you.”
Seeing her, unashamed and vulnerably open, made my heart drop. She was right. I was being cruel because I was in a shitty mood. And all of this could have been avoided by simply saying no. “Fall-”
“Fuck you, Mr. Raynes,” she hissed.
“Fallon!” We had been so focused on Fallon’s rant, none of us had noticed Karla walking in. “What’s going on?”
Fallon turned towards her friend and let out an empty, dark laugh. “Your friend, you know, the one you swore was a good guy, a decent person? Well, I overheard him telling your husband that I had to be either crazy or a narcissist. That I made up this whole stalker thing up as a ruse to land sugar daddies to pay my way through life, didn’t you know?” Karla’s eyes flew to mine, and they were as wide as saucers.
“Karla-”
Fallon’s dark laugh sliced through what I was going to say. “Yeah, Karla,” she sneered. “He didn’t want you to know that he really isn’t a good guy, so he agreed to his meeting, so you’d still look at him through rose-colored glasses.”
“Fallon, that’s not what’s going on,” Trevor said.
Fallon ignored everyone around her and stepped up to me until she was forced to tilt her head back to maintain eye contact. “I don’t care if you believe me. I don’t care what you think of me. And I, sure as fuck, don’t care what face you choose to show the world. You can just go fuck yourself, Mr. Raynes.”
She went to walk away, and I don’t know why I did it, but I reached out and grabbed her arm. I couldn’t just let this end like this. “Fa-”
Fallon wrenched her arm out of my hold so hard, she stumbled back. The look she gave me was pure, unadulterated hate. “Don’t ever touch me again,” she snarled, tears of hate and fury coursing down her face. “Just like no one has the right to…to enter my home without my permission. Just like no one has the right to pry into my life without my permission. Just like no one has the right to control me without my permission. No one has the right to touch me without my permission. No one has the right to terrorize me.” I watched as she turned her back on us and storm out of the kitchen, and I couldn’t believe how torn up I was over watching her fall magnificently apart.
“What in the hell is going on?” Karla hissed at both me and Trevor.
“Ba-”
I cut Trevor off. This was all me. “Don’t get mad at him, Karla,” I told her. “I was the one talking shit, not Trev.”
Her pretty face fell in shock. “Why?” she asked. “Why would you talk shit about her? What’d…” Karla was genuinely stunned, and I felt like shit more so than I already did.
“I was…just trying to work it all out in my head, and…I wasn’t watching my words,” I lamely excused, but then thought better of it. “Okay, maybe I was being a bit dickish, but I wasn’t trying to be cruel.”
Karla look hurt and that was gutting me. “I…oh, God,” she cried out brokenly. “I promised her she was safe here.” Her eyes darted back and forth between me and Trevor. “I told her…I’m the one who told her to come here. I’m the one who promised she’d be welcomed and protected and you guys…” She placed a hand on her stomach like she was in physical pain. “…oh, God.”
Trevor raced towards her. “Babe-”
Karla looked up at him, and she didn’t look mad, exactly, but more like disappointed. “You don’t understand, Trevor,” she said, cutting him off. “Up until five minutes ago, I was the only person in her life that she had. I was the only person who hasn’t let her down. I…she’ll never trust me again.”
This time, I stepped towards Karla. “I’m sorry, Karla,” I told her, and realized how much I meant it. “I’ll make it right. I’ll-” Commotion in the living room cut me off and had us all heading into the room to see Fallon storming through the living room, all her bags in tow.
“Fallon-”
Fallon cut Karla off. “Thank you, for everything, Karla. But I’m not going to do this,” she announced to the room. Then she looked over at Trevor. “Thank you for allowing me to stay last night.”
Karla rushed towards her. “Fallon, it’s all a big misunderstanding-”
Fallon smirked at her. “Their voices were loud and clear, Karla,” she chuckled darkly.