“She means that much to you?”
I rest my head against the wall behind me. “Yeah…she does.”
“If you mean something to her then she should accept that you have a life that doesn’t involve her.”
My eyes snap up to hers. “That’s not possible.”
“Reece, open your eyes. If she really cares then she should want to be with you regardless, but she doesn’t, does she? She wants you to spend the night with her, right? And she doesn’t understand when you tell her that you’re spending the next two nights with me. She wants you to herself. She’s selfish and looks like those skanks you used to fuck with the way she’s dressed. You need to put her in a cab with a pat on the head or ass, whichever you prefer, and stay the hell away from her and find someone new for your booty call.”
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I’m about ready to blow up at Dal with the things she’s saying about Callie. I don’t for one minute consider her a skank or a booty call, but tonight I’ve had enough shit between the two of them. “I’ll agree to the cab.”
Chapter 21
Callie
“I’ll agree to the cab.”
Those five words break my heart, again. What is it with him and her? For fucks sake, she’s just slashed me to him and he fuckin’ agrees! She not only called me a skank, but referred to me as a booty call, and he never stood up for me. He never disagreed.
I feel completely crushed knowing that he’s listening to her trash me while not even fifteen minutes ago he was buried deep inside me.
My tears pour down my face, faster than I can mop them up. I dash to the sink and throw water on my face while they continue to fall, even after I’ve tried to dry them with toilet tissue.
No more. I can’t keep putting myself through this. Why can’t I find a nice guy who genuinely wants me? Someone who actually cares about me and wants to spend his time with me instead of another girl, one who he insists he’s only friends with.
This sucks.
Right now though, I need to leave the restroom. I take a deep breath and mop my tears up, just praying I hold it together long enough for me to get home or at least in a cab.
I slowly open the door and to my surprise neither Reece nor Dal are there loitering around waiting for me. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or pissed, but right now I want to leave here and get back to my apartment.
I can do this. I’m not a wimp, so I really can do this. Yeah, right. That’s why you’re trying to sneak out. Opening the door to the main part of the club, I spot Reece with his baldhead straightaway near the pool table and Dal standing beside him. They look to be deep in conversation. Seeing this as my chance to leave, I skim the edge of the club toward the exit. I look back to Reece and gaze straight into his eyes. I turn and dash through the front doors of the club and run the best I can to a cab, which is just dropping off a couple. “Hold the cab for me.”
“Callie, wait.” He runs and grabs my wrist. “What the hell. What are you doing?”
“Have you got any idea what it feels like to realize the guy I thought cared about me, who said he wants to be with me was just using me. What it feels like to know that not twenty minutes ago he was deep inside me and it was only a booty call,” I cry out at him, tears streak my vision, running down my face, but I don’t wipe them away. He has hurt me so much, I want him to really see the pain he’s caused. “And now I’m getting in a cab to go back to my apartment where I will wash myself of you once and for all, and where I will start dating guys who want to be with me, who don’t w
ant to use me.”
“You heard Dal?” He rubs his neck. “Fuck. You know what, why don’t you grow up and start to realize everything doesn’t revolve around you,” he shouts.
What the fuck! Why the hell is this my fault?
“I asked you if I was your girl and with your reaction to the question, I presumed I was, so is it so wrong of me to want to spend time with my boyfriend? To want to give him the benefit of the doubt by initiating an outing with someone who he keeps telling me is just a friend, only to overhear said friend, calling me a skank and a booty call…and you,” I cry, “you just stood there saying nothing and agreed with her to put me in a cab. Well, I’m done. You’ve had numerous chances and I’m not doing this anymore because it hurts too much.” Pushing free of him, I shoot him one last look; anger and fear clear in the tears running down my face as I jump into the cab. Slamming the door, I manage to get my address out before I fall apart.
~ * ~
“Callie, it’s been three weeks. You can’t keep avoiding him.” I give her an evil glare, which she laughs off and continues, “Look, I know he was an ass, but there are a lot of guys out there who you can make him jealous with, and when I see him at the club tonight I’m going to tell him you’re out on a hot date.” She grins. “Go shower or something and I’ll see you in the morning.” Thalia closes my bedroom door seconds before I hear the front door closing.
She’s been on at me for the past two weeks to get out and make Reece jealous, but what she doesn’t understand is that I don’t want to make him jealous because I don’t want to have anything else to do with him. He’s broken my heart twice now and the second time hurt. It hurt so bad knowing he agreed with what she said. The fact that he didn’t say anything in my defense sealed his guilt in my eyes.
His actions the last three weeks have cemented that fact. He didn’t care enough about me to stop me that night, didn’t care to come rushing over. In fact, since that night, he hasn’t tried to contact me and he hasn’t been around to the apartment to see Phoenix. Donovan’s tried to talk to me, but I’ve not wanted to listen to him. Why should I? He’s not going to say anything to persuade me otherwise.
Instead of focusing on Reece, I’ve been trying to get on with my life. I’ve thrown myself into the routine, going to classes, picking up extra shifts at work. When Friday night finally comes, like tonight, I let myself fall apart briefly. It was that falling apart that led to my mom talking me into going home for the weekend. She wanted me there to celebrate some big contract or other. It’s something I would have normally passed on, but I can’t really go back on my word to my mom now, not when they’ve already bought my ticket. I’m just hoping she doesn’t have any ideas about fixing me up with one of her friend’s sons. On the rare occasion I do go home for these parties of my parents, there always just happens to be one or two eligible bachelors – drives me crazy.
Perhaps being away from here will help get over him because nothing else is helping. He told me he would most likely screw up, but I sure as hell didn’t expect him to screw up in the way that he did. I still find it difficult to accept that he’d just stood there while she trashed me. So yeah, I’m pissed and heartbroken because he’d gotten to me – big time. He brought the wicked out in me, the bad girl, like no one else ever had.
I sigh, my mind refusing to switch off. It’s filled with thoughts of going home tomorrow and whether or not I’ll be coming back...