Page 68 of The Wrong Side Of Us

“C’mon, man, you can handle a quick chat.”

“You better not test him,” Lanthorn said. The warning for Derek was in his eyes; he knew I wasn’t in the best state of mind.

“It’s about Evelyn,” Derek said, raising his eyebrows.

Gritting my teeth together, I finally turned around to see him. He wore the same clothes from earlier that day, the same clothes he had on when I saw him hugging Evelyn. The image of him holding her flashed in my mind once again as control began to slip away.

“What the fuck do you want with Evelyn?” I asked.

“Now you’re talking,” Derek said. “I don’t want anything with her other than a friendship.”

I glared at him. “You don’t do friendships.”

“Consider her an exception.” I fisted my hands, trying to hold on to the little shreds of sanity I had left. “I dropped her off at the gallery. You talk to her?”

I narrowed my eyes on him. What the fuck did he care? Whatever problems existed between us were none of his business.

Unless she told him.

“Why aren’t you with her anyway?” he asked, taking a sip of the drink in front of him. “Figured you’d be with her.”

“None of your fucking business.”

His expression turned murderous. “I hope you didn’t speak to her that way. You didn’t even listen, did you?”

“What the fuck does it matter to you?” I sneered, standing up.

Breathe.

“You are a dick,” he muttered, standing up as well. It became obvious he was about to walk away, either trying to avoid a fight or because he truly didn’t want one, but it was too late.

My fist traveled across the air and to his nose with no reserves, the crack of bone meeting my ears. With the first hit, I felt a bit of the anger disappear. But it wasn’t enough. One punch turned into two, and soon the whole bar went as insane as I felt.

“See if you want to be a nosey ass still,” I spat, shaking the pain from my knuckles away. I turned around ready to leave when I felt two arms pushing me.

“Caught me off guard, Maxwell,” Derek hissed. I faced him. The man seemed fucking pissed.

Everything after that was a blur. Rage took over for both of us until Lanthorn attempted to stop us, and then security stepped in.

I wanted to continue the fight outside, but Jessica talked me into staying level headed for a moment. I decided to head home after realizing I wasn’t thinking straight at all.

At least I’d broken his nose.

***

When I got home, it was silent. All the lights were out, and when I searched out the bedroom, I realized the bed was empty. I saw Evie’s figure out in the balcony as she looked out at the city.

I opened the door, and if she felt me, she didn’t show it; she didn’t tense, and she didn’t say a word. The air surrounding her was solemn; it wasn’t lively like earlier that day.

“I’m sorry I arrived with Derek.” Her soft voice surrounded us; she did know I was there. There was a pause until she cleared her throat and spoke again. “I wasn’t thinking, but I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just that I was so excited because—”

“The last thing I want to talk about is Derek,” I interrupted. “Don’t you get it?”

Even with the distance between us, I could clearly hear the gulping sound. She simply nodded, not turning around or sparing me a glance.

“My appointment is in a couple of days. Will you be able to come with me?”

This time her voice was full of emotion; it almost seemed like she was having trouble speaking up, like it took all her strength to get the words out.

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