When we step off the elevator, I’m thankful there isn’t a crowd of people and, even worse, photographers to witness the hot mess that I am. My tears are falling hard and fast, and my breathing is so rapid, I fear I may pass out.
Autumn manages to get me into her rental and pulls a stack of napkins that have been there for who knows how long from the glove box and sets them in my lap. “I’m so sorry, Parker.” Her voice is soft, and I know she’s hurting. She encouraged me to let loose, and this is what happens when I do. But this isn’t Autumn’s fault. No, this is Holden. He shattered my heart all on his own.
“I thought he loved me,” I say through my tears. “He told me that he loved me.”
“I know, sweetie,” Autumn says, rubbing my back. “If it makes you feel any better, I truly believe that he does love you.”
“I was a bet to him. A fucking game. Once a player, always a player,” I sneer.
“Maybe,” Autumn says. “But I see the way he looks at you. If it was about sleeping with you, he could have bailed months ago. Maybe it started that way, and you made him fall in love with you.”
“It was always the chase. Everything is a game to him. Hell, I should have stuck around to see what he won.”
“I don’t know, Parker, did you see his face? He looked destroyed.”
“Whose side are you on?” I ask her.
“Yours. Always yours, but you’re upset, and so was he. He looked about like you do right now. I even think I saw a hint of tears in his eyes.”
“Come on,” I scoff. “Now you’re just trying to be funny.”
“Are you going to get that?” She nods toward where my phone has been going off like crazy in my purse.
Digging around until I find it, I look at the screen and see fifteen missed calls from Holden. I can’t deal with him. I don’t want to deal with him. He played me, made a fool of me. So, instead of talking to him like a mature, responsible adult, I do the only other thing I can think of at that moment and turn my phone off.
“Tell me what you need. What do you want to do?”
“Can you just take me back to the hotel?” I ask her.
“Sure thing.” She puts the car in drive.
I cry silent tears all the way there, and thankfully, I’m able to sneak in the back entrance of the hotel. The last thing I need is my red blotchy tear-streaked face to be splashed all over social media. It’s bad enough once the breakup is out. That’s going to happen anyway.
I have no one to blame but myself. I knew better. I knew he was too good to be true. I opened my heart to him and gave him all of me. He was my everything, and to him, I was just a bet.
I was wrong. I’m not the one to blame. Holden is.
CHAPTER 27
Peyton
My best friend Karina and I are sitting out by the pool, just soaking up the glorious Florida sunshine, when my cell phone rings. Assuming it’s my dad, and knowing that if I don’t answer, he’ll send in the National Guard, I don’t bother to look at the screen when I answer.
“Hello?”
“Peyton,” a panicked voice asks.
I pull the phone away from my ear to make sure I’m not hearing things, and sure enough, it’s Holden, and worry sets in. “What’s wrong? Where’s Parker?”
“Where are you staying?” he asks instead of answering me.
“Holden!” I shout. “What in the hell happened? Where is Parker?”
“I didn’t do it, Peyton. I love her. Fuck me. I love that girl more than anything. I would never bet on her.”
“What are you talking about?” I sit up straighter in my lounge chair. Karina does the same, sensing something is off. “Start at the beginning.” He launches into the story and ends with a break in his voice.
“Peyton, I love her. Please, you have to help me.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
“My friends, they were there. The guy who recorded us was sitting behind us. He didn’t hear the entire conversation. That clip he played, that was after I told them I wouldn’t take that bet. I told them she deserved better than that. Fuck, Peyton, I didn’t know it then, but I was already half in love with her. I would never do that to her. Please, you have to help me. I can’t lose her.”
I bite down on my bottom lip, and I consider my options. I know Parker was concerned about his reputation from the very beginning, and I know my sister. Hearing that clip crushed her. I also know that when she’s not paying attention, he looks at her as if she’s his entire world.