AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“We’ve been at each other’s throats since we were in middle school. The best way to handle her is to ignore her.”
Cole’s brows pulled together. “I don’t think so. You two are adults, or at least one of you is. Ignoring her isn’t working. I don’t feel good about you staying here. I wish—”
“Cole …”
“Okay … But if she gets out of line one more time, I’m going to step in, Megan, whether you like it or not.”
Her hands went to her hips. “I don’t need you to fight my battles for me.”
“I don’t plan to fight the battle for you. I plan to end it.”
Megan walked away from him in a huff.
“I’ll call you later!” he yelled after her.
She was glad her back was to him so he couldn’t see the smile on her face.
Why did he have to be so irresistible?
Her first stop was the gas station, where she paid Joel for his car. She felt such a surge of accomplishment when he handed her the bill of sale that she hugged him.
“I appreciate you not selling the car until I had the money.”
“No problem.” Red-faced, Joel gave her the keys. “What are you going to do with your old car?”
Megan shrugged. “I haven’t really thought about it. Any ideas?”
“I could take it off your hands for the right price. I can work on it in my spare time.”
“That would be great.”
They came to an agreement on the price, and Megan was ecstatic. The money would give her a head start on a deposit for an apartment and buy a present for Cole.
“Do you have the title for the car?” Joel asked.
“I have it back at my hotel room. I’ll swing by before I go the courthouse to register my new one.”
“All right. I’ll see you then.”
She emptied what was left in her old car and transferred the contents to the new one.
When she drove out of the gas station and back to the hotel, she noticed Chelsea’s boyfriend’s truck was parked outside the office. It gave her pause. Harford had told her he was working today. She drove around the building to the side her room was on and turned the engine off. After taking the hotel card out of her purse, Megan got out of the car, her mind on getting to the courthouse before orders started coming in.
When she opened the door, Megan jumped at seeing Chelsea standing in front of the bed.
“What are …?” Her eyes went to Chelsea’s hand. She was holding a thick stack of papers as if on a mission. Looking toward the bed, Megan saw pictures spread out on top.
She left the door open as she walked toward the photos, where she bent down and picked one up.
Sick to her stomach, Megan sat down on the end of the bed.
Her sitting down infuriated Chelsea, who, recovering from her surprise at getting caught, flung the rest of the photographs at her face. “I want you out of here!”
Megan didn’t flinch, numbly sitting there. “I’m getting that message.”
“If you don’t leave, I’m going to make certain your boyfriend gets these pictures. He won’t think you’re such hot shit when he sees these.”
Unable to bear the venom coming from Chelsea, she lowered her eyes to the photograph she was holding. The graphic picture made her stomach recoil.
“Why?” She lifted her gaze back to Chelsea. “Why does it matter to you so much? I don’t …” Oh my god. The reason for Chelsea’s animosity had been right there the whole time.
Megan closed her eyes in anguish, pressing her fingers to her forehead. “I wasn’t the only one Curt was blackmailing, was I?” Opening her eyes, she caught the frightened expression before Chelsea could mask it.
“You think I’d pose for pictures like these?” Chelsea gave her a disgusted look. “I’m not the one with sloth brains …”
Megan gave her a pitying look. “I should have caught it when you used the nickname Curt gave me.” Megan gave bitter laugh, wadding the paper in her hand. “Curt swore to me that I was the only one he was involved with in school.” Megan raised a hand to fan herself to keep from crying. The last thing she wanted was to cry in front of Chelsea.
“I wasn’t involved with Curt,” Chelsea insisted stubbornly. “He—”
“You don’t have to lie to me. God knows I know what a manipulative bastard he was. Who did he pretend to be when he started texting you? I thought he was Robbie.” Megan gave the name of their classmate who was so popular at school she couldn’t believe he was texting her. “I fell for it hook, line, and sinker, right up to the point I let him convince me to take a picture of my boobs when I knew better, but we both know how convincing Curt could be, don’t we?”
