He turns and walks off, but I can’t even see straight. I abandon the cart and barrel out the front door. If I beat the shit out of him now, right here, I’ll go to jail. I slip back into my truck and head to the liquor store.
I search the aisles for something, hell, anything but stop when I see the same bottle of Tequila that Karly and I drank the night we shared our first kiss. Maybe this will get me drunk enough to forget it. I slip it off the shelf and pay for it.
I feel numb.
I feel betrayed.
I feel everything.
Every emotion.
I make it home and rip the lid off the bottle, taking a big swig straight from the glass. It doesn’t burn. At least, if it does, I don’t feel it.
Ashton’s words play over and over again in my head as I try to force them away. I don’t want to think about anything. I don’t want to think about Ashton.
I could text Karly and demand that she tell me the truth, but what good would that do?
I already learned a long time ago that you can’t trust anyone. It’s about time I started remembering that.
CHAPTER 31
KARLY
I’ve dodged Ashton’s calls and texts for a week.
I need to figure out what I’m going to do.
About everything.
That, however, is easier said than done. I suppose I could sign off on the songs. No one would ever know I wrote them, and I could probably get some hefty royalties. That is, assuming that they are listened to. I don’t even care much for Ashton’s music anymore. He’s ditched everyone in his band that was worth a fuck. He’s found some way to screw everyone in his life over in one way or another. I don’t know why I thought I would be any different.
My phone vibrates across the room on my vanity, so I go to pick it up, only to stare at Ashton’s number on the screen. When it goes to voicemail, I pick it up and call Hanna instead.
I really need a night with her, just like old times. You know, before everything went to hell.
“Hey,” She answers.
“Hi,” I start, “listen, I know you’re mad at me, but I could really use a friend.”
“Honestly, same. Ellie is with Jameson. They went on a movie date, and I could come over?”
“Okay,” I agree, glancing around my apartment at how clean it actually is. She’ll definitely know that Eric was here a lot. I do my best to toss some things around to make it look semi-lived-in, and I even put some clean dishes in the sink for a finishing touch.
Twenty minutes later, Hanna shows up with pizza and a bottle of wine. A godsend, I tell you. I open the box and basically devour the first piece, “This is so good.”
She stares at me with a weird look on her face, one I can’t exactly read. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” She says, ripping her eyes away from me. Making me even more concerned.
I take another bite while she continues to watch me like I’m some kind of alien. Finally, I snap. “Why are you staring at me like that? You are for real freaking me out.”
“I’m sorry. I was just thinking about something that Eric said.”
I take a sip of wine, never taking my eyes off her, “You talked to Eric?”
“Yes.”
“Oh,” I quip. “You’ve wanted to talk to him for months. How did that go?”