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“Oh, you know that now?” I asked sharply. “You know thatnow?”
“Yeah, I know it now.”
“Why didn’t you know it before? Where the hell were you?”
“I went with Rum,” he said, running his hands through his hair. “We went to a house my dad’s demoing. Just blowin’ off some steam. Just—”
“You left me at the club by myself so you could go demo a house?” I hissed in disbelief as I took him in. He was covered with a fine layer of dust that I hadn’t noticed before.
“I do that sometimes,” he explained. “When shit’s too much. It clears my head. After that shit at the club, I needed a minute.”
“You didn’t think that maybeIneeded a minute?” I asked quietly, disappointment making my shoulders slump. “That maybe going back into the party your family was throwing usalonewasn’t what I wanted to do?”
“I figured you’d leave,” he said, taking another step forward. “Bring Rhett home and decompress.”
“You left me there by myself,” I said, my voice nearly inaudible. “You were pissed at me, and you left without a word.”
“You really wanna talk about who left who?” he asked, getting defensive.
I let out a bark of laughter so raw that it hurt my throat. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you did,” he replied flatly. “You had a choice.”
“Yeah, well, so did you,” I spat back. “And you’re not eighteen, pregnant, and scared out of your mind.”
“I thought we’d taken care of him.” He glanced at the living room. “I didn’t think he’d be back.”
“So, that just makes it okay?” I shook my head. “You know what, I’m not even mad about that.”
“Bullshit.”
“I’m really not.” It was true. I wasn’t angry that he hadn’t been there. Neither of us had realized how nuts Parker was. Neither of us had anticipated it. “I’m angry—no, not even that. I’m disappointed—”
Michael scoffed.
“I’m disappointed,” I said again, my voice wobbly no matter how hard I tried to keep it steady. “That you took off the minute you were pissed, just like I’d known you would.”
Chapter 12
Michael
“That’s not fair,”I ground out, frustration making my hands ball into fists. “I left for a few fuckin’ hours.”
“And how’d that work out for you?” she asked softly. “You get what you needed?”
I swallowed hard. No, I hadn’t. Tearing down a wall hadn’t hit the same as it always had before. The entire time I’d wanted to come home and have it out with Emilia, but I’d been too stubborn. I’d just kept going, waiting for the familiar release of tension that never came.
Emilia was quiet as she lifted her hands out in front of her, watching as they trembled.
“I’m so sorry,” I choked out, moving forward. “I thought he was gone.”
“Yeah,” she whispered. “So did I.”
I wanted to hit something. I wanted her to hit something. Hit me. If we were angry, maybe we could overlook how badly I’d failed her.
I hadn’t thought for a second that asshole Parker would stick around after we’d sent him on his way. If I had, I never would have left her and Rhett alone. I’d still been strung pretty tight, though, which was why I’d sent Otto with her. I’d felt a little better knowing someone was with her until I got home. I just hadn’t wanted her coming back to an empty house alone.
Jesus, what a fucking moron.
