The Last Time (9 page)

Only she could tame me. I stepped back out of Javi’s reach.

Javi turned to her. “Is what he said true?”

She sighed and rubbed her temples. “Now is not the time to talk about this.”

Lucas sat up, gripping his head. “My ribs are broken.”

“Good,” I said darkly.

Javi glared at her. “Monnique, is Cortland telling the truth?”

She gripped her skull. “Yes, but it was a long time ago. Let’s just move on.”

Javi looked more pissed than I was. “Are you fucking kidding me? And you never told me?”

“Mom and Dad knew, but I didn’t tell you because I knew how you would react.”

Javi grabbed his phone then held the butt over Lucas, ready to smash it against his face.

I wasn’t going to stop him.

“Javi, no!” Monnique stepped in the way.

Her brother was just as pissed as I was. “I’ll kill him.”

Lucas stood up.

Javi charged him.

“Stop!” Monnique held up her hands.

Lucas pushed her right into Javi, making them both fall.

And I snapped.

I was on him quicker then
he could scream. I slammed my fist into his face over and over, letting the blood squirt into the sky. He moaned and tried to get away, but I didn’t let up.

“Cortland!” Monnique screamed at me. “Stop! In the name of my father, stop.”

My hand stilled. I glared at the eyes I hated then spit on him. “Get the hell out of here. If you come back, I’ll kill you.”

Lucas could barely walk. He got to
his knees then stumbled. He probably shouldn’t drive but I didn’t care. Hopefully he’d drive over a cliff. He finally got to his feet then limped to this car, cursing the entire time.

My hands were red with his blood.

Monnique covered her face and breathed through the pain. “God, this is so embarrassing.”

Javi sat on the ground,
catching his breath.

She finally looked at me. “What the hell were you thinking?”

“That he needed to die.” I didn’t feel bad for what I did. I hoped he had a spinal injury and I hoped he had several broken ribs.

“He could press charges,” she hissed.

“You think I care?” I snapped. “No one hurts my girl and gets away with it.”

Her eyes flashed in hurt. “I’m not your girl, Cortland.”

I breathed through the pain. “You’re always my girl.”

She looked away, unable to hold my gaze.

I didn’t care if he pressed charges. With a quick payoff, he would drop it. And if he didn’t, he still wouldn’t. I had job security for life. Being friends with the Prestons had its perks.

Monnique fixed her hair and breathed through the emotion she was trying to control. Then she walked back into the house, leaving Javi and I on the lawn. He and I met each other’s look but didn’t say anything. There was no need.

After everyone left, the house was empty and dirty. Plates and glasses were everywhere. I rolled up my sleeves and began cleaning, not wanting Monnique and her brother to worry about it. My knuckles were sore from colliding into
that guy’s face, but I didn’t give a damn. It was the best pain I ever felt.

Monnique started to help me but I steadied her. “Take a shower and get into bed. I got it.”

“I don’t mind…”

I gripped her wrist. “Go relax.” I gave her a firm stare then kept cleaning.

She headed into the shower while I finished taking out the bags of garbage and tossing all the extra food. By the time I got into bed, it was late. Monnique wore her pajamas and she was reading a book.

Tired, I stripped off my clothes and got ready for bed. We were leaving early in the morning for our flight.

“I think you should sleep on the couch.” She stared at her kindle, not looking at me.

Standing in my briefs, I looked at her. “Why?”

“You know why.” Her voice was quiet.

She was referring to my encounter with Lucas. “If you want me to apologize, I won’t. I don’t feel bad for what I did. If any guy touches you, I will rip them apart. That behavior is unacceptable.”

“But it’s my father’s funeral,” she hissed.

“Well, I snapped, okay?”

She shook her head. “I didn’t want Javi to know.”

“I wasn’t thinking.”

She turned off her kindle and set it aside. “I don’t understand how you can come all the way here to be with me, sleep with me every night, and then beat my ex to a pulp and still not want to be more than just my friend.” Her voice carried her emotion. “It’s torture, Cortland. I understand that I was wrong for everything I did, but if you ask me, you’re way worse.” She still wouldn’t look at me.

I sighed while I stood by the bed. “I’m not trying to hurt you…”

“I know.” Her voice was lifeless. “But you’re never going to get over me and move on if you keep acting this way. You’re just making it worse for both of us.”

“I…I had to
be here for you. You shouldn’t go through this alone.”

“We all go through pain alone,” she said bitterly. “And feeling your hand in mine just reminds me of what it was like to feel loved by you. It reminds me of how I fucked up and threw you away. And it’s just…mean.”

My heart hurt at her words. “I just wanted to be here for you. I wasn’t trying to make it harder for you.”

