“Please—”
“Move,” I shouted, shoving him harder this time.
Finally, he relented and let me get past him. I swung open the door and gasped.
Nadine was there, wearing only a skirt and a bra. She appeared to be looking frantically for a top.
“What the hell is going on?” I yelled, my voice shaking with horror at what I had just walked into.
Nadine covered her mouth, and tears sprung into her eyes.
“Mattie, I’m so so sorry. Oh my god. I’m so sorry.” She started to sob.
I whipped my head around to find Garrett just standing there, arms across his chest, still not looking at me.
“Will someone please start talking?” My voice cracked as I continued to yell at them.
“We never meant for this to happen,” Nadine responded through tears. Thankfully she had located her top and was now fully dressed.
“Meant for what to happen?”
Nadine glanced at Garrett for help, but he remained mute.
“We’re together, Mattie,” she cried. “I’m so so sorry. God, I’m sorry.”
My jaw went slack.
“No,we’retogether.” I gestured frantically between Garrett and myself. “We’ve been together foreight years.And you’re supposed to be my friend.”
She started choking on her sobs and didn’t say anything in response.
“How long has this been going on?” I demanded to know.
“Since the Cabo trip.” Garrett finally broke his silence.
My mouth hung open in shock.
“The Cabo trip was six months ago,” I whispered.
Back in April, our whole friend group decided to take a long weekend trip to Mexico together. I had to stay back at the last minute because of a work emergency.
Black dots flooded my vision. I raised my hand to my forehead and slowly lowered myself onto the floor.
“We never meant to hurt you.” Nadine was hovering over me now, grabbing my shoulders.
I wanted to tell her not to touch me. I wanted to tell them both to go to hell. But I felt like I was going to pass out, and the only thing keeping me conscious were deep breaths.
Through spotted vision, I saw Garrett exit the room, not even saying one word in his defense. Not begging for forgiveness like I would’ve expected.
I wanted to cry as all my dreams came crashing down at once—as my heart shattered. But I couldn’t feel any of that. I couldn’t even feel Nadine’s touch on my arm. All I felt was numbness wash over me.
ChapterSix
Stuffingthe last of my clothes into an oversized suitcase, I glanced around the room to ensure I hadn’t missed anything. I spotted an old sweatshirt of mine in Garrett’s laundry pile and snatched it.
“Do you have everything?” Garrett asked from the doorframe.
I zipped up my suitcase without looking at him, not bothering to respond.
