“To get in the truck and take you home.”
“So, that’s it, then? We’re just done talking because you decide we are?”
He pauses and turns to look at me—but he looks so hollow it scoops my heart out too. “Believe me, Evie. You don’t want me to keep talking right now because I will say lots of things that I’ll regret. I just endured an hour of so much belittling of both of us that my blood is boiling. I have a lot to think about.”
“Jake!” I say, taking a desperate step toward him. “None of what they said was true. Are you worried because of Tyler?”
He grimaces at hearing Tyler’s name and shakes his head. “No. That guy’s a tool, and I know you’d never go for him.”
“Then what is it? And why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what, Evie?”
“Like you’ve already said goodbye to me!”
Jake holds my gaze for a minute, and every breath I take sounds excruciatingly loud in my ears. His jaw flexes, and he breaks eye contact to look down. “Maybe I have. I heard them in there; they don’t think I’m good enough for you. And . . . I’m not entirely sure that I don’t agree with them.”
“No,” I say as an expelled breath. “That’s not true! You’re so much better than those people, and I don’t want the life they have!”
“Maybe not now.” His eyes meet mine with a new look of fire and determination. “But what about in two years? What about when you start missing your old life? When I don’t make as much money as you need? Or have the connections you need? What then, Evie?” I hate the way Jake just said my name. It was like a jab to my stomach.
“And just when have I ever given you the impression that I’d be that way?”
“This is the opposite of what I need right now.” He gestures toward the house and then between us. “Sam and I need support and stability. We need someone we can trust. And . . .”
I shut my eyes. “Don’t say it.”
He holds my gaze for the span of three breaths and then quietly says, “And I don’t know that that person is going to be you.”
He turns and gets in his truck and starts it. I stand there motionless, feeling like I’ve just been hit with a stun gun. I feel angry and hurt and betrayed. But it’s odd because I know that’s exactly how Jake feels too. The selfish people in that house accomplished exactly what they set out to do, and my heart is shattered.
I look back up at my parents’ house and spot Tyler watching us from the window. He sees me looking at him and raises his glass in a mock toast. I wish I had a brick I could throw through that window.
I’m not quite sure that I’m welcome in Jake’s truck right now, but I also know that there’s no way in hell I’m going back into my parents’ house and asking for a ride.
I look down at Charlie, and his big chocolate eyes promise me that I get to order in a dozen cookies and eat them all when I get home. At least Charlie is always there for me.
CHAPTER 33
Jake
I dropped Evie off at her apartment after a completely silent drive home where I acted like a brooding jerk. It wasn’t intentional, and now that I’ve had a minute to myself I completely regret the way I treated her. But after everything that took place in that house, I couldn’t get a handle on my emotions. It was like every single one of my fears was boiling to the surface of my skin and I just wanted to claw it off.
As I’m driving home in the dark, I still can’t quite pinpoint the moment it all went south. One minute, Evie and I were united and I was happy to be her shoulder to lean on during a difficult night, and the next thing I knew I needed a stretcher to carry me off the field of a game I epically lost.
I pull up in front of my house and cut the engine but don’t get out of the truck. I sit here numbly, thinking over everything that just happened. My hands scrape over my face and hair and then I groan as a sinking feeling fills my stomach.
I played right into those people’s hands and then self-sabotaged.
Away from Tyler’s haughty smirk, I can see it all clearly. They said exactly what they needed to push my buttons and hit me in all my sore spots. How they knew what my sore spots were is a little frightening, but I guess that people with as much money as them can accomplish just about anything they want to. Tonight being evidence of that.
Why did I listen to them? Deep down, I know that Evie doesn’t want their life. She doesn’t fit into that manipulative elitist world any more than I would fit into one of Sam’s training bras. And yet . . . I let them get into my head.
I’m still raw from Natalie. And hearing them confirm my biggest fears that I’m not good enough for Evie and she’ll leave me and Sam just like Natalie did, well, it undid me. I wanted to run away with my heart clutched in my hand to keep it safe.
But I was wrong. I overreacted. And I pushed Evie away.
My only hope now is that Evie will forgive me and forget all the accusations I tossed at her. I slam my palm firmly on the steering wheel once, replaying every awful thing I said to her. There was so much hurt in her eyes. Betrayal. I sided with those people over her, and now I’m fearful she won’t forgive me. I wouldn’t blame her either.