"You stupid motherfucker!" he roars. "What the hell?"
I lunge again, but Maverick and Corbin come in from both sides to wrangle me backwards.
"The letter, you fucking prick! What did you do with it? What did it say? I know you fucking took it. You went to grab your sunglasses from my car. Why, Kode? Fucking why?"
The anger in me breaks as my world suffocates me, but the fury boils over in him as he yells, "Because I loved her, you stupid ass! You were too busy fucking anything that walked to notice her. But I loved her. I wasn't going to let you break her. I didn't have to read the letter to know what it said. I ripped it to shreds and buried the confetti in the sand."
My anger returns, and Maverick and Corbin aren't strong enough to hold me back. I sling them off, and Dale ducks as I charge Kode. I tackle him at the waist, and shit breaks all around us as we fall to the floor.
More than once my fist connects with his face or body, and he doesn't hold back either. One shot to my mouth stuns me long enough for him to knock me off him, but he backs up instead of coming after me for more.
"I loved her, you stupid motherfucker!" I bark, spitting out my blood while wiping my mouth.
Kode staggers, his face bruised and beaten. The only shot at my face he took was the one that split my lip. He doesn't speak, and I don't hold back.
"I loved her. I wasn't fucking anyone. Rain was the first—my first. When do you think I was fucking anyone? I was always with her unless I was at practice or in class. I rarely even slept at our fucking house because I was in Rain's bed. How could you think I was screwing around with anyone else?"
Everyone around me looks stunned, and Kode drops to the couch, shocked. Britt comes into view, and I grimace. Fuck. I forgot Maverick said she was going to be here.
"Fuck, Dane. I didn't know. I wouldn't have... Shit! I'm sorry. I just thought..."
He can't even finish as he grips his head, and the guys exchange a look of confusion.
"Dane... I really am sorry. Had I known—"
"Just shut up and tell me what you did this time. She took off without telling me why again. What did you fucking do?"
Kode's eyes go wide as he frowns. "I didn't do anything. You loved her this time... I didn't know you loved her last time or I wouldn't have done anything then. I'm not that much of an asshole. I just wanted her to be happy. This time she was. Or at least, I thought she was."
I scrub my face with my hands as I drop to a couch, close to sobbing like a baby. I could have had her six years ago. Kode... stupid, ignorant asshole.
"You listened to me when I told you how I felt. I fucking told you everything."
"Not until two years ago, Dane. You didn't say a word about it until then, and you were drunk when you finally told me that you loved her. I felt like a douche then, but what was I supposed to say?"
"You should have told me!" I yell, glaring at him like I want a few more rounds.
"You're right," he concedes, slumping in defeat. "I can't tell you how sorry I am. I was stupid enough to think she'd look at me the way she always did you, and I was a bastard for doing that to you."
I clench my fist, wanting to punch him again, but I refrain as I drop my head back into my hands and let the tears fall discreetly.
"So no one knows why she left this time?" Britt asks softly, her voice calming me when it reminds me my sister is in the room, witnessing this meltdown.
"No," Maverick answers with a sigh.
"She just said it wasn't going to work, and she believed it because it wasn't a lie," I murmur without looking up, my voice breaking on the end.
"It was obviously something big that happened," Britt continues. "She told me the day before she left that she wanted to take me shopping. I know I suck at reading people, but if she was planning on leaving, she wouldn't have been making future plans. We were even going to cook you a surprise dinner."
I know she's trying to help, but it's only making my heart hurt worse.
"When I left her that morning, she kissed me and told me she loved me. When I got home, she was in the process of moving out. I wasn't even there to fuck anything up."
Everyone breathes out wearily as we search for reason in the illogical. "Maybe she'll write another fucking book to explain it, because it's obvious she can't just talk to me," I mutter dryly, managing to regain some composure as my anger returns.
"They can call it, Gallbladder Surgery Rekindles Forgotten Romance," Corbin adds with a small snicker.
Dale shakes his head in disapproval, and Corbin's laughter tapers off as he coughs and looks away shamefully.