Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33692 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Zane scoops up a half-empty bottle of beer and drops heavily onto the couch, looking back at me with eyes that are bloodshot and watery. He takes a long swallow then burps.
“That’s classy,” I say.
“Whatever,” he says. “So? What the fuck do you want?”
“I want you to talk to your father and sort this out.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because he’s your father.”
He scoffs. “Didn’t stop him from fucking my girlfriend.”
“I’m not your girlfriend. I broke up with you, remember?”
“So, this is all just some big coincidence?”
I roll my eyes and almost shout. “What else would it be? You never told me anything about your father. And you didn’t tell him anything about me. We had no idea each other even existed, let alone secretly run around behind your back. Use your head, Zane.”
He takes another swallow of his beer, his eyes still burning with anger… and hurt. But I can see the wheels in his head turning as he thinks about my words. He understands what I’m saying and is logical enough to know it’s true. There is no way we could have been carrying on behind his back when Cash and I were completely ignorant of each other. To think otherwise is just plain stupid or a case of willful ignorance.
But I also know that emotions have a way of clouding the real issues and making a person disregard logic. I know him well enough to understand that seeing his father getting something he wanted bothers Zane more than anything. The fact that I’ve been sleeping with Cash when I refused to sleep with him is the biggest issue for him. That’s what’s bothering him the most.
“Your father doesn’t deserve to be treated like this—”
“I don’t deserve to be treated like this.”
“Zane, you and I are not a good fit. You can’t tell me you don’t see that,” I say. “And let’s not forget what started this whole thing. You terrified me the night I ran out!”
“You know I’d never hurt you, Cassie.”
“No. I don’t know that,” I retort. “Especially not when you came at me like you did at your father’s place. If he hadn’t stepped in, I really thought you might have. You were out of your mind, Zane, and you really scared me.”
He shrugs. “I wouldn’t have hurt you. Believe me or not, I don’t care anymore.”
“And that’s fine. Hate me if you want,” I tell him. “But Cash hasn’t done anything wrong. None of this is his fault and I think you need to talk to him. I think you need to straighten this out. He really wants a relationship with you. It’s important to him.”
“And what he wants should matter to me?”
“It should because you want a relationship with him too,” I say. “It’s why you went looking for him in the first place. You never told me about him, but you did tell me that. Don’t let this thing between us keep you from having a relationship with your father.”
He frowns and looks away as he drains the last of his bottle. Zane is silent for a few minutes before he finally turns his gaze back to me, his face is stony, and his eyes are burning with anger. It’s immediately clear that he’s not in a place where he can hear me. Or rather, he’s not in a place yet where wants to hear me. He’s still so consumed by his anger that he’s refusing to see logic. Where he’s letting his emotions and his rage about what happened between us get in the way of something he’s always wanted—a relationship with his father.
“Is that it?” he asks. “Is that all you wanted to say?”
I shake my head and lower my gaze to the ground. “Yeah. That’s all I wanted to say.”
“Then you said it.”
“I guess I did.”
“Good,” he says. “Now, get out. I don’t want you here anymore. I can’t even stand looking at you, Cassie. You make me sick.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.”
“Whatever. Just get the fuck out.”
“Zane—”
“I said get the fuck out.”
Turning around, I head for the door. At least I tried. Before I open the door, Zane calls to me so I stop and turn back around.
“Why?” he asks.
“Why what?”
“Why were you willing to fuck him and not me?”
I shrug. The answer isn’t going to make him happy, but it’s the plain and simple truth. And right now, I think the truth will do a lot more for him than trying to sugarcoat a lie.
“It just felt right,” I tell him. “And it never did with you.”
9
CASH
“That was amazing,” Cassie says.
“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite spots,” I tell her.
“Would it surprise you to know that was my first time having sushi?”
“Not a lot of sushi spots in Georgia?”
She shakes her head. “Not in the town I grew up in. The most ethnic food we have back home is Taco Bell.”