“You fuckin’ lied when you said you loved me. You’re a liar.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from responding. It wouldn’t help. Nothing helped when he was like this.
“You said you were in it for the long haul. That there wasn’t anything that would make you leave.” He laughed nastily. “Fuckin’ liar.”
He had no idea how ridiculous he was acting, but I knew from experience that nothing I said would make him see it. It didn’t matter that he was the one who left—not me. It didn’t matter that I still loved him, in a way that made me hope nothing bad would happen to him, but didn’t make me want to actually be with him.
“I told you not to use sex as a weapon. I told you not to do that from the very beginning, and you did it, anyway.” He glared at me. “And now you’re acting like it’s my fault that shit didn’t work out. Such bullshit.”
I dug my fingernails into the fabric of my hoodie and kept my mouth shut, even though I wanted to scream my denials at him. The way he was twisting things and making me feel defensive was something he did. I couldn’t have an opinion different from Copper’s, or be angry with him about anything without it somehow getting spun around until I had to defend myself.
“Fuck you, Rose,” he said, leaning toward me.
For a split second when he was in my space, I felt actual fear. My baseball bat was across the room, and even though he wasn’t a huge guy, I knew I’d never stand a chance if things got physical.
I startled as another knock came from my front door.
“Who the fuck is coming over here this late?” Copper asked, scowling.
I had no idea who it was, but I was really hoping one of my brothers had decided to stop by. I didn’t bother checking to see who it was before I flung the door open.
I’m not sure what Mack saw when he looked at me, but his expression instantly darkened as he put his hand against my belly and pushed his way into my apartment.
“Didn’t know you were back in town,” Mack said as he wrapped one arm around my shoulders and closed the door with the other. “You just get here?”
“So it’s like that, huh?” Copper said in disgust as Mack kissed the side of my head. “Fuckin’ figures.”
“You got a problem?” Mack asked, his arm tightening around my shoulders. “Pretty sure you two have been done for a while.”
“No, man,” Copper replied, looking me up and down. “No problem.”
I quickly wrapped my arm around Mack’s waist to keep him from tearing Copper’s head off. I held him there, next to the stairs, as the other man strode past us and out the front door. It wasn’t until I heard the door latch that I finally let go. My hands were trembling.
“You alright?” Mack asked, using both hands to cup my face. “You looked freaked as fuck when you opened the door.”
“I’m okay,” I replied, shaking my hands out at my sides. “He was just being an asshole.”
“He put his hands on you?”
“No,” I shook my head. “No, he’s never done that.”
“Good thing,” he said seriously. “I’d bury him.”
“You’d have to get in line,” I said ruefully.
“He always like that?” Mack asked as he let his hands slide away from my face.
“When we were alone? Sometimes.” I moved away and leaned against the back of the couch. “He was always careful not to act like that in front of people.”
“Looks like the mask’s slippin’.”
“He’s not my problem anymore.”
“Why’d you let him in?” Mack asked. There was no censure in his voice, just curiosity.
“He thought he’d left some t-shirts here,” I mumbled.
“Rose,” he chastised with a laugh.
“I know,” I replied, an embarrassed laugh escaping my mouth. “I know. But he wasn’t going to leave until I checked.”
“That joker would’ve been back the next day if he’d thought he forgot somethin’,” Mack said. “The man wears the same four t-shirts constantly.”
“There’s five,” I corrected, my lips twitching.
“Well, hell,” Mack replied. “Color me surprised.”
I couldn’t stop my laugh or the tears that came immediately afterward. I didn’t even know why I was crying. I hadn’t felt sad when Copper showed up. I hadn’t felt anything. But now my chest ached like crazy, and I just wanted to bawl my eyes out.
“I’m sorry,” I said, wiping at my face. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
“Adrenaline crash,” Mack said knowingly. “You’re okay.”
“I’m sorry,” I said again as my chest heaved. Pulling my hoodie up so the neck was near my forehead, I hid my face and used the fabric to dry it.
“Stop apologizing,” he replied.
“This is so stupid,” I said, pulling my head out of my sweatshirt once my tears were finally under control. “I don’t even give a crap that he showed up.”