“Not a chance. I didn’t know a lot of it until I went to see a counselor the week after we broke up. Dad insisted because I was almost comatose. I wanted to tell Finn, but he wouldn’t see me. When I finally talked to him, a hussy was calling his name from the other end of the phone as he visited Max.”
“Don’t you think he has a right to know?” Robbie slices his eyes to Tripp in irritation, then looks at me with concern.
“Yes, I think Finn has a right to know everything. But that ship has sailed. He told me he’d call me when he got back from his trip, and I haven’t heard from him.”
“He’s hurt, Presley.” Robbie crosses his arms and widens his stance. If he’s trying to intimidate me, it backfires.
“Well, so the fuck am I! I know what I did was juvenile, underhanded, backstabbing, ridiculous, off-the-cuff, betraying, hurtful, deceitful, despicable, shameful, irreprehensible, appalling, loathing, and UNFORGIVABLE!”
“Oh, man, here we go.” Tripp whistles, but I’m on a roll.
“I wake up every day, live through it, and go to bed every night knowing I fucked up! I don’t need you to show up and remind me of the ignorant mistake I made. Every single fucking minute of the day, I know. So why are you here?” I deflate against my door and sense the depression sinking in.
The weight of my mistake with Finn plagues me, but seeing these guys brings it to the forefront of my mind. I wasn’t strong enough to be the woman for Finn; no need to remind me again.
“Jesus Christ.” Robbie rushes to me as my knees finally give out. “That’s not what we meant.”
Stars cloud my vision, and I let out a strangled cry. As hard as I try to stay still, I sag into Robbie, shaking.
“You’re not driving. I’ll get you home,” he says into my hair, and I panic, leaning away from his grasp.
“No, I’ll be fine.” I wriggle free. “Please, leave me alone.”
“He’s hurting, Presley. You need to talk to him.”
“I did, Robbie. Remember the call he answered with girls fawning over him? The same time he said he’d call me?”
“He hasn’t been with anyone else. You’re it for him.”
“Is that why you’re here, to pressure me into talking to him?”
“Fuck no, we’re here because that jackass is moving.” Tri
pp throws his hands out in exasperation. “You need to make this right!”
My heart drops. “Moving where?”
“Virginia,” Robbie confirms.
“Oh, shit, he’s really leaving me.” My throat burns.
“He’s leaving all of us because of this shit. It’s time to settle it.” Tripp finally looks at me with a touch of tenderness. “We came to settle it.”
I lay my head on Robbie’s shoulder and let it sink in. I have to do something to make this right.
Evelyn looks around my apartment and zones in on the cluster of pictures taking up two of my bookshelves. She gives me a gentle smile, but it doesn’t conceal her disappointment with me.
My hands tremble as I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. The jitters in the pit of my stomach roll into nausea, and I wonder for the tenth time if this was a mistake.
“Thank you for coming. I’m sure this puts you in an awkward position, but I promise not to take up too much of your time,” I spit out.
“It’s only awkward if anyone finds out.”
“He doesn’t know you’re here?”
“It would be a big conflict, don’t you think? He’s in pain, stumbling through life and making rash decisions because he’s heartbroken. Me coming here to see the very girl who caused the pain may push him deeper down the spiral, so no, he doesn’t know I’m here.” Her words are clipped and rash, slicing into me.
“I’m so sorry. This was never supposed to happen. It’s all my fault.”