to do it, if I was going to. That…” He hesitated. “That…he was leaving. I don’t know why,” he added hastily. “He wouldn’t tell me, and our conversation was really rushed. He was already heading out of town, but he said she’d need her family.”
“The fucker left town?” Wait. “Why’d he send you?”
“Because he—uh—.” He wouldn’t look at me. “He doesn’t like you, and he thinks I still have a chance. He doesn’t know about…”
I grunted. Delray would have a different opinion if he knew what Eric had done. I’d be the knight in fucking shining armor then.
Mason moved up behind me. I knew what he was thinking already. If Delray was gone, so was part of our problem.
“Yeah. That’s the only reason I went to find her.”
“How’d you know where she was?” Mason asked.
Eric looked up, his gaze shifting to my brother. “He told me a few days ago she’d started working there. I figured it was Friday night. It’s the best night to work. I’m not in contact with Taylor, and she doesn’t update any of her social media, so I guessed. That’s it.”
I grunted. The fucker had guessed right.
“Why’d you punch me? I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
“Because I wanted to.” I stood and put the chair back against the wall. The guy either had no clue, or he was just choosing to be stupid. “Delray has no idea what you did to her. You must know that, right?”
He continued to glare at me, but after a beat, he jerked his head in a nod. “Yeah. I figured.”
In that moment, I saw into him. He wasn’t there to hurt her; he didn’t think he would. He had no clue. “You’re delusional, you know that?” I scoffed, running a hand over my face. Before he could reply, I said, “You had her. You were with her for years. Even she admits that she would’ve married you. You had her.” I shook my head. “You have no idea how lucky you had it, but you did the one thing that would cut her deep, and it will continue to cut her deep for years. You left her. You could’ve saved her, and you ran like a dog with its tail between its legs. You were a coward.”
“You don’t know—”
“Yeah, I do.” I leaned over him. I wanted to make sure he didn’t walk out of my garage with the same delusions. I wanted every single one of them dead and shriveled up like dust. “Family never leaves each other. You save each other. If it ends, it ends together. That’s all you can do, because even if you get out, you’re alone. Don’t you get that? When you left her, you chose yourself. You chose being alone. You did it. You decided. Not her. If you hadn’t? Shit, you’d still be with her. You’d probably be cozied up to her right now instead of me being there in a few hours. You ended the relationship. Not her. Don’t put that on her, ever. You got that?”
Mason’s phone rang, and I heard him answer as he left. “Yeah?”
The guy never looked away from me. I straightened back up and gave him the biggest fuck-off look I could. I pitied him. “You lost her. Don’t think you can come back and just pick things up.”
“You’re—” He tried to muster something to throw back at me. I saw the anger, the resentment, the bitterness. But just as the strength to protest gathered in him, it faded. His head hung, and he sat there like a lost puppy. But I didn’t feel bad for this asshole.
I pointed to the door. “You can go whenever you want.”
“What?”
I jerked my head toward the door. “I was never holding you here. And now I’m done talking.”
“But—” He closed his eyes and rolled his head from side to side. “I came for a second chance with her.”
“You came to weasel your way back in. You said yourself you only thought of it because Jason called. Stop lying. It’s making me want to take an actual shit on you. You knew she wouldn’t want to see you. That’s why you haven’t been back since. But the first moment she might be vulnerable? She might be feeling exposed? You decided to be here. You wanted to come in like the hero you’re sadly not. That’s all you wanted, not to actually make things right.”
“What’s the difference? I mean, it’s my way of helping her.”
“It’s straight up manipulation, dipshit. You