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His smile is malicious as he steps towards me. “It seems as though once you show someone exactly what their future will look like, they are willing to help no matter what that entails.” He frowns. “Imagine my surprise, when my new little spy came back and told me you were getting lovey-dovey with the owner. Pathetic really, you could have anyone you want and that’s the kind of person you go for?”
“Better than you’ll ever be,” I snap.
That remark turns his face red and he opens his mouth, probably to spew some other bullshit about me, but it snaps shut when a few people filter out of the ballroom. Before he can manage to take up any more of my time, I hurry through the lobby and out the front door without looking back. Even though I already knew I’d be too late, I can’t help but let the tears fall as I look everywhere around the sidewalk and come up empty.
I quickly dial his number into my phone, listening as it rings over and over before being sent to voicemail, and growl into the night. My gaze falls to the doors behind me as if I’ll see Heath standing there, but I know he won’t leave a party he’s expected to attend — he’s a good little soldier for his dad after all.
Five more tries with Brent’s cell and instead of ringing it instantly clicks to voicemail, where I leave yet another message begging for him to hear me out. When those continue to go unanswered, I do the next best thing and try the number Nathan gave to me. I shouldn’t be surprised when he goes straight to voicemail, as if the first thing he did when hearing about tonight was block my number, and I let the tears fall helplessly down my cheeks.
If only I had been truthful from the start, maybe things could’ve ended up differently tonight. Everything was supposed to fall into place two weeks from now — I was going to make it to the ranch, tell Brent and Nathan about everything, then admit the love I have for not only Brent but Nathan too. I had never expected that they would welcome me with open arms still after that, but I imagine things would’ve been a lot easier to get through had the truth come from my lips and not someone else’s.
And who could Heath have possibly hired to give information on the ranch that could help him?
I’m walking along the sidewalk, my heels hanging from my fingertips, when the phone in my clutch blares loudly through the emptiness. It could be Nathan or Brent, so I stop in the middle of the sidewalk and yank my phone from the small purse. The tears that I managed to stop come right back to the surface when I see Justine’s name on the screen and I accept the call reluctantly.
“Justine, hey, what’s up?” I try to gather my emotions before she catches on, but the sobs wrack through me at the most unnecessary time.
“Syd, what’s going on?” she asks immediately. “Where are you?”
“Not really sure,” I mutter, glancing at the street signs that look like they’ve been tattooed with graffiti. “Started walking and didn’t bother stopping, that’s about all I know.” Maybe it would be best if I kept walking until I got where I wanted to go, which is in front of Brent’s house.
Would he forgive me if I got down on my hands and knees, begging loudly for it, or would he ignore every single one of my pleas and shut me out once and for all? I’m not sure my heart could handle being shoved away by him.
“Just send me a pin with your location, Syd, I’ll come get you.” Justine is breathless as she shuffles through her house, the jingle of her keys echoing through the line.
It’s the last thing I want, but if I don’t send her the location she’s going to drive through the city all night until she finds me and I’d rather not deal with her moodiness from lack of sleep. I manage to drop a pin to my location through the tears that blur my vision, then bring the phone back to my ear. Justine sighs loudly in relief as she slams her car door shut. “I’ll be there soon. Stay on the phone with me, okay?”
I nod while sobbing into the phone, not able to do much else. Is this what falling in love feels like when you lose it? It’s like every piece of me is missing, scattered in the wind and following Brent wherever he’s going — to the ranch — and I’m left with an empty shell of myself. Should it have been so easy for him to walk away from me? I don’t know.
I don’t know much of anything anymore.
Headlights blind me as a car inches closer and pulls to a stop in front of me, then Justine hops out of the car. I’m sitting on the ground, no doubt getting my dress messier than it should be considering the price, and Justine helps lift me from it with a strong grip. “As soon as we get to my house, you’re telling me what the hell happened.”
I’m numb to everything as she helps me in the car and buckles me in. I can’t think straight, even as we coast down roads I’ve been down most of my life, and it’s irritating. How could I have put this much trust in a man again, only to be shown that they will always hurt you?
Is that really his fault though, Sydney?
It’s annoying when my head knows all the right questions to ask that make me feel like shit even more. What right do I have to sit here and judge Brent, he never once did anything to make me think that he was lying to me. He showed up at an event that he knew wouldn’t fit his life and for what? To see me again?
The idea of him expecting the most of me at the gala only has me throwing my head back against the passenger seat and more tears falling down my cheeks. I’ve never cried so much in my life. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to hold so many tears. Justine pulls to a stop outside her small house, her gaze falling to the front door where her boyfriend is standing, and she sighs. “Give me a minute.”
What, does she think I’m in a position to waltz out of here?
I watch as the two of them argue and I immediately regret answering her phone call. It’s not enough that I ruined everything good that could’ve happened with Brent and me, but I had to go and make things worse for Justine? Best friend of the year award goes to… not me!
She quickly comes back down the sidewalk with a small smile, while the other car in her driveway pulls out and guns it away from the house. “I can go home,” I mutter before letting her pull me out.
Justine scoffs. “As if I’d ever let you go home alone while you’re like this, come on.” She wraps me in her arm, providing a small cocoon of warmth but not nearly as much as Brent’s touch would.
Will I ever be able to feel his touch again?
Now that tears have stopped falling, my head pounds relentlessly as it begs for a relief, and I groan while rubbing at my temple. “Got something for a headache?”
Justine leads me into the living room and waits until I’m leaning back against the couch before hurrying into the kitchen, then coming back in with a glass of water and Tylenol. “You going to tell me what happened?”
“Heath,” I growl. “He set the entire thing up — invited Brent, aired everything out in front of everyone, and now he won’t answer me.”
“Who won’t answer you?”
