“What am I supposed to think when you’re dead set on defending him and your father’s choice to hire him? You’re supposed to be on my side.” He jerks me closer to him. “Not some loser convict who’s probably going to steal the rug out from under you both. He’s gonna screw you guys over big time, and y’all will come crying to me to fix it.”
“Have you lost your goddamn mind?” I hiss. Tyler would never do that, ever, to anyone.
“It makes perfect sense that you’re fucking him behind my back. I saw the way you two looked at each other as if y’all were hiding a secret. Do you know how embarrassing it was when you stood up for him in the bar? You should’ve kept your damn mouth shut.”
I forcefully escape from his grasp, and my wrist throbs from how tight he was holding me. There’s no point in even trying to talk to him right now. He’s completely out of line.
“I’m leaving. We can talk again when you can be rational.”
“We need to move the wedding up. I’m tired of waiting. So decide if you want to marry me or if you want to keep fucking that drug dealer behind my back. But don’t think for a second I’m letting you go that easy. He’ll be a dead man before I let him take my fiancée.”
My mouth falls open, and I’m so furious, tears well in my eyes at his threats. It’s been a long time since I’ve angry-cried. He glares at me, and all I can do is shake my head before I spin around and walk out the door. Surprisingly, he doesn’t try to stop me this time.
When I get into my car, I let out a guttural groan, and tears spill down my cheek. I can’t believe that just happened. Robert has never spoken to me that way, and aside from this past weekend, he’s never acted so rude to another person. Swallowing hard, I try to regain my composure, then back out of the driveway. Dad always taught me not to get behind the wheel when I’m upset, but I can’t stay inside that house while Robert’s temper spikes.
On my way home, I decide to call Everleigh because I need someone to talk to before I go crazy, and she’s always a great listener.
“Hey,” I quickly say as soon as she answers.
“Uh-oh.” She pauses, hearing my sniffles. “What’s wrong?”
“Robert and I had a huge fight, like the biggest we’ve ever had.”
The music in the background tells me she’s still at the boutique. She typically doesn’t leave until dark during the summer, and every Monday, she has a mystery sale to move old inventory. “Shit, babe. I’m sorry. If you give me like ten to fifteen minutes, I’ll be home. And don’t worry, Tyler’s busy so he won’t be there.”
Just the sound of his name has my heart thumping harder, and while I want to know what he’s doing, it’s not my business nor should I want to ask.
“Okay, deal,” I tell her and take the backroads to give her time to get home. Considering Robert lives on the outskirts of town, I arrive well after Everleigh. She opens the door before I can even knock and immediately wraps me in a hug.
“Come in. I gotta let Sassy out real quick.” I watch as the dog follows her to the back door, and Everleigh lets her out. Moments later, they both return, and we walk to the kitchen.
“I picked up margarita mix because they’re your favorite.”
“You’re the best.” I grin, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. “Make mine a double.”
“Already on it.” She winks and begins mixing it all together.
Once they’re finished, she sits down on the stool next to me. “You hungry?”
I shake my head. “Robert cooked before our big blowout.”
“Alright, well since I don’t have to offer you a gourmet meal, I’m eating a sandwich quickly before the alcohol goes right to my head.”
I giggle, knowing how true that is. Everleigh isn’t a lightweight, but she doesn’t tend to eat a lot when she’s busy at work all day. The booze would most definitely get her drunk faster on an empty stomach. Everleigh grabs the ingredients, then lays it all out on a plate in front of me. I stare in disgust as she piles pickles, olives, and mustard on top of the turkey.
“Don’t judge me.” She points at me with the butter knife and chuckles. “So tell me what happened. From the beginning.”
“Well, there was the awkward double date from hell, he apologized yesterday, then he invited me over for dinner tonight. Something felt off, but I wasn’t sure what it was until he just unleashed on me out of the blue.”
“What’d he say?”
“That I needed to quit my job and how Tyler is bad news, so he doesn’t want me around him.”