“Yes,” Tor said, grabbing the other fey by the arm. “We will be outside.”
“Wait, Angel needs—"
“Angel needs you to leave and not listen, like June said,” she said interrupting the other fey. “Out. I’ll give a yell when we’re done.”
Tor moved like his feet were on fire and dragged the other guy out the door. Angel didn’t pay them any attention, though. She focused on me.
I wiped my face and swallowed thickly several times, doing my best to calm down enough to sound coherent.
“Adam and I were together for three years before the earthquakes. We talked about getting married. Having kids.” Fresh tears welled up with the new wave of pain. “Everything was fine until he was hurt. His leg.”
My lower lip trembled.
“He used to wake me up with oral. He said he loved the sounds I made.” I broke down for a minute and cried. She rubbed my arm consolingly until I pulled myself together enough to speak again. “I was dreaming we were in the back of his truck. He was between my legs, tugging down my underwear. Only I wasn’t dreaming. The mouth on me was real, and I was so happy Adam was trying. But it wasn’t Adam.”
“Oh, shit.”
“It was Tor. Adam told him what to do.”
“Tor is in so much trouble.”
I shook my head and explained exactly what had happened. How Adam had twisted things around and manipulated Tor. And how I’d kept the truth of what Adam had done from Tor.
“Why would Adam do that?” she asked.
“I don’t know. We were fine. Really fine. We had sex just before those men beat him up. Nothing was wrong, or if it was, I didn’t see it.”
Even as I said it, his words from yesterday morning rang in my heart.
“What?” Angel asked, watching me closely.
“When I confronted Adam, he said that I needed Tor. That sleeping with him would give me immunity. I went out to get Adam more medicine, and when I came back, there was a note. He said he was staying with Brog to play video games so we lovebirds would have alone time.”
“Oh, June.”
“I went to Brog’s to demand an explanation. Adam wouldn’t even look at me until I said he wasn’t being fair. That’s when he told me I was right and that we were done. He can’t mean that, right? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense. Who does that? Who gives their girlfriend away like some unwanted piece of—” A sob stole my words.
“Oh, sweetie.” Angel hugged me again. “I don’t know Adam, and I don’t know you very well. But I do know the signs of a failing relationship. Letting another guy go down on your girl is at the top of the list. Adam isn’t worth your tears, no matter what kind of history you have together. He willingly threw away what you had. The only thing you should be asking yourself is, ‘now what?’ Our lives are too precarious to waste energy on lost causes.”
“So I’m supposed to give up on him and forget everything we’ve been through together?”
“Forget? No. Give up on the man who already gave up on you?”
She pulled back and looked me in the eye.
“You’re still alive because you’re a survivor. Surviving means moving forward, no matter what. Holding on to something that isn’t there is dangerous.”
The truth in her words severed that last thread of hope I’d been clinging to. The pain surged and settled deep in my chest even as my tears slowed.
Angel was right. I wouldn’t forget, and I also wouldn’t try holding onto a man who didn’t want to be held.
“What am I supposed to do then? Mooch off of Tor until…what?”
“You don’t need to decide your future today. In fact, I recommend not thinking about it for a little while. You need a distraction.”
She nudged me to my feet, and I helped her stand.
“What kind of distraction?”
“I was serious about the dick shooting. Come on. It’s exercise, and it’s fun watching all the guys wince when we hit one.”