hungry they can eat some. I head out to the kitchen to get the pamphlet and see Tanner standing at the sink, filling a glass of water. The front door is just closing.
“Madeline is going to get some food, we’re not goin’ to stay in your house and not provide some food.”
“Oh,” I say, nodding. “I was going to order pizza. I’ll not worry about it.”
I turn and start walking back to my room when he calls out my name, making me stop in my tracks.
“Gotta know something, and I want the truth. Why did you do it? Why did you leave everything without warning? Why didn’t you at least fuckin’ tell me you were goin’? Is it because of what I said that night? Because of what my mom said? I gotta know, because I’ve not been able to figure out a good reason for it all this time I’ve been thinkin’ about it.”
I turn to face him and meet his eyes. “I couldn’t breathe anymore, Tanner. I had forgotten what it felt like to be free. Your mom was right, in what she said, and honestly, at that point, I thought there simply wasn’t a future for us. I didn’t think we’d ever be able to get past the ugly.”
