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“What happened with Tyler?” Mel asks.
“Nothing,” I sigh. “Can we not do this now? Here? Don’t you all have work?”
“Nice try. It’s Sunday.” Ash smirks.
“We’re worried about you,” Ally says gently.
“That’s nice, considering you all just staged a sneak attack on me.”
“Cut the bullshit,” Ash says, crossing her arms. “Talk. Now. You can’t just be totally wrapped up in Tyler, and then turn around and fuck him over by going out with one of his brother’s deputies.”
“I didn’t fuck him over.”I did it to myself, I say silently. “And I’m sorry if he’s saying shit to you.”
She throws her hands up. “Ellie! Of course he’s not! But do you not see how it sounds when it’s said out loud?”
“Ash, stop, she doesn’t need this,” Mel says. “Ellie, just tell us what’s going on.”
“Have a seat and I’ll make us coffee,” Ally offers, and I sit in the nearest chair, putting my head in my hands.
“I screwed up. I know I did. I don’t need a lecture. In fact, I’ve been avoiding all of you and the topic of Tyler for this exact reason.”
“Why?” Courtney asks, genuinely confused.
“Because I don’t want to be the one left looking and feeling like a complete fool. I may have come here seeming fine to all of you, but I wasn’t. Kyle and I…welivedtogether. Itrustedhim. Ilovedhim.” Tears start to fall and I swipe at them, not wanting to shed a single one for that asshole. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to walk in on your boyfriend fucking someone in the bed you share with them every night?” I look at each of them, and they look back at me with pity. “Exactly. You don’t. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I couldn’t even kick him out of our apartment, because it wasn’t really ours.Hisname was on the lease.
“Then I came here. I was with you guys again, Courtney offered me this amazing job, and I had a place to live. The last thing I needed was another man in my life, but Tyler isn’t a man easily ignored. He’s so…everything. Everything I learned about him, I loved. He’s kind, funny, genuine, caring, sweet, thoughtful, an amazing cook–”
“He can cook?” Ally asks, unable to help herself as she places a cup of coffee in front of me.
“Yes.” I smile sadly. “He said his pizza has beat out his brothers’ in every competition. And by how good it was, I know he’s right.”
“Damn, I’m going to have to have a Taylor brother cook off one night,” she says, and then looks at me and grimaces. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” I shrug, sipping my coffee.
“Okay, so tell us why all of what you just said means you can’t be with Ty?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” I point out, looking at the black and white checkered floor instead of them.
“Not really,” Ashley says.
“I ended it because I was falling for him.”
“And you wanted to get out before he had the ability to do to you what Kyle did?” Mel guesses, and I give her a slight nod. “And that’s completely rational and understandable, Ellie, but you can’t stay locked away forever. You’ll have to open up and be vulnerable again at some point.”
“I know,” I whisper, taking another sip of coffee. “I already know I messed up. I messed up when I told him I had a date so I had an excuse to run, and I messed up when I actually went on the damn date.” I take a breath. “And he saw us.”
“Now the big question…” Courtney says. “Do you want our help to get him back?”
“Get him back?” I laugh sarcastically. “I never had him. He may not like seeing me with another man, but he never said he wanted me as more than just a good time.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I do, okay? None of you were there. Look, thank you for this, I’m lucky to have you guys, but I really just want to get to work and not talk about this.”
A long pause, followed by weighted looks between the four of them, ends in a round of exhaled breaths.
“Fine,” Ally and Courtney say together.
