Page 52 of All for Love

I shook my head. “That’s not the first time I’ve heard those words. Forgive me if I take them with a pinch of salt this time. What are you gonna do, drag me to the bathroom and make me listen again?”

Her cheeks flushed a deep, angry shade of red and she hissed her next words at me. “Like I said, we’ve made mistakes. Both of us.”

“And yet, when I tried to leave your place after saving you from Bastard Ben, you stopped me. With your mouth.”

“I. Made. Mistakes.” She tightened her grip on her arms and narrowed her eyes to slits. “What more do you want from me, Kody?”

I snorted. “Stop making it sound like I’m a clingy, needy long-term boyfriend who can’t accept that you’ve broken up with him. You want to end it, then fine. All I want to know is why and if it’s done for good this time.”

“It’s done for good,” she said firmly. “I’m not going to be weak again or fall for your womanizing tactics. I don’t feel like I owe you any more of an explanation than that.”

“My womanizing tactics?” I scoffed as I shook my head. “When have I ever used those on you? That’s right. I haven’t. I haven’t had to use any tactics on you because you were a more than willing taker.”

“What are you saying? That the other women aren’t willing?”

My heartrate spiked again. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t just ask me that. I’m not Ben, Mercedes. I don’t have to force myself on women or get aggressive with them. As you well know. Where the hell is all of this coming from?”

A guard slammed into place behind those dark green eyes. “Nowhere. Like I said, I don’t owe you an explanation. As long as you understand that this is over, we’re done here.”

“Oh, we’re done, but I’m not leaving until you tell me where all this hostility has suddenly come from again. What happened to frenemies?”

She waved a hand dismissively. “We’re not friends, we’re not enemies, and we’re not frenemies. We’re step-siblings. That’s it, Kody. Why is this so hard for you to understand?”

“It’s not. I do understand. What I don’t get is why you’re suddenly treating me like I ripped your heart out. I don’t get why this has to end on such a bad note when nothing bad has happened and I don’t get why you’re refusing to even talk to me these days.”

Those eyes remained hard on mine, her arms still tightly crossed and her entire body thrumming with tension. “We’re not breaking up. What we’re doing doesn’t require a lengthy conversation. You didn’t rip my heart out and I’m not refusing to talk to you. I simply have nothing more to say.”

As I stared back at her, I realized she wasn’t going to budge—and it was a good thing. We’d both known all along exactly what this was, and while I’d have liked to know what happened to suddenly make her do such a drastic U-turn, it was for the best.

Mercedes was a relationship girl. Kaden had been right about that. She was the girl you took home to your parents and invited to Thanksgiving because you wanted her to spend time with your family—not because she was part of it.

At heart, I was the complete opposite. I wasn’t anyone’s ride or die. I didn’t mind providing the ride, as long as everyone concerned knew I wouldn’t be there till they died. I wasn’t that guy who would stick by your side, fight your battles, or die trying.

Judging from all the emotion in Mercedes’s eyes, whatever had been going on between us might already have gone too far. Maybe that was why she was pissed.

So while I was curious about the answers I wasn’t getting, I knew she was doing the right thing. I also knew better than thinking I was going to get anywhere by pushing. If she wanted me to know, she’d have told me.

If she didn’t want to tell me, it had to be that she simply didn’t deem it important enough to be said. Actually, she’d just told me straight up she had nothing more to say. So that’s it, then.

I nodded at her, ignoring the sprinkling of pain suddenly spreading through my insides. God, I must need an antacid.

“Okay, Mercedes. Step-siblings. That’s it. You have a good weekend now. I guess I’ll see you at Christmas.”

Of course, I’d also be seeing her every damn day around the office, but since we apparently weren’t speaking anymore but would probably be forced to at least try over the holidays, I wasn’t counting the occasional workplace encounter. Clearly, Mercedes had put us behind her.

It was time for me to do the same—and to put a little bit of fucking effort into it this time instead of just giving up as soon as I realized the only person I wanted to be having dinner with was her. She’d made herself crystal clear, and I had no choice but to listen.

Even if it did feel like there were shards of glass on the inside of my chest and those shards were currently slicing through the core of my being. But no. That can’t be right.

I stalked toward my office, hoping that I still had some antacid somewhere. That was what this was. Heartburn not heartbreak. That’s my story and I’m fucking sticking to it.