The Boy Who Has No Belief - Victoria Quinn Page 0,69
forgot the meaning of loyalty. Because he forgot what it meant to be a friend. He looked away and squeezed his glass, the look of irritation exactly the same as it used to be, like he hadn’t aged a day. “I know you don’t care, Derek. But I’ve felt like shit for the last ten years, and I…think about you all the time—”
“I never think about you.” I was just as angry as I was the night everything happened. “Walk away, or I will deck you the way I did on the night before my wedding. You know, the worst day of my fucking life.”
He winced slightly, as if the insult truly hurt him. “I would give anything to take back what I did. I would give anything for us to be friends again.” His eyes turned emotional as if he might burst into tears. “You have no idea how much I regret everything…”
“Still don’t care, Kevin.” My anger was so raw that my body radiated heat, simmering like the plains of a desert that burned at 120 degrees Fahrenheit. “Now get the fuck away from me and pretend I don’t exist. I’ve managed to pretend you don’t exist this entire time quite effectively.”
He bowed his head but still didn’t leave.
The only reason I still sat there was because my loyalty to Ryan was greater than my rage for this piece of shit.
Like an idiot, Kevin tried again. “Look, I’m getting married—”
“Then maybe I should fuck your fiancée the way you fucked mine.”
He shut his mouth and closed his eyes, like he should have seen that coming.
“This is my final warning, Kevin. Walk away. Don’t speak to me. Don’t look at me. You have five seconds. Otherwise, I will break your fucking face until it’s unrecognizable and your fiancée won’t even want you anymore.”
He stared down at the floor.
“Five.”
He sighed so loudly that I actually heard it over the music.
“Four, bitch.”
“Derek—”
“Three, motherfucker.” I held up three fingers.
He closed his eyes.
“Two.” I held up two fingers. “Call my bluff, asshole. I’ll be happy to break your face the way you broke my world.”
He kept his eyes closed.
“One—”
He got up and walked away.
I dropped my hand, both relieved and disappointed. The music blared from the speakers as I watched him cross the bar and head for the exit. I wanted to hurt him the way he’d hurt me, but I was also glad he left…because hurting Ryan’s friend would have been a really shitty thing to do at his bachelor party.
I looked over at Ryan, who was totally knocked out, his mouth open as he slept through the music and the threats that had just taken place. I lay back against the seat and rested my arm over his shins like an armrest. My heart continued to race with adrenaline, and my vision was slightly tinted red from the rage that would still be there even when I woke up tomorrow morning.
I sat there alone…and waited for the night to end.
18
Emerson
On Saturday morning, Lizzie and I grabbed her favorite fall drink from the coffee shop, and we went for a walk in the park. I was grateful Derek never asked me to work weekends because I got to spend that time with Lizzie. Sometimes she had games, and I would sit in the bleachers and watch her, and while I was grateful to be there, I preferred to spend time with her in other ways, where we could actually talk to each other.
Lizzie and I were having lunch when Derek texted me. Baby, I’m going to have to reschedule for tonight.
I read his message and felt a wave of disappointment hit me. Hard.
Lizzie must have noticed because she said, “What?”
I looked up quickly and put my phone down. “Derek rescheduled. Didn’t say why.” I knew he’d gone out with Ryan and some friends to celebrate the wedding. I suspected it didn’t go well and that was the reason why Derek canceled. Maybe he was hungover, but I suspected he would say that if that were the case.
“Maybe he had to work.”
He didn’t go in on the weekends since the compound was closed. And he wouldn’t go in in the evening either. But I didn’t say that to Lizzie. “Yeah, maybe.”
She dunked her chips into the salsa as she stared at me. “Then why do you still look like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you might cry.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not going to cry. I just…hope everything is alright.”