“He kept telling me you guys were on the rocks, that he was going to break up with you.”
WHAT? She was still talking, but I was still trying to wrap my mind around her words. The ground spun and the lights were suddenly blinding. I leaned my body against a wall covered in tattoo art to prop myself up.
“So I thought it was okay, but then he never did. And I like him so much. I might even love him.” She pushed her bright red highlights off her face.
It took everything I had not to punch her. Though, could I really get that angry at her? Joe was charming, but for the first time I realized he was charming in a sleazy way. Not a Zach way.
Everything stopped spinning. The lights dimmed. And my mind suddenly became clear.
“You can have him,” I said and walked out the door.
I felt liberated. Exhilarated.
Josh was right. Joe was an ass. All this time I had been with him, and he had been messing around with Charlie’s mind. The poor girl thought she loved him.
I was done. If he thought it was okay to flirt with another girl to the point that he had her convinced that his girlfriend didn’t matter, he wasn’t worth my time.
And as much as I wanted to pull a Zach and disappear instead of dealing with the mess I was in. I had no choice. I needed to find Joe.
Trax was crowded. Purge was set to play, and for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why people purposely put themselves through the torture.
At the door I saw signs for five dollar beer buckets. That made more sense. People weren’t there to see Purge. They were there to get drunk, and cheaply.
I pushed through the crowd and spotted Sadie and Matt, arms wrapped around each other.
“Rough day, Liz?” Matt asked as I approached. He genuinely looked concerned. He was one of the good ones. Maybe that’s why he and Zach were friends.
“You could say that.” I ran my fingers through my hair and let out a puff of air, then filled them in on everything that transpired throughout the day.
“He’s a jerk, Liz. I’m just glad you’re finally realizing that,” Sadie said.
“I would never play mind games with a girl, especially if I was with another one. That’s just wrong,” Matt said, and I couldn’t help laughing. He had “innocent
But it made me wonder. Was I just as bad?
“Um . . . Liz,” Sadie pointed behind me, but before I could turn around, Joe’s arm wrapped around my shoulders.
“I missed you, babe.” Joe kissed me on the cheek.
He’d never called me. Not even once to see how I was doing or how my brother was.
All he cared about was himself. And I was sick and tired of feeding his ever-growing ego. I was done and I wasn’t afraid for the whole bar to know.
Just as he was about to take me in his arms, I shoved at his chest.
“What the hell, babe?”
“First off—hi. How are you? My brother’s not dead. Thanks for asking. Oh, and by the way, I talked to Charlie.” Forget about the fact he didn’t call me. I didn’t need that explanation. I already knew it was because he was too self-absorbed to care about anybody other than himself.
He fumbled with his hands. “Oh. You did?”
“Yeah, I did.” I let my voice rise with each word.
“Look,” he said, almost in a whisper. “Maybe we should talk about this later.”
“No, I don’t think so. Now is fine for me.”
“It was just that one time. I was drunk. It didn’t even mean anything to me,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets.
I gaped at him, too stunned to form words. He’d slept with her. He’d freakin’ slept with her! I was such a fool.
“Honest, it didn’t. I love you, babe. You know that.”
I held my hand up to stop the bullshit coming out of his mouth. He’d taken advantage of me. Used me as a doormat. And I had let him. But not anymore.
“No, Joe. You don’t love me. My brother could have died. And not only did you not call me once, but you fucked somebody else. I can’t believe I was almost dumb enough to lose my virginity to you.” I shook my head and bit my lip as the disbelief rushed through me. “You don’t do that to the person you love.”
“But—”
“No buts. We’re over.”
“But babe—”
“Don’t—” I held my finger inches from his nose, “call me ‘babe’!” I lowered my hand back to my side. “Goodbye, Joe,” I said and began to walk away. Then I stopped, turned around, noticed every pair of eyes in the crowded bar staring at me and said, “Oh, and another thing. Your band sucks!”
Applause erupted around me. Sadie jumped up and whistled. I flashed her a smile and a nod and made my exit.
I was through being a doormat. I was through being in a relationship where I kept a part of me closed off because I was too scared to be hurt again.
I thought about going straight to Zach’s, but I was still processing everything. I needed time to myself. Time to figure out what exactly it was I wanted. Did I really want to jump from one relationship to another?
Back at the apartment I eased the door open and tossed my bag on the couch. Since all my friends (and ex- friends) were at Trax, I had nowhere to go. It was another pajama night.
I walked into my bedroom and froze.
Bent over my desk, pen in hand, scribbling on a piece of paper was the one person I wasn’t ready to talk to.
Chapter 23
“What are you doing here?” I asked, and the muscles in his back tensed. His shoulders rose, and I could tell he was taking a deep breath. Slowly, he turned to me.
The Easy Bake Oven sat behind him on my desk, a white piece of paper dangling from his hand.
“Sadie gave me a spare key.” He shoved his hand into his pocket, trying to push the paper with it, but the edges stuck out.
I pointed to the paper. “What is that?”
“Uh. Nothing.” He attempted to push the paper down further, but for once in my life I was quicker than him. I grabbed the edge and pulled.
He didn’t try to stop me. Maybe he wanted me to see it.
I unfolded it and read the words.
Tears filled my eyes, but I was sick of crying. I forced them back, but not before one slipped down my
