I flinched. “They are my family.”
“You ran away from youractualfamily that you probably, actually had responsibilities to,” said Dom, bite behind each word. “Even whoever that was on the phone brought up the fact that you apparently won’t even call them back when they try to reach out.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. I told you why I left.” Partly anyway. I was sure I had. If he didn’t understand my reasoning for cutting myself off from them still, that was his problem, not mine.
“Because they didn’t like you and your choices. I get it,” he sighed. “But that’s just it again. You don’t have a family that’s counting on you. You don’t have anyone else being fucked with right now because of what you did to me.”
“How many times do I have to tell you that I didn’t intend to do this?”
“You did the spell.”
“And I have a family,” I cried. I needed to calm down my voice before it got out of hand. Already, I could hear the pacing footsteps of the apartment above us, getting antsy at the noise we were making.
“You don’t get it.”
“No.” I shook my head, pressing my lips together. My hands clenched into fists. It felt like something was caught in my throat, pressure building behind my eyes. I never cried, and here I was the past week, crying at everything and everything since he had shown up. “You don’t get it. And you obviously never cared to see past anyone but your own opinions. Think of me how you like because I doubt you’ll ever actually see me or anything in any way you don’t already want to.”
“I sure as hell don’t see the girl I met last summer.”
Just like always, here we were. We spit words of whose fault this entire mess was and how I was in fact doing everything I could and using all my brain power to fix it. Usually, we got to the very clear understanding that we were both complete assholes, right before we got to the good stuff that started and ended with,What happened last summer?
It was our own slow and painful horror film.
“Cold and manipulative …” Dom mumbled to himself. “No wonder there’s no one here that cares about you.”
I bit the inside of my lip and looked down at the floor. So, that was how he saw me. He had gone straight for the low blow, even after all this week, when all I had done was work and fight to fix this wreck I’d wrought.
We both didn’t want to talk about the summer. That was the deal, and he just had to keep breaking it. Talking would only muddy the waters with what we had or hadn’t had—or at least what one of us had thought we had until the truth came out.
I’d thought I knew. Yet I also wasn’t so sure of anything anymore.
Especially how I was ever going to break this hex or curse or whatever it was.
We stared at each other, breathing hard and heavy to contain whatever other words wanted to break free. Anger was as potent as frustration.
And the apartment turned quiet again.
I fought back a moan of defeat, walking toward my bag.
“Where are you going?”
“Work. It’s almost eleven, and frankly, I doubt you care or will miss me. Don’t worry; I’ll be back soon to fix the biggest fuckup I’ve ever made with the biggest fuckup I’ve ever met, though you should prepare yourself that it won’t fix the rest of your life, which you probably also want to blame on me,” I snapped quickly as I headed toward the door.
Dom opened his mouth to say something at my comment, but slowly, he sealed his lips into a tight line. He stared as I stepped outside.
“Have a great rest of your day.” I feigned politeness before shutting the door behind me, standing in the hall that had dried out from the last rain the other afternoon. “Prick.”
* * *
My head poundedat my temples as I swept up the hair from my previous client.
She had given me strict directions to cut two inches off, but I’d cut nearly three from her terrible split ends that wouldn’t bounce the way she wanted her fresh layers to. I’d even confirmed that was all right.
Eyes wide, she snarled at me before going to Kim at the front desk. My boss looked between the two of us. Usually, Kim would listen kindly and offer a discount and maybe a free hair product. She stood up for her stylists, but today, she just stared at me and took the client off to the side.
It wasn’t a big mistake by any means. I was doing my job.
Right?
