check as he walked around me. Thank God he’d come in when he had, before I’d really lost my cool and did something stupid. I almost sighed in relief as I waited for him to back me up, to stand up for me, but as he stepped close to Brenna and glared at me, my heart sank.
“ Take those fucking sunglasses off. What the fuck?”
No.
No.
And just like that, I was done.
I reached up and pulled my shades off, calmly folding them and tucking them into the neck of my shirt before I raised my eyes to his face and looked right through him.
Fuck him and fuck her and fuck the entire thing. I ’d been so worried about how much I’d let him see in the last week, my shields dropping more and more as I desperately tried to reinforce them. I really should have thanked him because he’d finally done what I couldn’t. He’d built them back up for me. Standing there in Brenna’s kitchen, I was once again a blank slate, my armor fully in place.
His eyes grew wide with comprehension. “Farrah—” he whispered.
“ Thank you for inviting me over,” I told Brenna coldly, my eyes meeting hers. “But I just remembered I had something else planned today.”
With a small nod of concession in her direction—she’d won, after all—I slowly turned and walked back out the back door. They would not see how bad it hurt for him to take her side, especially right after I’d told her that I was more important to him. I was an idiot and I’d let her get to me. Damn it, I’d let them both get to me.
I ’d never let it happen again.
I returned to the backyard and made my way toward the women, catching Callie’s stricken look when she saw me. I shook my head at her. She needed to fit in with these people; I couldn’t pull her into the drama.
“ Gram, can I use your car?” I asked woodenly, stopping next to her. “I need to get out of here.”
Her worried eyes searched my face, glancing between me and the house before she answered me.
“ Sure, baby. I’ll go with you,” she replied.
Gram rose from the chair before I could stop her, and just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Slider and his wife walked out the back door with Cody and Brenna.
“ I wanna go now , Gram,” I told her under my breath.
T hen I called out to Will across the yard. As anxious as I was to get away from there, I couldn’t leave him without saying good-bye. He came running toward me dripping from the kiddie pool and I swung him up in my arms, unconcerned that his wet shorts were soaking my clothes.
“ Hey, Wilfred. I’m gonna go, but I’ll see you soon, okay?” I said, rubbing his nose with mine. “Be good.”
We left without any fanfare; the group watching us go without a word, assuming I was dodging Slider. I let them think it. But the truth was, I could have faced him. I could have made nice, been respectful to his wife who probably hated me, and kept things civil. As long as I had Cody there, I was sure I could have done it.
It was n’t Slider I was running from as Gram drove us home; seeing him had actually seemed pretty anticlimactic. It was Cody that I had to get away from. He hadn’t said a word to me as I left the house, ignoring me completely as he’d chatted with the guys.
All of it was too much for me—the bloodstain on the porch, the bullshit with Grease, Brenna thinking she could warn me off, Slider showing up, Cody’s giant fuck-you as he’d sided with his little girlfriend. I wasn’t equipped to handle it, so I shut it down.
Fuck him. I didn ’t need this shit.
Chapter 11
Farrah
When someone started pounding on my door later that night, I was expecting it.
Gram had taken me to a discount store on the way home from the barbeque, using some bullshit reason that she needed to stop. She’d ended up buying nothing, which hadn’t surprised me, but I’d come home with a new and inexpensive kitchen table and a shit ton of other household goods.
I ’d felt better as we left the store, anxious to get my
“ Take those fucking sunglasses off. What the fuck?”
No.
No.
And just like that, I was done.
I reached up and pulled my shades off, calmly folding them and tucking them into the neck of my shirt before I raised my eyes to his face and looked right through him.
Fuck him and fuck her and fuck the entire thing. I ’d been so worried about how much I’d let him see in the last week, my shields dropping more and more as I desperately tried to reinforce them. I really should have thanked him because he’d finally done what I couldn’t. He’d built them back up for me. Standing there in Brenna’s kitchen, I was once again a blank slate, my armor fully in place.
His eyes grew wide with comprehension. “Farrah—” he whispered.
“ Thank you for inviting me over,” I told Brenna coldly, my eyes meeting hers. “But I just remembered I had something else planned today.”
With a small nod of concession in her direction—she’d won, after all—I slowly turned and walked back out the back door. They would not see how bad it hurt for him to take her side, especially right after I’d told her that I was more important to him. I was an idiot and I’d let her get to me. Damn it, I’d let them both get to me.
I ’d never let it happen again.
I returned to the backyard and made my way toward the women, catching Callie’s stricken look when she saw me. I shook my head at her. She needed to fit in with these people; I couldn’t pull her into the drama.
“ Gram, can I use your car?” I asked woodenly, stopping next to her. “I need to get out of here.”
Her worried eyes searched my face, glancing between me and the house before she answered me.
“ Sure, baby. I’ll go with you,” she replied.
Gram rose from the chair before I could stop her, and just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Slider and his wife walked out the back door with Cody and Brenna.
“ I wanna go now , Gram,” I told her under my breath.
T hen I called out to Will across the yard. As anxious as I was to get away from there, I couldn’t leave him without saying good-bye. He came running toward me dripping from the kiddie pool and I swung him up in my arms, unconcerned that his wet shorts were soaking my clothes.
“ Hey, Wilfred. I’m gonna go, but I’ll see you soon, okay?” I said, rubbing his nose with mine. “Be good.”
We left without any fanfare; the group watching us go without a word, assuming I was dodging Slider. I let them think it. But the truth was, I could have faced him. I could have made nice, been respectful to his wife who probably hated me, and kept things civil. As long as I had Cody there, I was sure I could have done it.
It was n’t Slider I was running from as Gram drove us home; seeing him had actually seemed pretty anticlimactic. It was Cody that I had to get away from. He hadn’t said a word to me as I left the house, ignoring me completely as he’d chatted with the guys.
All of it was too much for me—the bloodstain on the porch, the bullshit with Grease, Brenna thinking she could warn me off, Slider showing up, Cody’s giant fuck-you as he’d sided with his little girlfriend. I wasn’t equipped to handle it, so I shut it down.
Fuck him. I didn ’t need this shit.
Chapter 11
Farrah
When someone started pounding on my door later that night, I was expecting it.
Gram had taken me to a discount store on the way home from the barbeque, using some bullshit reason that she needed to stop. She’d ended up buying nothing, which hadn’t surprised me, but I’d come home with a new and inexpensive kitchen table and a shit ton of other household goods.
I ’d felt better as we left the store, anxious to get my
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