Page 15 of Crushed By Love

“He’s probably busy hooking up with someone,” I laugh bitterly. My statement is true, but it also has the potential to hurt Bree, which is exactly why I turn to her and add, “Does being nothing more than a booty call bother you?”

It’s petty. I know better, but I can’t help it.

“We’re in an open relationship. It’s noncommittal.” Her face is glacial, but she abruptly storms out the back door to the pool area.

Ethan takes that as his cue to drag me away from the sea of gawkers and into the hallway where my bedroom is located. He throws open my door, and pushes me inside, following right behind.

I really wish he hadn’t.

Because even though the darkness makes it difficult to see the details, I still catch sight of the two naked bodies kneeling on my bed.

I yelp and turn away, my face prickling.

“Cooper, are you fucking kidding me?” Ethan’s voice is sharp enough to cut. He also turns to face the door.

“Get out. We’re almost done,” Cooper replies hastily, as if we’re the ones violating his privacy and not the other way around.

“This is my bedroom!” My face is in my hands, muffling the sound of my yelling.

“My house,” Cooper replies. My stomach churns at the sound of him fucking some girl in my bed. It fills the room alongside her whimpered pleasure. Do they really have no shame?

“Get out of my room or I’ll tell your father,” I try.

I don’t know why I thought that would work but it doesn’t, because a few seconds later they let out sounds of simultaneous orgasms. My eyes are closed but I hear everything, and I have to get out of here. My stomach liquefies and I sprint into my bathroom, slamming the door and locking it behind me.

“I did not consent to that,” I yell out. “Fuck you, Cooper!”

“Give me ten minutes and you can,” he yells back.

“You better take that bedspread to the washing machine and get me a new clean blanket or I swear to God I really will tell Daddy King.”

Cooper chuckles.

“Don’t ever say Daddy King again,” Ethan’s voice grumbles from somewhere within my bedroom.

“Not unless you’re talking about me,” Cooper adds with a laugh.

His girl laughs too, calling out a quick apology, and then they all leave.

I stay locked in the bathroom, swallowing down my anxiety. The aftermath of all that adrenaline coursing through my veins has given me the shakes. I splash some water on my face and rinse the rugburns at my elbows and knees, wincing through the whole process. Great, I’m going to have to clean up after this party tomorrow while in pain.

For the first time since graduation, I’m struck by just how alone I am in the world. There’s nobody being paid to look after me anymore. Not that they always did back in foster care, but absolutely nobody cares about me here. If I don’t have my own back, nobody else will, that’s for fucking sure. It’s a lonely realization. A bitter truth.

Just breathe, you’ll be okay, I tell myself over and over until I start to believe it. I have to because if I don’t, my emotions will control my thoughts and then I’ll really be in trouble.

“I left a clean blanket and sheets on your bed,” Cooper says through the bathroom door and I jump. I wasn’t actually expecting him to come back. “I’m sorry, Arden. I was angry at you and shouldn’t have used your bedroom for sex. I invaded your privacy.”

He’s apologizing?

I don’t offer him a reply. His apology is too surprising, especially with the use of my real name, and I don’t know if it’s genuine. Did Ethan put him up to it? Either way, I’m still angry and feeling violated, so I’m not forgiving him. The fucker woke me to clean up vomit and when I gave him grief for it, he took his hookup to my bedroom. There are places all over this house he could’ve done that, but he chose my bed.

“For what it’s worth, I didn’t actually mean for you to see that,” he adds, and he actually does sound sorry.

Do I believe that? I don’t know. I can take a lot of shit, but I can’t take this.

I fling open the bathroom door, glaring up at him. His hair is a mess and his cheeks are flushed pink. He smells of sweat and cologne and I hate him. He looks way too relaxed given the situation. I point my finger, hitting him right in the chest. “If you didn’t mean for me to see it, then why did you do it in my bedroom?”

He doesn’t have an answer to that.

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