Doomsday Love: An MMA & Second Chance Romance (24 page)

Fortunately, Oscar was still talking to her, but she felt things weren’t the same between her and him. He was becoming distant, which meant he was seeing her less and less.

He’d blame it on working, fighting, going to the gym, and looking for Drake, but if he really wanted to be around her, he’d make a way.

It was becoming clear now.

God, why didn’t we just listen to everyone else?

The Davenports were bad news.

They only cared about themselves.

They broke hearts.

To them we were just another number and, like idiots, we added ourselves to the charts.

“
I
just don’t get
it, Jen. I thought we were doing good, you know?” Kylie’s eyes were red and puffy. Her hair was a frizzy mess, her olive skin pale and chalky.

Oscar broke up with her that morning. She didn’t call because she was too heartbroken.

“I know,” I whispered as she rested her head on my shoulder.

“I mean, I did everything I could to make him happy. I was nice. I attended his fights. I cheered him on. I supported him.” Her voice was nasally and angry. “I had sex with him all the fucking time, so he can’t say I was a boring girl. I took showers with him and snuck him into my room. I…I
love
him, Jenny. I really do.”

Her words were getting to me. They reminded me too much of what Drake and I shared, minus me going to his fights all of the time. He wasn’t as lenient as Oscar.

I felt her look up. “You still haven’t heard from him?”

“No.” I looked away, avoiding her eyes.

She sat up instantly. “Oh, my God.” She sniffled and swiped her tears away. “Jen, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t be making this all about me. You haven’t even talked to Drake.” She slid in closer, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

And it was that gesture, and that gesture alone, that caused the tears to flow. I broke down in Kylie’s arms, and she shushed and cooed at me, as if it would make things better, but it didn’t.

Not one bit.

“He told me he loved me… all the time. And if he wasn’t telling me, he would ask me and I would tell him yes. Don’t you think,” I hiccupped, “that if he loved me so much, he would actually have the balls to tell me what is going on with him? Where he is?”

“Yes,” Kylie responded. “He should. He has no excuse.”

“I mean, I know he’s sad and hurt about his grandma. I’m sad for him, but his disappearance doesn’t make any sense.”

“Boys don’t make sense, honey,” she sighed.

That was true. They didn’t. Or maybe it was just the Davenports. They made things more complicated than they needed to be. I hugged Kylie back, clearing my face on the shoulder of her shirt. “I’m sorry about Oscar.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not yours, either,” I said, leaning back and grabbing her shoulders. “You’re a great girl, Kylie. Don’t think otherwise. He’ll realize what he’s let go of, and he’ll regret it.”

She smiled warmly. “Same goes for you, Jen. And I mean it. You’re the sweetest girl I know. You two were perfect together. Drake is a fool for letting you go.”

I nodded and released her, and she stood, blowing out a heavy breath. “I can’t wallow about this anymore. Let’s go downstairs and eat some ice cream. My mom has a ton of chick flicks in her room. I’ll tell her what’s going on and she’ll feel so bad for us she’ll watch the movies and eat the ice cream with us.”

I laughed as she tugged on my hands and pulled me to a stand. “That actually sounds like a lot of fun right now.”

“It will be. Let’s just forget about them for a few hours.” Kylie grinned and led the way out of her bedroom. We spent six hours watching movies, eating mint-chocolate and chocolate ice cream with fudge, and Kylie was right.

Mrs. Miller felt really bad for us, and even told us stories about guys she used to think she was so in love with that turned out to be complete trash.

“Don’t take anyone this age seriously, girls,” Mrs. Miller sighed. “Unless he shows you that he wants to be with you and would do anything to be with you, he isn’t worth it. Boys learn much later than girls. A real man knows what he has when he has it and he refuses to ever let it go, no matter what’s going on in his life or yours. It takes time with them. That’s all.”

Hmm.

Time.

I agreed with her, and maybe me and Drake’s time was coming to an end. Maybe… it was never meant to be. Maybe this was just a summer fling that we couldn’t prevent, but that needed to happen.

