He tapped his leg with the leash. “Not for that. I mean, yes that. But…” His jaw shifted. “For something else I did. It was completely sophomoric, and had I known that guy was your stepbrother…”
“Wait. What?” He had my attention goddamn him.
He mentioned Jaxen.
My stomach did that twisty-unraveling thing again. Except this time, it didn’t feel like butterflies. This time I wanted to be sick where I stood.
Truth be told, neither of my parents had brought up the thing with Jaxen after I flat out refused. They’d kept coming at me with all kinds of things, wanting to know if he’d manipulated me. If he’d coerced me into sleeping with him. They wanted to know if he’d hurt me on purpose, but I hadn’t wanted to talk about any of it. If I did that, I’d have to admit that my feelings for him were all one-sided and that he had played me. I’d have to admit that I had screwed up.
I’d have to admit how I felt meant absolutely zero things to him, that he’d screwed me over and I’d fallen like an idiot for someone who didn’t care.
Avoidance had been easier, and though I didn’t want to talk about Jaxen now either, what Lawson said put me off.
I hugged my arms. “What are you…”
He showed me something, his phone. I started to back away until I recognized the number.
It was Jaxen’s.
Lawson had sent a text message to Jaxen’s phone, the picture of Jaxen and me in bed. I didn’t understand, and Lawson pulled the phone back.
“Honestly, I just thought I saw the guy you’d been in bed with at the club that night,” he said, cringing. “I saw a guy you fucked after you got on me for—”
I stepped up on him. “What did you do?”
“Like I said, something stupid.” Scrubbing into his hair, he unraveled his dog’s leash, letting the breed walk a little. “It was so petty. He and I were both at the same club. Like I said, I recognized the guy. Anyway, he put down his phone for like a second, and I didn’t think. I happened to be at the bar too and saw an opportunity.”
Chilled, I stared on. “Opportunity?”
Lawson’s mouth worked. “I sent him the picture of you guys to his phone, then deleted the thread after saving it there. After that, it was a quick send over to your mom from his line. I wanted to embarrass you. Call you out on your holier-than-thou shit for turning me down.”
I shook my head. “I’m assuming you got my mom’s number from your mom.”
“Yeah.” He had the nerve to actually appear guilty. He moved his jaw. “As you know, they’re friends. I made up some excuse about needing your line for some school stuff and asked my mom if she could send me your mother’s number. Told Mom I was going to ask for your contact, and she believed me since she knows we go to school together.”
Unbelievable, completely unbelievable.
“Cleo—”
A punch to his jaw and so hard, I actually thought I broke my fist.
I cursed in the air, and with his dog, Lawson asked me if I was okay. I didn’t know if I was madder that he was arrogant enough to pretend to care or that I’d done no damage to his pretty face at all.
“Back the hell away from me,” I seethed, on the cusp of tears. He had no idea what he’d done. No idea. “Do you have any clue what you’ve done? To my family?”
My dad was so upset, both of my parents freaking out. It’d been nothing short of talking them down to keep them from doing anything about Jaxen.
Jaxen.
Reality hit me like it hadn’t before.
He’d been telling the truth.
Oh, God, he’d been telling the truth, and I hadn’t believed him. I’d left him out to dry like my adoptive father had in the past.
I wasn’t there for him.
“Cleo, I’m so sorry. That’s why I said something. I overheard my mom talking to yours on the phone today about it. I had no idea that guy was your stepbrother. I just wanted to call you on your shit. I hadn’t… I mean, your stepbrother?”