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“Well, he’s about to lose it,” Ian mumbled, withdrawing his arm from Jenna.
“Thank God this isn’t live.” Jenna gave a sigh of relief.
“Yeah, but if he loses his shit,” Ian shook his head, “theywillair it.”
Our awaiting gazes settled back on the screen as Chance raised his voice.
I’m not doing this *BLEEP*. My personal life is none of your *BLEEP* business. *BLEEP* you! *BLEEP* this show. *BLEEP* it! I’m *BLEEP* out of here.
With that, Chance flipped the coffee table over, sending his drink, a small stack of books, and a centerpiece crashing forward before storming off stage behind the long blue curtain. The sounds from the crowd were full of gasps and ‘boos’. Cameron sat flabbergasted as he stuttered to find words for the camera.
O-kay folks, i-it appears I crossed the line, he half-joked, trying to save face.But we’re going to air th—
“Turn it off,” I sniffled.
Ian took the remote off the sofa’s arm, turning the TV off.
Jenna placed a hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I’m the cause of this.”
“He broke up with you!” Ian finally snapped. “You didn’t do shit!”
Jenna and I both jumped at his harsh tone, pivoting to face him. He sprung to his feet, roaming the room. Alejandro studied the three of us as he quietly looked on.
“Why are you so pissed about it, Ian?” I brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.
He stopped, turning his attention to me. “You’re both on my last fucking nerve! Fucking communicate! For fuck’s sake! TALK!” He brought his voice back to a normal tone. “Listen, I know how much it’s hurting you and Jen having to watch him suffer.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he inhaled a deep breath before bringing his frustrated gaze back to mine. “Also, I hate seeing him like this,” he admitted calmly. “I just don’t get it.”
“I might have told him I was over him.” Slouching, I tried to make myself small. That would surely send Ian over the edge.
“Why the hell would you do that, Amber?!” Furrowing his brow again, he gnawed his bottom lip.
“I was flustered,” my voice became shaky, “because he called me while drunk and memories of the dreaded butt-dial call came back and—” Needing to remove myself from the room, I stood, marching through the kitchen to the back door. I stepped onto the large, covered porch. Closing the door gently, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Immediately, my breathing became shallow as I fought for air. I wrestled back the billionth tears, blaming myself for Chance’s antics. Trying to control my emotions, I peered up at the night sky, watching the stars twinkling above in the cool spring night.
Ian was right. Chance and I needed to talk. Even if we never got back together, our friends were suffering. They’d been nothing but supportive and we’d both caused them stress. Wanting nothing more than to reach out to him in that moment, I slid my phone out of my robe pocket. Just as I pulled up his name in my phone, I heard the back door open. I turned to see Alejandro.
“I wanted to check on you.” He strode out onto the porch, coming to a stop next to me. “Are you okay?”
Averting my gaze, I nodded. “That whole display of craziness is all my fault.”
Shaking his head, he pressed his side into mine. Wrapping his arm around my shoulder, he pulled me in for a side hug. Frozen in place, I couldn’t think straight.
“You deserve way better than that.” He circled my shoulder with his thumb.
I stared straight ahead. “He’s just hurting, but he’s more public about it.”
“A bit immature, don’t you think?” He removed his hand, lifting it to his chin.
Spinning on my heels to face him, I sighed. “Chance isn’t immature.” I folded my arms over my chest, “he just has a big personality. His life is under a microscope all the time. He snapped. But he’s not always like—”
“Hey,” he lifted his hands, “I wasn’t trying to be mean, I just—”
“Can we please just not talk about him?” My gaze shifted to the nearby pool. I watched the water rippling near the water fountain feature on the side. “I can’t take it anymore.”
“Sure. I have to go back to New York for a few days to prepare some things for Ian.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Why don’t you come with me for a few days? You can just hang out while I work.”