“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me for the past few days. I do. I’m not trying to be a selfish brat…but I think you should sleep on the couch tonight.”

If she didn’t want me in her bed, I wouldn’t force it. But I really wanted to hold her after seeing the face of her tormentor. I was in pain thinking about how he hurt her. I hated picturing it. It made me sick. But I would do whatever she asked. The last thing she needed was something else to stress about. “I understand.” I pulled on a pair of sweatpants then closed the door behind me.

After I was on the couch, I pulled a blanket over me and stared at the ceiling. I had no idea what I was doing with Monnique. I went from hating her to being her boyfriend all over again. My emotions kept pulling me back and forth. I could only imagine how confused and hurt she must be. I realized I was being an ass to her. And I hated myself for that.

The next morning, Monnique had a long goodbye with Javi. I stayed by the car and waited for them to finish. They hugged for a long time and shared a few whispers. I knew Monnique felt guilty for leaving her brother behind at such a delicate time. I focused my gaze on the road and tried not to stare.

She finally came to the car and got into the passenger side without looking at me. Javi approached me with his hands in his pockets.

“Thanks for everything, man.”

“No problem,” I said weakly.

Instead of shaking my hand, he wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. “No matter what happens with Monnique, you’re still family.” He patted my back then walked away.

Those words went straight to my heart and only caused me pain. It reminded me how perfect Monnique and I used to be before she went off the deep end. I missed everything about our relationship. It was so hard being just a fragment of what we used to be. After controlling my emotions, I walked to the car and got inside.

Monnique’s eyes were swelling with tears but they didn’t fall. I stopped staring and drove to the airport, the silence between us. After we got onto the plane, I fought the urge to hold her hand. I knew she didn’t want me to touch her, and I respected that.

When we were back in the city, I drove to her apartment then carried her luggage inside. She traveled light so I only had two bags to carry. After I set them down, I looked at her.

Her face was unreadable, completely stoic. No make up marked her face and her hair was pulled back slightly. Her eyes looked dim and lifeless. There was no fight in her, no hope.

“I can stay with you,” I whispered. “I don’t mind.”

“I’ll be fine, Cortland. You should go.”

We faced each other, a foot apart.

She held my gaze and didn’t look away. “Thanks for taking care of me. It was nice having someone look after me.”

“Yeah, of course.” I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay here with her.

“Goodbye, Cortland.” Her voice carried
a finality to it. I felt like she was saying bye to me forever, not just for the evening. A calm acceptance was in her eyes. It was a look I’d never seen before.

“I’ll see you later,” I whispered.

She opened the door and waited for me to walk out.

“Call me if you need anything.”

She nodded but didn’t speak.

I stared at her when I
was on the other side of the door. I wanted to say something to make this better, to fix this. I wanted her to smile, not look defeated. When I didn’t speak, she shut the door in my face and locked it.

11

Hazel

My life without Flynn was exactly what I expected it to be—miserable.

I still couldn’t believe everything that happened. I thought we were happy together, but I was totally wrong. He was lying to me the entire time, right under my nose, and I had no idea. I let my guard down and I was stupid for that.

Men were all the same, lying pigs. I was done with them. I wasn’t sure what universe Cortland and his friends were from, but they certainly were unlike the men of earth. They were loyal and honest. None them were perfect by any means, but they had qualities that every girls wished men had. Putting aside their looks and money, they were incredibly sweet and trustworthy. Why couldn’t I find a guy like that?

What was wrong with me?

Why couldn’t a guy fall in love with me?

I hated thinking about it. All it did was make me depressed. Having a pity party for myself wouldn’t do me any good, but I had a moment of weakness. And what made everything worse was how much I missed Flynn. I was so happy with him that this heartbreak was totally worth it
. Every day with him was magical. And as slutty as I sounded, I missed the sex. He was so good at it.

Ugh. Thinking about this wasn’t going to help me.

Sean got me a job as a secretary to one of his financial advisors. The guy was nice and always treated me with respect. I’m sure he wouldn’t even think about messing with me since I was good friends with the CEO of the company. If he wanted to keep his job, he wouldn’t pull anything stupid.

It had good pay and you couldn’t beat the hours. I had weekends off, and I was making a lot more money than I used to. I could afford a nice apartment without any roommates, and the best part, I could afford food. I could buy groceries and have something to eat. I could even go out to lunch. It was awesome.

Sean came into my office with his hands in his pockets. “How’s it going?”

“Great,” I said. “The job is pretty easy.”

He approached my desk then looked out the window. “Everyone being nice?”

“Yeah. I haven’t had any problems.”

