Southern Storm (Southern 3)

“Stop it!” Savannah yells. “Stop talking!”

“What’s the matter, Savannah? The truth hurts,” I say. I know I’m going over the line, and that I’ll regret it in the morning. “That the whole time, people were talking about you. Can you imagine what they would have said about you?” I laugh. “Guess what? They did say it.” I don’t even see the fist that comes flying at me, so I can’t duck, but Jacob hits me right in the jaw, snapping my head to the side.

“Jacob!” Kallie shrieks, and it takes me a second to realize that he hit me. After tasting the blood in my mouth, I reach up with my hand and wipe away a trickle of blood with my thumb.

I look down at my hand and then back up at my best friend. Savannah’s still crying silently. I turn back to look at Jacob. “She isn’t worth it.” The sound of Savannah’s gasp fills the room, and now when I look over at her, she looks down and then up. She never says a word. Instead, she turns and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

“You son of a bitch,” Jacob hisses. “You stupid son of a bitch.” I feel numb, completely numb. I pick up the bottle of whiskey and take three long gulps, only stopping when the burning gets to my stomach and it feels like there is a fire there. I don’t know if it’s from the whiskey or if it’s because I just lost the woman I love. I slump into the chair, gripping the bottle tightly.

“How could you do that to her?’ he asks. I wonder if he’s for real right now. “Do you know what you just did?”

“Me?” I point at myself. “What I did? I did nothing.”

“You just shit all over Savannah,” Kallie says, and my eyes fly to hers.

“Out of everyone in this room, I’m surprised you’re sticking up for her.” I take another gulp. “She ruined your life.”

“She is Ethan’s mother,” Kallie says, walking toward me and the big brown desk that held all these secrets.

“And God knows who the real father really is.” When I look into Jacob’s eyes, Casey shoots his arm out to stop Jacob from charging over to me.

Jacob looks down and then up. “It just goes to show the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

I look straight into his eyes when I say the next words, coming out before I can stop them. “Isn’t that the truth. Like mother, like daughter.”

He shakes his head, then over at Kallie. “Let’s go.” He turns and walks out of the room with Kallie right behind him.

“You better get your head out of your ass and go after her,” Casey says. Turning, he grabs Olivia’s hand and walks out of the room, then closes the door behind him. I look down at the paper I still have gripped in my hand and read the words over and over again until they are blurred from my tears.

I take another pull of the whiskey, and it takes five gulps until the burning starts. After another six, the glass bottle flies out of my hand and crashes against the white wall, shattering everywhere like an explosion while the amber liquid leaks down. The pictures on the wall of my father and my brother stare back at me. The picture of the three of us standing in front of this very house. “Fuck you,” I say to the empty room, but more to my brother whose picture I’m staring at. “Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.”

Chapter Two

Savannah

“She isn’t worth it.” His words cut me more than anyone else. I knew this day would probably come, but I thought I had more time, or at least I hoped I would. I’m standing in the same office as I was eight years ago when I begged his father to help me. All he did was laugh at me, then toss me two hundred dollars and told me to take out the trash. I was broken then, but nothing could have prepared me for the look Beau is giving me. Nothing could hurt more.

I can hear the music from outside, and I can see the pain in his eyes. I can feel his hurt all through my bones. I want to reach out to him and touch him and tell him that it’s all a mistake. I want to tell him everything, but I don’t. No words come out. The only thing that comes out is a sob, and then Jacob swings, and it’s the final straw. Everything I touch gets ruined. I turn and open the door, then step outside to rush to my car. I’m almost out the front door when I feel a hand on my arm. Something inside me wishes it was Beau, but I know right away it’s not. My eyes roam down to my arm, and I see the stupid fucking gold pinky ring, making my blood run cold and the sadness suddenly turn to hatred.