“So why did I come here at all?” I ask him. “Why keep me around?”
I could ask myself the same questions. We were both weak, hanging on to the only good thing we each had. And we ignored how by staying together we were ruining it.
I love him. He’s my friend. How could he humiliate me like this?
“You weren’t supposed to be like him,” I told him, tears pooling again.
He looks up, knowing exactly who I’m talking about. Jay was a piece of shit. Not Cole. Cole knew what I went through. Was he trying to hurt me?
“You were my friend first,” I go on. A friend is supposed to be good to you.
But he doesn’t say anything. There’s nothing to say. It’s not his fault it ended. It’s just his fault it ended so badly.
“In our bed, too?” I ask him. “On the nights I was working?”
His silence tells me I’m right, and a wave of anger suddenly hits me. Did Pike know that Cole had her over? Or maybe other girls over?
But no—I stop myself, the knots in my stomach unwinding a little. He seemed as shocked as me just now.
I nod, also realizing Cole didn’t meet Elena out alone, either. He met up with her at parties, no doubt. “And all your friends knew,” I say, the betrayal becoming perfectly clear.
I’m on my own now. Aside from Cam and the ladies at the bar, I’d lost my last friend.
He approaches, stopping in front of me. “I’m going to stay with Elena for a while,” he says. “You stay here until you can—”
“Fuck you.” I raise my eyes, saying it with the same indifference as “you’re welcome.”
Heading back into the house, I don’t stop to see if Elena is gone or if she’s waiting out by Cole’s car. I pick up my bag and head to the bedroom, pulling out my cell phone and sliding down to the floor against the closed door.
I dial, the line picks up on the fourth ring, and I swipe away a silent tear as I harden my voice. “Hey, Dad.”
The next day, I stare at Cole’s and my bedroom, his stuff discarded where he left it and every last item of mine finally packed up and in the car.
I guess I’m glad I didn’t bring much. Most of my clothes fit in the two suitcases I have—one belonging to Cam that I brought when I thought I was going to leave a couple weeks ago.
But then Pike Lawson built me a garden, and it just goes to show, no man has had to do much to get me to come running back.
I laugh at myself under my breath. I will miss the garden, though.
I carry the last box through the living room, resisting the urge to take a last look at the garden through the kitchen window, and walk out the front door, seeing Pike’s truck pulling in from work.
My heart starts thumping harder. Dammit. I wish I could’ve gotten out of here before he got home. It’s not even five yet. I cut out of the lunch shift early, so I could get packed up and out of here in time, too. What’s he doing home already?
“What are you doing?” He follows me around the truck.
I shove the box into my backseat, on top of another one, and the car is just big enough to hold everything I came with. It all fits in two suitcases and three boxes. Everything else is in storage. And I don’t see me getting it out anytime soon, either. My father’s “house” doesn’t have room for a drafting table any more than my bedroom here.
“Thank you for everything,” I tell him, knowing he knows exactly what I’m doing. “You’ve been really amazing.”
“You’re leaving?” He looks confused.
I close the car door and turn to him, my stomach rolling as I swallow the lump in my throat.
“With Cole gone, and us broken up, it’s not right for me to stay,” I say. “You never had any obligation to help me, but you did, and I can’t thank you enough. I really do appreciate everything.” And then I can’t help but force a little smile for both our sakes. “Especially my cassette tapes.”
I stare at his troubled eyes, the green in the irises seeming to grow darker, and an ache hits my chest. I turn away, pretending to make sure the door’s closed to have a second to collect myself.
“My dad is letting me come home for a while.” I turn and tell him. “I’ll be okay.”