He nodded. “Good. I’m glad you like it here.”

“It’s so nice having money,” I blurted. “I can a
ctually go get lunch if I want to.”

He smirked. “It’s a nice change, huh?”

“Definitely.”

He gave me a fond look. “I like you, Hazel. You appreciate everything you have even if it isn’t much. It reminds me how grateful I should be for everything I have.”

“I’m glad you’re humble about it.”

“You can thank my wife for that,” he said honestly. “If she weren’t in my life, I’d probably be an arrogant playboy with no respect for others. And I wouldn’t understand the value of a dollar.”

“You can be too harsh on yourself.”

“You didn’t know me before Scarlet. All you’ve seen are my good qualities. Believe me, I used to be an ass. You wouldn’t have liked me.”

I smiled at him. “I doubt that for some reason.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being nice to me becau
se you like me or because I’m your boss.”

I laughed. “I guess you’ll never know.”

He turned to the window and looked out.

“How’s the pregnancy?”

“Good,” he said. “I pretty much have Scarlet on house arrest. She isn’t too happy with me.”

“You’re just trying to take care of her. It’s sweet.”

“I wish she would see it that way,” he said with a laugh. “I love that woman to death, but man, she is stubborn.”

“I’ve picked up on that.”

He rubbed his chin then turned back to my desk. “Have you seen Flynn?”

I knew he would come up eventually. “No. He’s called and left messages, but I just ignore them.”

Sean adjusted his tie then kept staring at me. “Do you think he might be telling the truth?” he asked hesitantly.

I averted my gaze. “I can’t be with someone if I’m unsure. So it doesn’t matter anyway.” I didn’t like talking about what he did. It just made me depressed.

“He came here a few days ago so he could talk to you.”

That surprised me. “He did?”

He nodded. “I sent him away. I don’t let my workers be harassed by anyone.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“But he seemed pretty damn miserable, Hazel. For a guy who cheated, he seems to be working his ass off to talk to you.”

I shrugged. “Maybe he realized he made a mistake and wishes he could take it back. Whatever the case, it’s not my problem.”

He stared at me for a long time. “I know how much he loves you. That makes me wonder if he was telling the truth.”

“I appreciate your concern, but it’s already been done. I’m not going back to him and I never want to see him again.”

He cleared his throat. “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered.

“Well, let me know if you need anything.”

“I will.”

He walked out and shut the door behind him.

When I was alone with my thoughts, I was depressed. I missed Flynn like crazy. Anytime someone said his name, my heart throbbed in longing. I wished he were telling the truth. That would make everything better. But I knew that would never happen so I shouldn’t get my hopes up. I was tired of being played like a fool.

I finished my workday and followed into my routine. Even though the job was easy and secure, I realized how boring it was. When I was done with my tasks, I was surfing the web because I was bored. I was grateful to have money, but I also missed dancing. Paperwork wasn’t something I was passionate about. It would never compare to theatre. But I had to keep my priorities straight. I needed a roof over my head and groceries in the kitchen. That was more important.

When I finished work, I clocked out then walked to the lobby. The outfit I borrowed from Janice was too loose on me. She had curves I’d kill for, so the chest of the shirt was baggy and so was the ass. When I got paid, I’d buy something else to wear. The heels I wore were uncomfortable, but it wasn’t nearly as painful as my dance shoes after three hours of practice. This was a walk in the park.

I left the building then felt the sunshine creep into my clothes. It was nice to be outside after sitting at a desk all day. I was naturally full of energy and wanted to move around.

“Hazel.”

I
’d recognized that voice anywhere. It was constantly in my dreams and my thoughts. The deep tone and sound of desperation immediately played in my ear. I remember the way he told me he loved me when he moved inside me, locking his eyes to mine. Just a simple word had my stomach flipping in butterflies.

Flynn came to me, stopping a foot away. He didn’t touch me, but the depression in his eyes went straight to my heart.
Judging the bags under his eyes and the downward pull of his lips, he hadn’t been sleeping. His eyes were bloodshot and stained with old tears. “Hazel.” He didn’t say anything else.

I stared at him, unable to move. I should just turn and walk away but I couldn’t. I was stuck. “What?”

He came closer to me, and I got a waft of his familiar scent. It was a mixture of masculinity and soap. I suddenly remembered the way he got out of the shower every morning, his hair damp and the towel around his waist. “I…I miss you.”

“I miss you too.”
Why did I say that?

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m dying, Hazel. I’m literally falling apart without you.”

“Me too.”
Stop talking.