Whatever it was, it was very disappointing.

I wish I’d known before all of this how it would have ended.

If I had, I never would have gotten so close to Drake Davenport in fifth grade.

* * *

I
didn’t get
home until after midnight. Mom’s car wasn’t in the garage, which was a good thing. It meant they weren’t home. She only used the Mercedes when they were together.

I trudged up my stairs and sighed, rounding the corner and entering my room.

But when I walked in, I saw the silhouette on my bed. It was broad and dark and still.

I gasped, but the person spoke up. “Just me.”

My heart caught speed. “Drake?!” I whisper-hissed.

I stepped to my left, turning on my childhood nightlight to see him. He picked up his head, holding C.C. tighter in his hands. He then dropped her, staring down at the bear.

I wanted to be pissed at him so badly right now, but my excitement overpowered that anger.

He sighed and stood, making his way towards me, and I dropped my head on his chest when he wrapped me up in his long, thick arms.

I sighed as his warmth enveloped me, and he did the same, hugging me tighter, like he never wanted to let go. But he did let go—for more than a week. His body stiffened as I hugged him tighter.

There was a distance I couldn’t explain between us. He was there in the flesh, but he felt so far away. Like his mind wasn’t here, but his body was.

He pulled back. I remained close, deciding to start light.

“How did you get in?” I asked, looking towards the window.

“Your brother’s room.” He smiled faintly. “Bunch of trophies in there.”

“What are you, crazy? You can’t sneak in here like that—especially in there.”

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “The window was open. I saw your parents leave but they didn’t set the alarm. I’m guessing they did that for you.”

I shrugged. “Mom changed the pin…on purpose.” I pressed my hands to his chest. “You still shouldn’t sneak in here anymore, Drake. It’s not safe.”

“I wanted to see you,” he proclaimed, and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

“Where the hell have you been?” My voice cracked as I asked. Reality curve-balled me. “I’ve been worried sick about you, Drake. Everyone has. The twins too.”

“I know.” He stepped away, and my hands dropped to my sides as he walked towards my vanity. He picked up the thick packet lying on top of it. It was my Yale acceptance packet. “You’re going?”

“I have to,” I said, as calmly as possible.

“Do you?” His tone was sarcastic. He turned to face me. “Who’s making you?”

I frowned. “I
want
to, Drake. I don’t want to live under this roof anymore.”

He tossed the packet on my bed, and I could see his jaw ticking from the nightlight. “I see.”

“What made you come back?” I asked.

“You.”

Warmth coursed through my veins. “Well… where were you? What have you been doing?”

He sighed as he folded his arms over his chest. “I booked a hotel in Lumber.”

“Lumber? Why there? That’s a town away. What’s wrong with your house?”

“It’s not my house,” he replied sharply. “It was my grandmother’s.”

“But you lived there.”

“I couldn’t be in that house.” Drake lifted his head up to look at me. “Listen, Jenny, I’ve been thinking and I feel like I should tell you this now so you don’t worry about me anymore.”

I watched his face change, turning solemn. Grim. I rushed for his side, sitting down and grabbing his hand. He watched our fingers entwine, nostrils flaring.

“Drake, what is it?”

He swallowed thickly. “I’m leaving for good, Jenny.”

I sat back, pulling my hand out of his. “Leaving? To go where?”

He shrugged. “Anywhere but here.”

What… but… “Why?” I stammered.

“I just know I should go. I’ve been thinking a lot about myself—about you mostly. I was coming back to see how you actually felt—where you saw us. But then I saw your acceptance letter and I know what I should do. I should go… and I should let you go too.”

“Let me go? Drake, please. Stop. Don’t say stuff like that. You don’t need to let me go. I can always come back to see you.”

“Yeah, so I can end up like how Oscar was with his ex?” He shook his head. “No. Fuck that.”

I thinned my eyes at him as I stood to my feet. “You think I would do something that low to you?”

“You’d get tired of me. There will be richer boys there. They will be able to take care of you in ways that I can’t.”

