Page 83 of The Other Room

I’d never known true heartbreak until today. Until just now. I’d never let myself care enough about a man to let one truly hurt me. And then last night I’d ripped open the walls around my heart and let Matt waltz right on through into the uncharted territory. Instead of taking good care of my fragile heart, the one already held together by tape and glue after what my father had done to it, he’d ripped it from my chest and stomped it into pieces.

And that emotional deception hurt the most. He knew how hard it was for me to trust and to put myself out there. He knew saying, “I love you” wasn’t something I spit out to every hot guy who looked my way. It was special. It was rare. And it hurt more than I’d ever imagined possible that he’d been able to betray me, even knowing how much damage he would cause.

“Petunia, mommy has to crash at your auntie’s for a couple days,” I said to her as I grabbed her bag of cat food. She purred while I overfilled the bowl. As she munched on the fresh morsels, I grabbed my tote bag and tossed a couple outfits inside, as well as my pajamas, a couple pairs of underwear and some socks. While Petunia chirped away at her bowl, I hurried into the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush and makeup bag and shoved them inside my tote as well.

Having all the supplies I needed for a few nights at Jenna’s, I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the grocery notepad and a pen. With rage guiding my hand, I wrote Matt a note and tossed it on the island.

“Be good, Petunia. I’ll be back in a couple of days. Matt will take care of you until I’m home.” I leaned down and gave her a scratch then started out the door. With one last look over my shoulder at the cabin I’d been so happy in only this morning, I raced down the stairs and jumped in my Jeep.

I shot Jenna a text I would be staying with her for a few days, then turned off my phone before she could text back. Matt’s apologetic calls and texts were certainly coming, and I didn’t want to hear it. His apology. His “I’m sorry I hurt you, but I love her.” I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

Jake may have forgiven him when he’d been the victim of their love, but not me. I’d gone against my better judgement and let him back into my life, and I wasn’t one to make the same mistake twice.

Fool me twice and we’re done.

Period.

I’d gone against my better judgement once and let Matt fool me twice, and I wasn’t going for a third.

With one last glance at my cabin, I put my Jeep in reverse and backed out onto the highway. The tears blurred my vision as I glanced in my rearview mirror one last time, but I wiped them away, lifted my chin and vowed not to look back again. Not at my cabin, and certainly not at the memories of me and Matt that kept bubbling up in my mind.

No more.

Me and Matt were done.

Matt

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“Would someone please find her friends!” I shouted to no one in particular while I dragged Nikki back into Stabbur’s bar area. Each time I’d tried to set her down and race after Jo, she’d started wailing, and twice on our way from the parking lot, she’d thrown up. Desperate to unload this unwanted burden and find Jo to explain, I dragged her reluctant body back to the bar.

Jo’s tragic expression played in my brain on repeat. Torturing me until I couldn’t stop the panic choking its way into my throat.

“I want to go home,” Nikki whined, words slurring while she clung to my waist.

“I want you to go home, too,” I grumbled while I scanned the crowd for the flock of blonde’s she’d come with. Finally I saw them preening themselves by the bar, so I lifted Nikki up and dragged her through the crowd.

When I got there, they all turned to look at us, snickering when they saw Nikki slumped in my arms.

“You guys got her this drunk; you guys can deal with the aftermath.”

“Oh my God, Nikki!” One girl laughed as she stared at the teetering redhead beside me. “You’re wasted!”

The rest of the girls joined in with their drunken giggles, and I rolled my eyes while I pushed Nikki forward into their huddle. “Here. Take her.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do with her?” the tallest girl asked, regarding Nikki like yesterday’s trash.

“Take her back to the hotel. Now.”

“Nikki is the one who knows this place. I don’t even know where our hotel is.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I scrubbed a hand down my face and looked around for any sign of Jo. But I knew better, she was long gone. And with good right. When she’d seen Nikki in my arms, it looked bad.

Real bad.

“She’s pretty wasted.” One girl finally acknowledged Nikki’s sloppy state. “We should probably get her back to the hotel. Can you like, call us a cab or grab us an Uber or something? My phone died.”