He came closer to me then hooked his
arms around my waist, holding me close. His forehead pressed to mine and we both closed our eyes. I missed this. The connection we felt was stronger than time itself. When we first got together, I thought he was too good to be true. He was perfect in every way. He pressed his lips to my forehead and kissed me, slow and gentle. “I love you so much.”

No, don’t say it.
I took a deep breath then stepped away from him. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have cheated on me.”

“I didn’t.” His voice was lifeless. “I didn’t.”

I shook my head. “Just admit it, Flynn. It’ll give me some closure.”

“We aren’t over
, so closure is unnecessary.”

“We’ve been over,” I said harshly.

“Maybe you aren’t mine, but I’m certainly yours. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m the victim in all of this. I don’t have a high tolerance for people who don’t trust me or give me the credit I deserve, so if you were anyone else, I’d walk away and never look back. But since you’re the love of my life and my future wife, I’m not going to let you go. I will do whatever it takes to get you back. I will prove my innocence and get back what’s rightfully mine.”

His speech made my heart flutter. How could he declare his undying love for me then turn around and fuck his ex? It didn’t make any sense. I knew I was weak since his words made me crumble so easily. I wanted to move back into his arms and hold on.

But I had to stay strong. “Kyle was a jerk for what he did to me, but when I confronted him about it, he didn’t lie to me. He was honest and told me everything, giving me a reason to finally walk away and move on. The fact you’re continuing to lie to me makes me doubt that you care about me at all.”

His eyes flashed in
hurt. “I’m not going to plead guilty to something I didn’t do. And I’m not letting you move on. You’re mine. That’s it. End of story.”

“End of story?”

He gave me a firm look. “We’re still together whether you like it or not. I will figure this out and you will be mine again. When this is over, you’ll be apologizing to me, not the other way around. But I will forgive you instantly because I’m ridiculously in love with you.”

I needed to get out of here. His sweet talk was killing me. No wonder why he was such a good writer. He knew exactly how to make me weak. “I have to go…”

“I’m not going to stop, Hazel.”

“And I’m not going to stop running away.”

“Then I’ll keep chasing you.”

“And I’ll keep running.” I turned to walk away but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back to him. His lips crushed against mine and he gripped my hips, giving me a kiss that made my legs shake. I loved his kiss. He was so good at it. It always left me out of breath and wanting more. His hand moved into my hair and his lips caressed mine. I responded in the heat of the moment, completely aware that I shouldn’t.

His kiss was hard and desperate, telling me how much pain he was harboring over our breakup. I kissed him back, wanting it to last forever. I finally got a hold of myself and pulled away.

We stared at each other, both breathing heavily.

“Leave me alone.”

He didn’t react.

“I mean it.” I turned around and walked away. I didn’t look over my shoulder to see if he was following me. I didn’t care. I just had to get away.

I was still staying with Ryan and Janice because Cortland was in Seattle. I really needed him right now, but I knew Monnique was more important. She lost her dad. She was in much more pain that I was.

Ryan and Janice made sure I had everything I needed. Janice always had dinner cooked and they gave me all the space I needed. They even dimmed their affection around me. But, there wasn’t a wall thick enough to block out the sounds from their bedroom at night. I usually put in ear buds so I wouldn’t listen to Janice moan quietly. It was a little awkward…

I sat on the couch and tried to read a book. Everything reminded me of Flynn and I tried to get my mind off him as much as possible. Ryan sat on the couch with a beer in his hand, watching a game on TV.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“It’s going…” I sighed and put down the book.

“You’ll be okay,” he said gently.

“Flynn waited for me outside the office to talk to me.”

He stilled. “What did he say?”

“The same thing he keeps saying.”

His eyes darkened. “You want me to take care of it?”

“No. I told him not to bother me again.”

He drank his beer and returned his look to the TV.

Janice prepared dinner in the kitchen. “He’s determined to get you back.”

“Not
gonna happen,” I said sadly.

Janice cut the chicken on the cutting board. “I don’t know. When a man cheats, he doesn’t usually try to win back the girl. Since he doesn’t care enough about her to begin with, why bother?”

Sean made a similar statement. “Are you saying you believe him?”

She shrugged. “I know how much Flynn loves you. He doesn’t strike me as the cheating type.”

“Well, he is,” Ryan snapped. “You can’t argue with the evidence.”

I was starting to feel like Ryan was the only one on my side.

“But it doesn’t fit his character,” Janice said. “He’s so loyal and compassionate. Not only can I not see him cheating on Hazel, but on anyone. It’s just not him.”

“Believe me, Janice. I want to believe him. I wish I were wrong. But you weren’t there. You didn’t see the message or his room, the bed we slept together on. It’ll burn my eyes for as long as I live.” I stared at the TV, trying not to cry.