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“Fuck you, Austin.” She glares at him.
“Nope, you didn’t. You fucked him.” He points at me as he turns to walk to my truck. Lance and Garrett quit speaking up. They’re probably just as mind-blown as we are.
Tamilyn angrily throws her beer bottle at him but misses. She falls to the ground, weeping. I run to her and make sure she’s okay. Once she stands again, I notice my mom and dad watching, wondering what’s going on. I ask Lance and Garrett to fill them in so I can get Tamilyn inside. I know Mom will come looking for my explanation. She’s going to want to hear it from me, but I’ve had enough of this conversation for right now.
Chapter 26
Austin
I’d like to think I’ve done nothing wrong. I know Tamilyn and I had no label. We weren’t dating but I never went behind her back and fucked another woman. I held out my hope for her. I never imagined that when I came back from the store with the bottle of Fireball, I’d find her fucking my cousin in her bed. The sight of them made my gut twist and pissed me off. In that moment, it’s like the new person I’d started to become just vanished, and the old Austin began to reemerge. I heard everything about their plans to tell me their big secret, and how they love each other. Barf in my fucking mouth. Why couldn’t they have just told me this shit in the beginning before I began to develop feelings for Tamilyn? Because they’re cowards and now someone is going to pay the price.
I wanted to beat the shit out of Ruston in the front yard, and he’s lucky I didn’t. The only thing I could think to do once I spoke my mind was to remove myself from the situation before I fucked things up more. I’m relieved I still have his keys in my hand and I don’t give him the chance to stop me before I speed off. I look back in the mirror at everyone still standing on the front lawn but I don’t see Tamilyn or Ruston. Go fucking figure. I press the gas pedal harder and completely run a stop sign. No one was coming anyway.
I decide to take a joy ride in Ruston’s truck. I’ll pack my shit later. Not like either of them are going to come look for me. They’re getting what they want—me out of the picture. I’ll pack my stuff and be gone before he gets back to the apartment in the morning. I don’t know where I’ll go, but I know it won’t be inside that apartment. I accelerate on the interstate and viciously speed past every car. I look down to see I’m going almost one hundred miles per hour and I have no intentions of slowing down.
I nearly have to slam my brakes when a car darts into my lane. Idiots—they must see I’m driving like a bat out of hell. They move to the other lane and I continue on my speedy path. I can’t even think straight. So much shit is running through my mind. I’m still mind-fucked as to how they could both hide this from me. I close my eyes for a minute to try to collect my thoughts.
When I open them, I gasp as I realize the stopped traffic in front of me. My foot slams down on the brake but it’s not soon enough. The truck slams full force into the dump truck in front of me and glass shatters everywhere. I gasp for my next breath, trying to open my eyes, but another vehicle slams into the truck and I’m thrown around. Besides the sound of crushing metal around me, pain sears through my body as my bones begin cracking. I scream in pain but it’s washed away by all the excess noise surrounding me. The next breath comes, but my eyes close, and the last thought in my mind is, Why did I have to be so reckless?
Chapter 27
Tamilyn
The tears haven’t stopped. This is exactly why I didn’t want this to happen tonight. It’s not like Ruston and I knew Austin was going to see us. We never intended for that to happen. Our secret went way too far. I’m sitting in my room on the same bed where Ruston and I made love, and he’s sitting beside me, holding my hand. Both of our moms are in here too, and I should feel awkward but I don’t. Lance and Garrett decided to leave after all the shit hit the fan, and I don’t blame them. I’d leave if I could. I didn’t get to tell Hilary or Raegan goodbye, but that’s the least of my worries.
“Honey, are you okay?” Mom asks. I look up through tear-filled eyes to see her watching me, worry etched in her features.
“I’m sorry everything got ruined,” I tell her.
“It’s not your fault. No one in the back knows anything. Just us in here. You two should have told him, though.”
“I know, Mom. I was trying to give him a chance. I did like him, but I love Ruston, and things happened so fast. We thought hiding it would be for the best.”
“I’m sorry for the scene that was caused out front,” Ruston whispers.
“Kids, these things happen. Let’s just try to put this behind us for tonight and we’ll deal with it tomorrow when our minds are clear. Where did Austin go?” his mom asks.
“He took my truck and said he was going to pack his things.”
“Someone needs to try to call him and make sure he got to your apartment all right. I don’t like that he took your truck.”
“He tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t listen,” I whisper, hanging my head.
She grabs her phone and dials his number. She sits there quietly for a moment and then sets the phone down. “No answer. I’ll try again later.”
Mom looks at me and wipes the stray tears away. “Everything will be okay.
Let’s get back downstairs before Dad comes looking for us.”
All four of us head downstairs and return to the party, where everything is more carefree. So many people don’t even realize what happened. Ruston appears by my side with a beer and I begin to drink it. I need to calm my nerves and try to have a good time. The secret is out. Austin knows, and it’s not like we need to hide anything anymore. Ruston places his hand around my back and pulls me close to him.
“I’m sorry he said all that to you, Tam.”
“He was just mad. I deserved it.”
“No, you didn’t.”
I nod and drink a little more of my beer. I notice a few people are eating, so I tell him I’m going to get a plate from the kitchen. As I fix my plate, my stomach begins growling. I laugh a little as I go sit down. It actually feels good to laugh. After the way everything went down, laughing was the last thing I wanted to do. Maybe, in time, Austin will forgive us for everything. Right now, I’m moving forward. It’s the past.
