"Sure, you don't." He released me. "Brian told me about your boyfriend back home, Chloe. I thought maybe you'd lied to him, but then Parker told me it was true. When was I going to find out? Or was I not going to? I mean, really, does that make me the whore? Or you?"
His words were a harder slap than my hand hitting his face would ever be.
"I broke up with Seth before leaving California because there was nothing left between us. I prayed for a brown-haired boy with warm eyes and a big heart." Tears spilled onto my cheeks. "Someone that needed my love and would help me heal past becoming cold toward life. I thought I found him, but I was wrong."
I turned and jogged to my car as the world seemed to crash in around me. I had pinpointed exactly why Finn was so important. Somewhere deep inside of me where the crazy idea of true love existed, I thought maybe he was my someone.
I pulled out of the parking lot and drove home crying over the fear of having to grow up and the anxiety of not being enough for my father. My heart broke over Finn thinking that I was the type of woman that would cheat on someone, and yet I realized how stupid I was being. He didn't know me.
"It's been a few weeks. Pull it together." I drove up to the house and turned the engine off before letting my head drop back and closing my eyes.
It had been so long since I'd felt the pain of loss that it was almost a welcomed reminder that I was alive. It didn't take more than a few minutes to understand why people protected themselves. It was necessary to survive in a world where people took and took and took and rarely gave.
My phone buzzed, and I picked it up.
Jessie: You're on my mind. I miss you. You okay?
Me: Just got my heart broken, but other than that...I'm good.
Jessie: By Seth?
Me: No, a guy out here who's my dream guy.
The phone rang, which scared the hell out of me. I answered it and sat back, knowing Jessie would want details.
"What the hell? I told you that you were going to meet him. I'm psychic. I knew it!" Her voice was full of excitement, which was a little odd after my confession.
"Yeah, you're right. He's out here, and he's a total ass."
"Well, that part’s not good. I thought maybe it was Seth."
"No. We broke up when I left. Besides, I think he's already moved on. He's not texting at all anymore, which is good. He can be someone else's problem."
"So, about that..." Jessie stopped and realization rolled over me.
She was Seth's someone. That's why she kept asking about him and nudging me toward finding someone else.
Right. When it rains it pours.
I hung up without another word and turned my phone on silent. Surely, my dad had a liquor cabinet. If not, I could call a cab and head back down to the club. The cute bartender would serve me beer and peanuts all night, no doubt.
Numbness settled over the center of me and I walked into the house and slammed the door behind me.
"Chloe?" My father's voice scared me, and I jumped.
"Dad?" I pulled myself together and walked into the kitchen to find him standing over a bottle of rum.
"Yeah. I canceled the trip. Sorry if you'd planned for a wild party. Consider it ruined." He gave me a smile.
I sat down at the bar across from him and nodded at the bottle. "Got an extra glass?"
"You've been crying...why?" He got out the glass and sat it in front of me.
"Where do I start?" I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.
"From the beginning?" He poured me a drink and filled his back up. "Tell me all about it."
"Let's see...my best friend back at home is dating my ex-boyfriend. Mind you, we just broke up the day I came here. I assume they were sleeping together before now. Things happened too fast for something to not have been up." I took a drink as my father nodded.