“Does it look like I care about any of that?” I snapped.

“Not now. But later you will.”

My head shook rapidly. “I can’t believe you can even think that of me. I mean—you’re leaving. Okay. So what then? What are you going to do for money? Where will you stay?”

“I’ll start over. I’ll make things right.”

I scoffed. “Make
what
right, Drake? What is so wrong with your life that you feel like you have to run away from it?”

“Everything!” he barked, and I flinched as he stood up and stepped towards me. “Everything about my life is fucked up. My mom is dead. My grandmother, dead. My father fucking hates me just as much as I hate his sorry ass. The twins have their own demons to deal with. I won’t let them try and tackle mine too. I have to deal with my shit. I have to get myself out of the shit life I put myself into.”

He looked disgusted with me, his eyes running up and down my frame. “You just don’t fucking get it and you never will because you have it all. You have this house. You have both of your parents, whether you hate them or not. You’re going to one of the most expensive schools in the country. You have friends. You have more money than you know what to do with!”

“Don’t think that of me,” I whimpered. “I don’t care about any of that stuff. Money is just an object, Drake.”

“But you wouldn’t be able to live without it.” He glared at me. “You and me… we are nothing alike. We come from two different sides of the tracks and everything in this world is telling us we need to stay away from each other—that I need to stay away from you. Don’t you fucking get it, Jenny? You deserve better than a low-life fuck like me. You deserve more than having to come back to a city you fucking hate just to see me—adding miles and miles to your life, all because you want to make me happy. I don’t want to put you through that.”

Tears threatened me. “That isn’t your decision to make. If I want to come back, I can. And I will. Nothing is going to stop me.”

“Yeah, and I knew you would say something like that, so here’s how I’m going to stop you.” He stepped in front of me, looking me straight in the eyes as he gripped my shoulders. “I am
leaving
, Jenny. I’m not coming back here, and I’m not telling you or the twins or anyone where I am really going because I don’t need anyone out looking for me. I will let everyone know I’m okay, but that’s it.”

My throat was dry, and as I swallowed down my emotions, it was painful. Like swallowing shards of glass.

“So… this is it?” I asked quietly. “You’re just going to leave, just like that?”

“Jenny—”

“No!” I cut him off before he could speak again, snatching my body away from his. “Don’t you think you should at least apologize for abandoning me like that? Days went by, Drake, without a single word from you.”

“I didn’t abandon you,” he bit out. “I needed space. I needed time.”

“And you don’t think me or the twins could have helped you during your time of need?”

“None of you could have helped me and you still can’t! You don’t know what I am feeling. You don’t get how it feels to lose not only a mother, but a grandmother too. To have a father that couldn’t give a shit less about me—” His words came to a halt and he studied my face for several seconds before pulling away.

Tears escaped me. Only three. I felt them fall.

“Look, I came here because I wanted to see you before the summer ended… and before I left town. I have to go. I don’t want to be in Fox River anymore.”

“The last person that told me he had to go was my brother, and look where that led him. I can’t just let you go like this. I… I need you. I miss you! I can help you, Drake!”

“Really?” He derided me. “Seriously, Jenny, think about what you’re saying. How in the hell will you be able to help me when you’ll be all the way in Connecticut?”

“You can come there with me, since you want to start over somewhere else,” I pleaded. I was desperate, but I knew I was barely hanging onto him by a thread.

“You and I both know I shouldn’t do that.”

“I can help you. I have money. I’ll do what I can to get you going, just let me help,” I begged.

“Oh, you mean the money that your parents give to you because you’re their spoiled little daughter?” He ridiculed me yet again. His harsh words were like a stab in the heart.

“How can you say that?”

“How can you offer money that you don’t even work for?”

“How can you treat me like this?! You said you loved me. I’m not stupid! You’re trying to push me away—”

“You know what? Yeah! Maybe I am! Maybe I want to, because I can’t do this right now. I can’t be that good guy you see in me. It’s the last thing I want to fucking be right now.”

“I never said I wanted you to be anything but who you are.”