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“Baby?” David takes a step towards him and shoots me an angry look. “Are you serious, right now?” He looks at me and shakes his head, a dark chuckle leaving his lips. “You two deserve each other.” He takes a step past Bennett before shooting me a glare. “Good luck, Olivia, you’re going to need it,” he says before he’s out the door.
Bennett follows behind him as he storms out. I scurry behind them, hoping that things don’t get even more out of hand. “Olivia deserves better than me, I’m fully fucking aware. But she sure as fuck deserves better than you.” Bennett barks out just as he slams the door behind David before turning towards me. “That’s who you’ve been dating?”
I scowl at him, his chivalrous behavior completely forgotten and my irritation taking over. “Bennett, what the fuck? Was that necessary?”
“Was what necessary? Sticking up for you while he was a complete dick to you?” He puts his hands on his hips.
“I don’t need anyone to stick up for me! Least of all you!”
“I’m never going to let anyone talk to you like that. I don’t give a fuck what’s going on between us.”
“No one asked you to come to my fucking rescue, Bennett.” I shake my head and look up at him as I remember all of the good things about David Jacobs. The nights he held me while I cried myself to sleep. The dates where we sat in almost silence while he held my hand. The whispered promises that one day I would be fine. “He was there for me.”
He moves towards me, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me towards him. He tucks a hair behind my ears and stares down at me. “Well, I’m here now. You don’t need him.” I can see the sincerity in his eyes and hear it in his voice, but it’s not enough.
Not now.
I remove his hand from around my waist and move back to the island to pick up my glass of wine, suddenly feeling like I need another one. “You’re here temporarily.”
“No,” He argues.
I sigh in exasperation and frustration. “Bennett, why are you so hell-bent on making my life so difficult? Haven’t you done enough to me?”
He looks like I’ve slapped him and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Livi. I’m sorry I pushed you into the arms of that asshole. All of it.”
“Is this all about David?”
“No, but excuse me if it pissed me off to see the woman I love with another man.”
I narrow my eyes into slits. “Welcome to my life, Bennett.” I grab my glass and the rest of the bottle before moving into my room and slamming the door.
The smell of bacon wafting under my door pulls me out of the last few minutes of sleep. I put a hand over my head, trying to will away the slight pounding from all the wine I’d consumed last night all the while cursing myself for drinking so much. I press my face into the pillows before turning to my back and staring up at the ceiling before contemplating going back to sleep. I look at my phone and see I have two missed calls from David and a voicemail and a few text messages from both David and Alyssa. I opt to ignore them both before climbing out of bed, my head pounding with every step I take. I open the door, wishing that a bathroom was connected to this room so I wasn’t forced out into the open where I could run into Bennett.
When I don’t see him, I dart into the bathroom, close the door behind me and let out a sigh of relief. Staring at my reflection, I’m grateful I had the foresight to bring my things in here last night before I went to bed. I brush my teeth and scrub my face, hoping I can scrub the memory of last night from my skin. I run my fingers through my hair, fluffing it since it had flattened some in the night and shake some of the body back into it before opening the door. Making my way into the kitchen, I see Bennett sitting at the island watching television.
“Hey you.” He gives me a timid smile and points at the spread he’s laid out. “I made breakfast.”
I ignore the thought that a man hasn’t made me breakfast in a very long time. Since the last time he made me breakfast to be exact. I decide to focus on where all of this food came from. “Where…I didn’t have all of this in the fridge.”
He sets down his fork and leans forward, cocking a brow and pursing his full lips. “Yeah, about that. What have you been eating? Besides trash?” Worry paints his face and I look away, not wanting to be scolded but also to hide the shame that I know covers mine.
“It’s really too early.”
“Fair. I used your computer to order groceries. You hardly have anything, Livi.”
“I don’t eat much at home. It’s kind of depressing to eat alone.” I shrug sadly and he nods in understanding.
“I get that, but you should still be eating more than takeout.”
I swallow when I look at all the food he’s prepared. “You made pancakes.” My stomach growls instantly, remembering just how good Bennett’s pancakes were. They were fluffy and sweet and melted in your mouth underneath the sweet syrup. Fuck, I’ve missed his cooking.
“They’re your favorite,” he says as if it’s the most obvious reason in the world. He gets up and moves t
owards the stove. “I didn’t make your eggs because I didn’t want them to get cold. Still over medium?”
“Ummm yes, but you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do.” He cuts me off as I pour myself a glass of orange juice. “I made coffee. One of the few things you did have.” He chuckles. I pass on the coffee for now and sit at the bar sipping my orange juice slowly.
