Cole turns away, his gaze unfocused, and I shake my head, suppressing the twitch to my lips. With every step we take, there’s always something pulling us back.
Feeling exposed, I pull on my pants, forgoing panties in my haste. I skip the bra, too, and Cole’s just turning back as I pull the shirt on.
His eyes darken with regret and he says quietly. “I need you to trust me, Lo.”
The proverbial distance he’s put between us, sits on my chest and I glance at him sideways, saying sourly, “No offense, but the last time I trusted you, I didn’t see you again until David found us and brought us to this hellhole, only to find you shacked up with another chick.”
His brows slam over his eyes and a ruddy flush covers his cheeks. “I saved your life, sweetheart. Just be happy I did.”
“Happy?” I snap. “I thought you were dead! Instead, you’ve been playing house. Real nice, Cole. It wasn’t that hard to move on, was it?”
“Fuck, Lola! What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“Did you even try to find me?” I ask, with a hitch in my voice.
“Of course I did! But I was found by David and his people first. I thought you might be here, Lola.”
I eye him, my anger fading at his words. I’m taking my frustrations out on him. He did what he had to do to survive and I’m certainly not happy about it, but I shouldn’t be blaming him for it.
“Well, isn’t this cozy,” Enzo says silkily behind us.
Cole turns to him with a scowl, and Enzo, with his face twisted into a leer, looks between the two of us. I spy a new blankness in his eyes and I stare at him for a moment before it slides off his face, and he looks away.
“You guys fucking isn’t exactly staying under the radar,” he sneers.
“Fuck you,” Cole says before striding forward.
“No, fuck you, Cole! Marie isn’t enough for you? Now you have to drag Lola down with you? Don’t you fucking care that you’re tearing her apart, you fuckhead!” Enzo rages.
Cole takes a swing and clips Enzo in the eye. He staggers back a step before rushing Cole linebacker style and tackling him to the ground. I stand almost immediately and start shouting.
I might as well be talking to a wall because neither listens.
Enzo pounds on Cole, and Cole bucks under him before pushing him over and pounding right back. I watch helplessly before shaking my head and walking away. I have no use for the two of them right now, so I close myself in the bedroom and lie down on the bed.
I’m too weak to be doing what I did, although I don’t regret it. But now I’m shaky with fatigue, and I need to rest before I have to walk my ass back to the diner for dinner.
Scuffles and thuds go on for a few minutes before rustling follows, and I hear Enzo call out to Cole, “Keep it in your fucking pants, you dick!”
“I could say the same thing to you, fuckwad,” Cole returns, his voice echoing down the hall.
After a brief pause in which I presume Cole leaves, Enzo enters the room and stares at me from the door, his scowl firmly back in place.
“What?” I rasp.
“What the fuck are you doing, Lola?”
“About what, Enzo?”
“Him! He doesn’t want you until somebody else does. How fucked up is that?”
My chest clenches at his words, but I push it away to dissect later and ask tiredly, “What do you mean when somebody else wants me?”
He drops his shoulders and shakes his head, his handsome face disappearing into the shadows. “What the fuck ever, Lola.”
With that, he disappears, and I stare at the door, my heart hurting for him. For me. For Cole.
What a mess.