to believe what he was saying, and the callous, cold way in which he’d said it. “You know what? Fuck you.” I turned for the door.
“Oh, how quick you are to walk away,” he said when I’d reached the threshold. “I can’t help but think if I were him, you’d still be standing right in front of me, taking whatever I throw at you.”
Anger returned, intensifying and curling my fingers. “That’s not fair, and it’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” I spun around, and he leveled me with both his biting question and hard stare. “I’ll tell you what’s not fair, Petal. Waiting and then all but begging for you to give me a chance.” His voice roughened, eyes glassing. “Waiting and all but praying that you’d fall for me even half as hard as I’ve fallen for you, and then…” His throat dipped. “Having to watch you hold and comfort the guy you loved first. The reason I couldn’t and why I don’t think I ever will be able to have all of you.”
“Aiden,” I pleaded, my tongue thick.
“No.” The blunt word sliced sharp and deep. “You don’t get to have us both. So who’s it going to be?”
“Me and Everett…” I shook my head, taking a step toward him. “We’re not anything.”
He drifted forward, a sinister curl to his lip as he loomed over me. “That’s the worst lie I’ve ever been told.” Lowering his head, he whispered words that had my eyes shutting over tears. “Just because he doesn’t see you every day, just because he’s not fucking you, doesn’t mean I don’t see that.”
Tears flooded and cascaded over my flushed face as I planted my hands on his hard chest and pushed him back. “How… h-how dare…” Unable to talk, I gave up and raced out of there.
His silence echoed louder than the slam of his door.
Ten days passed by with a speed akin to Mr. Ross’s slow, unsteady gait.
After not hearing from Aiden the following week, I admitted defeat, dried my tears, and decided to call him. He didn’t answer. Nor did he the twenty times I’d called and sent various texts since I’d failed to see him around campus.
I’d just left his place, knocking half a dozen times to no avail, when I realized I’d left my phone at work in my haste to get to his apartment and check on him.
Cursing myself out, I raced down the stairs and began the trek back through town. The whole not having a car thing was really starting to become a problem, no matter how small the town was.
On the sidewalk, I pulled to a stop so fast my breath skidded out of me.
Everett was leaning against the window of Petal Power, hand and face pressed to the glass as he peered inside.
“What are you doing?”
With a start, he turned, eyes almost as wide as his smile, and walked over. “Looking for you.”
I traced every inch of his face, noting the clarity in his bright eyes, the healthier complexion, and the clean sheen to his newly trimmed hair. It still kissed his shoulders in dark blond waves, but it looked soft to the touch. My fingers tingled with the urge to check, but I backed up. “Why?”
A rough chuckle made those greens gleam, and he tucked his hands inside the pockets of his jeans. “Thought that’d be obvious.”
“Nothing is obvious with you,” I said. Guilt manifested at his pinched reaction, but this shit with Aiden was eating at me like a parasite, and although I didn’t blame Everett, he was the reason my heart was pattering too fast in search for what it needed since arriving home after Christmas.
“I deserve that and more, and well…” Blowing out a breath, he swayed closer, letting his gaze wander over our surroundings, a gentle smile softening his lips. “I live here now.”
The world turned a flat shade of gray, its vibrancy leaking from the buildings, flowers, and cars around us. It all fell, splattered onto the concrete with my stalled heart. My stomach filled with a swarm of jittery bees, even as it sank.
“No,” I whispered, hardly a sound.
Everett’s brows met. “Yeah, I leased a crummy apartment above the bar we played at last year. Cheap rent in exchange for playing a few nights a week. I’ve got interviews lined up with some places too.”
I shook my head, my hand quaking as I pushed it into my hair and tugged, barely feeling the sting.