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“Are you okay?”
It’s a stupid question, one I shouldn’t have asked, but I don’t know what else to say. He shakes his head but doesn’t answer. I go into the bathroom to get a washcloth and run it under some warm water. When I get back into the bedroom, I grab his shoulders and force him to sit down. Reluctantly, he stays put.
“Ow.” He hisses as I start to clean the wound. Thankfully, it doesn’t need stitches, but it looks like painful.
“I cannot believe he did this.”
He snorts. “I can. You’re his sister. He just wants to keep you safe.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, well, fighting you isn’t the way to do that.”
“He loves you.”
And I love you. The words are on the tip of my tongue, but just as I’m about to say them, the door opens. Tatum stands there, panting heavily with her clothes wet. She must have been trying to calm my brother down, and failed.
“Mac, we need you downstairs.”
The sound of Maverick breaking things radiates into the room. I look to Colton and he nods.
“Go. I have a couple things left to grab.”
I give him a sad smile and kiss him once more before leaving the room. I follow Tatum down the stairs to where Maverick stands in the middle of the living room. The coffee table is flipped and the lamp lies shattered on the floor. As soon as I get down there, he focuses all his anger on me.
“What the fuck were you doing up there?! Consoling your little fuck-boy?!”
“Okay, stop!” I shout, allowing myself to get in his face. He may be stupid and angry, but he would never lay a hand on me. “Stop throwing a temper tantrum like a child! That’s your best friend. You just fought your best fucking friend!”
He scoffs and shakes his head. “That is not my best friend. A best friend wouldn’t go behind my back like he did. He’s a fucking liar and I’m done with him!”
“You don’t mean that.”
“The fuck I don’t. He went behind my back and fucked my baby sister, and then lied about it for years! I don’t ever want to see his deceitful ass face again. He’s dead to me, and if you have anything to do with him, so are you!”
His words cause me to recoil slightly. “Maverick.”
“Don’t Maverick me. You’ve been cheating on your fiancé for months with the closest person to me!”
At the worst possible time, Colton comes down the stairs and stops at the bottom. Maverick glares at him but with Roman only an arm’s length away, he doesn’t move. Colton doesn’t even look at him, instead focusing all his attention on me.
“Are you coming?”
I take a step in his direction when my brother speaks again. “If you leave with him, you’re no better than dad – and we both know how my relationship with him is.”
He’s trying to hurt me, and he hits his target dead on. Before my dad’s cheating came to light, him and Maverick were as close as can be. They did everything together – fishing, working on cars, even talking about girls. Afterward, however, things were never the same again. It’s been over four years, and Mav still can’t stand being in a room with him for longer than a couple of hours. Is that really what he thinks? That I’m just like dad? Even the idea makes me sick to my stomach.
My movements halt and I realize now the choice is no longer Parker or Colton, it’s Maverick or Colton. I can either have my boyfriend or my brother, but not both. Mav might be an asshole right now, but the man knows how to hold a grudge. I’m not sure I can handle a life without my brother.
“McKenna?” Colton’s voice is soft but I can’t look at him as I shake my head and take a step back. “That’s great. Just fucking great.”
After a few footsteps, the sound of the front door slamming shut causes me to jump. He’s gone. He left. We’re over. The dread that washes over me is the same as what I felt that night I broke into pieces. Sobs rack over my entire body as I wrap my arms around myself.
“You made the right choice, Squid.” Maverick goes to hug me.
I step away and glare at him. “Don’t!”
The engine from Colton’s car roars outside and his tires squeal when he rips out of the driveway. The only thing I can do is throw myself into Tatum’s arms, breaking down as she catches me. All the pain I was trying to avoid, I feel it anyway. This time might even be worse.
24
