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Garrett’s the reason why, not myself. I’m not a quitter.
I’m holding my phone, thinking about calling Vivi.
She won’t believe me when I tell her about Garrett. Smiling at the ridiculousness of the reaction I’m sure she’ll have, I click on her name and press the call button.
Vivi answers immediately. “Ohmygod, Breanna, you’re still alive. Why are you ignoring my texts?”
“I’m not ignoring them,” I protest, leaning against the back of the sofa, instead of pacing as I have been doing for the last twenty minutes. “Not answering them is called ignoring them. It’s been more than twelve hours since I last texted you.”
“Yeah, well, things have… become interesting here.”
“By interesting, you mean…”
“I mean… Garrett showed up.”
Even Vivi can’t think of something to say about that right away. “Your Garrett?” she asks after a moment.
I shake my head. “No, not my Garrett. I left him. He’s not mine, and I’m not his. He’s just an… ex now.”
I think about the way his eyes were practically shooting venom in my direction. That’s not the way a normal person would deal with a regular ex.
“Okay, but yeah, I mean the Garrett. How did he find you?”
“He didn’t. Not on purpose. Turns out that my employer, Jaxon’s dad, the one I’ve told you about, well, he’s Garrett’s brother.”
“No way!” Vivi responds. I can hear the amazement in her voice. “And Garrett just… what… decided to randomly see his brother? I didn’t even know he had a brother. Did you?”
“I knew he had a brother, but honestly, I didn’t know his name.” I sigh, standing up because it turns out that I’m too restless to sit. “The way Harrison explained it is that they haven't been close, but his brother reached out for support because he went through a difficult breakup.”
“And no one figured out that you were his fiance?”
“No, until he opened the door when I was trying to go in and take care of Jaxon.” I run a hand through my hair. “It’s a mess. A real mess. I quit my job. I can’t… I can’t be there. I know that Garrett is whispering things in Harrison’s ear, and it’s…not right. And…”
“You quit to avoid Garrett.”
“Yeah. He was mad when he saw me, Vivi. Mad.”
“I bet, Breanna. You know he’s good at manipulating your emotions. Don’t let him drag you in again.”
“Oh, I won’t. I’m so far from that. I-”
I’m cut off by a buzzing on my phone. Pulling it away from my ear, I see another number is calling in.
My stomach drops when I see the number. I want to shove it in my purse and not answer, but I can’t do that. I have to be responsible and face these problems. Not facing them is what got my parents into so much debt to begin with.
“Vivi, I need to take this other call.”
“Okay, Miss Important. Take it. Call me back when you can.”
“Okay, bye.”
My heart sinks as I answer the other call, bracing myself for the worst. It's the last thing I need right now, especially when I’ve just quit my job. But I can't ignore it; I have to face whatever comes my way.
"Hello?" I answer, trying to keep my voice steady despite the rising panic within me.
"Is this Ms. Breanna Parker?" a voice on the other end asks.
"Yes, it is," I reply, my throat tightening with anxiety.
