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I stop and turn away from him. A sob breaks through, shaking my shoulders. The world is crumbling around me, crashing down, leaving nothing but ruins. My body hurts, like I’ve been hit by a truck. He can’t be doing this to me. He said he wouldn’t. He promised he wouldn’t break me.
I close my eyes. He’ll only break me if I let him. I feel like I’m being ripped to shreds, but fuck if I’m going to fall apart here, in front of him.
Goddammit, I should have known. This is Braxton. How else did I think this was going to end? I saw the end play out as soon as it began.
I slowly lower my hand and take a deep breath, swallowing back the panic that tries to rise in my throat. I clench my teeth together, anger burning through my veins. “This is my fault,” I say. My voice is cold, unemotional.
“What?” he asks.
I shake my head. “I should have known better. I was stupid enough to think I was special. That I was different. God, I was such an idiot. After all those women. I know you. I know who you are, and I know exactly what you do. I actually thought I could be the one to tame you.”
Braxton doesn’t answer.
I put a hand to my forehead. “I fell for it all. I can’t believe I did that. You, Braxton Taylor, confessed your longtime love for me, and I actually thought it was real.” I look up at him, stare him straight in the eyes. “You don’t know what that means. You don’t know what love is. You don’t have a fucking clue.”
“Kylie—”
“No,” I say. “You want to do this? You want to break it off? Fine. But don’t try to tell me it wasn’t all bullshit. You owe me at least that much. You can be fucking honest with me at this point.”
“Fuck, I don’t know what else to do,” he says.
“What is this about?” I ask. “Because this morning, when you were screwing me in your bed, you didn’t seem to have such a crisis. But then, you were fucking me, so of course you didn’t. Your dick was happy, and that’s all that matters to you.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Oh, really?” I’m halfway between screaming at him and crying my eyes out, and the heady swirl of emotions just makes me angrier. “Fuck you, Braxton. How dare you. How dare you touch me. It was a mistake? Fuck yes, it was a mistake. It was the biggest mistake of your life.”
“Baby—”
“Don’t you dare,” I say, my voice sharp. “You do not get to call me that. If you’re done with me, you do not have the right to talk to me that way.”
I can’t look at him anymore. I stomp off to his room and try to gather up my things. There’s too much. I practically moved in. Why the fuck did I do that? He never asked me to. He never said we should take this to the next level and live together. I just stayed, like a stupid puppy. God, I was such an idiot.
I pull out a duffel bag and start throwing things in. He better not come in here, or I’m going to punch him in the mouth. No wonder he didn’t tell Selene. This whole time, I let myself believe it was because this was so big, he didn’t want to freak her out. But then he kept putting it off.
I should have known. He didn’t bother telling her because he knew she’d be mad, and there was no point in pissing her off when he was just going to fuck me for a while and move on. Just like every other woman he’s ever had.
I fill the bag and toss in some of my stuff from the bathroom. I’m going to have to come back at some point to get the rest. Or just leave it and never get it back. That’s feeling like a better option, because I do not want to see him again. Ever. I don’t think I can take it.
My keys and phone are in the living room, so I have to go back in before I can leave. Braxton is still standing in the kitchen, unmoving. I don’t look at his face. I can’t. I pick up my stuff and head for the front door.
“Kylie.”
I pause with my hand on the doorknob, my bag slung over one shoulder.
“Please, I—”
“No,” I say. “You’re done. I’m leaving. And if you ever cared about me as anything more than a goddamn sex toy, you’ll leave me alone. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
I pull open the door and walk out, slamming the door behind me.
I make it to the car before I break down, tossing my bag onto the passenger seat and falling forward onto the steering wheel. My body shakes; sobs choke me. I can’t breathe. Part of me wants him to run after me—to come out and get in my car and tell me he was wrong. That he didn’t mean it and will I please come back inside.
But I know he won’t. He did mean it. He wouldn’t have said it otherwise.
I cry uncontrollably, until my chest hurts and my back is clenched and tight. I feel so lost, so hopeless. He was my world. I loved him with a fierceness that took my breath away, and it was all for nothing.
I take a few shaking breaths to calm down so I can drive home. I need to get out of here. I wipe my face with my sleeve and turn on my car. I want to go to Selene’s house and melt into a puddle in her arms, but I can’t. She never knew about us, and now she never will. Because fuck if I’m going to admit that I fell for it—that I was stupid enough to fall for him.
